Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [122]
Tourist office (34 12 00; www.malmo.se; 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat & Sun mid-Jun–early Sep; 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-3pm Sat & Sun late May–mid-Jun; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-3pm Sat & Sun early Sep–late May) Inside Centralstationen; has free online hotel-booking service. Bookings made at the tourist office incur a Skr70 booking fee.
Sights
MALMÖHUS SLOTT
The addition of red-brick, Functionalist buildings in the 1930s might make it look a bit like a factory, but Malmöhus Slott has an intriguing history and houses some of the marvellous Malmö Museer (right).
Erik of Pomerania built the first fortress here in 1436 to control the growing medieval town and Öresund shipping. This castle was destroyed between 1534 and 1536 during a popular uprising in Skåne. Immediately after the rebellion, King Christian III of Denmark had the castle rebuilt in forbidding late-Gothic and early-Renaissance styles.
Malmöhus Slott’s most famous prisoner (from 1567 to 1573) was the Earl of Bothwell. Bothwell married Mary, Queen of Scots, but was forced to flee from Scotland after she was deposed. On reaching Europe, he was detained by the Danes until his death in 1578.
After the Swedish takeover of Skåne in 1648, the Danes made a futile attempt to recapture the castle in 1677. When peace was restored, interest in the castle waned and most of it became derelict by the 19th century. A devastating fire in 1870 left only the main building and two gun towers intact; these sections were revamped in 1930.
MALMÖ MUSEER
Various museums in and around Malmöhus Slott make up the Malmö Museer (34 44 37; www.malmo.se/museer; Malmöhusvägen; combined entry adult/7-15yr Skr40/10, free with Malmökortet; 10am-4pm Jun-Aug, noon-4pm Sep-May). There are cafe-restaurants inside all the museums.
Inside the Castle
The intriguing aquarium has a nocturnal hall wriggling with everything from bats to electric eels, and local swimmers like cod and pike. It’s associated with the Naturmuseum (Natural History Museum).
The unmissable Malmö Konstmuseum boasts a fabulous collection of Swedish furniture and handicrafts as well as Scandinavia’s largest collection of 20th-century Nordic art, while the Stadsmuseum (City Museum) combines exhibitions on the region’s cultural history with more international themes. Ask for the English-language information sheets at reception. The Knight’s Hall contains various late-medieval and Renaissance exhibits, such as the regalia of the order of St Knut. The northwest cannon tower is an atmospheric mix of cannons, shiny armour and the skeleton of a 17th-century prisoner…still in shackles!
On Malmöhusvägen
A short distance to the west, the technology and maritime museum Teknikens och Sjöfartens Hus is home to aircraft, vehicles, a horse-drawn tram, steam engines, and the amazing ‘U3’ walk-in submarine, outside the main building. The submarine was launched in Karlskrona in 1943 and decommissioned in 1967. Upstairs, a superb hands-on experiment room will keep kids (as well as you!) engrossed for ages.
Next door, Fiskehoddorna (12 83 40; 6.30am-1pm Tue-Sat) is a row of former fishermen’s huts selling fresh fish.
The old Kommendanthuset (Commandant’s House) arsenal, opposite the castle, hosts photography exhibitions.
SANKT PETRI KYRKA
This red-brick Gothic beast is Malmö’s oldest church (Göran Olsgatan; 10am-6pm), built in the early 14th century. Protestant zealots whitewashed the medieval frescoes in 1555, but the original wall-paintings in the Krämarekapellet (inside at the rear of Sankt Petri Kyrka) have been successfully restored. There’s a magnificent altarpiece dating from 1611 and a votive ship in the south aisle, dedicated to all who died at sea in WWII. Much of the church has