Lund, Sweden

Lund is in southern Sweden, across the Øresundstrait from Copenhagen, about 15 km (9 miles) southwest of Malmö.  It is 250 km (160 miles) from Gothenburg and 600 km (370 miles) from Stockholm.

Lund is home to almost 92,000 people making it the 12th largest city in Sweden.  The greater metro area, including Copenhagen, has about 4 million people.

The city dates back to around 990.  It used to be a part of Denmark and sovereignty changed between the two countries and it has been part of Sweden since 1720.



Lund Cathedral was founded in 1080 and consecrated in 1145.  It began as a Catholic church before becoming the Lutheran Cathedral.




There's an astronomical clock inside the cathedral that was built in 1380.  It was put in storage in 1837 but restored and put back in use in 1923.

Hökeriet is the city's oldest grocery store. It's in a traditional house dating back to 1815.




Kulturen is an open-air museum that opened in 1892.  After Skansen, it's the world's second oldest open-air museum.



Lund University was established in 1666 making it one of the oldest institutions in Scandinavia.  It consistently ranks as one of the top 100 universities in the world.

The university's historical museum is over 200 years old.

Kungshuset, the King's House, was built from 1578 to 1584 and was intended to be the bishop's residence.  It is now part of the university and over time has been home to the library and most recently to the philosophy department.

Biskopshuset is home to the university's art collection.

The Lund Observatory dates back to 1867.  The new building was built in 2001.



Livets Museum is located in a 1912 building.  The museum opened in 2012 and is a hands-on museum showing how the body works and medical progress.

The museum is interesting but according to the various exhibits I found out that I'm 2 cm shorter than I thought I was and that my hearing is better in my left ear than it is in my right ear.

Skissernas Museum is the museum of artistic process and public art.  It was founded in 1934.  It closed in 2001 for reconstruction and reopened in 2005.

All Saints' Church dates back to the 1890s.

The Lund Abbey dates back to 1267.

The botanical gardens are open to the public.  They date back to 1862 and sits on 8 hectares (20 acres) with 7000 species of plants.