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| Sweden's West Coast Vacations and Luxury Travel Packages |
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HALLAND AND BOHUSLAN
One Coast, Two Landscapes
The regions of Halland and Bohuslan are like narrow strips stretching along the western coastline of Sweden from Helsingborg to Svinesund. Each region is 160 kilometers long and up to 50 kilometers wide. Although the two types of landscape are strikingly different, the historic development of the two is very similar.
Sandy beaches and dunes are predominant along the coast in Halland, and in its northern section coniferous forests stretch all the way to the beaches. Since the 19th century, they have been adding calcium carbonate marl to the heavy moor soil in the hinterland, successfully increasing its productivity after the region had become poverty-stricken following the practice of clearing the land by fire in the 17th century. Even people sentenced to death during that time reportedly preferred the gallows to taking over a farm in Halland.
Historically speaking, it wasn't until the Treaty of Bromsebro (1645) that the region became a permanent part of Sweden; it had been a bone of contention between Denmark and Sweden for quite some time. This also explains the large number of fortifications spread out along this coastal stretch.
Although formally belonging to Norway until 1645, Bohuslan was governed by Copenhagen. As Sweden, especially after America was discovered, was doing everything in its power to gain access to the North Sea, the two regions were under pressure from Sweden for a long time; the Danes and Norwegians could only partially hold their ground. In addition, in 1621 the city of Gothenburg became a Swedish wedge between Halland and Bohuslan, interrupting trade between the two regions.
The coast of Bohuslan is marked by granite cliffs, smoothly rounded rock knolls and countless islands with hardly any vegetation. Narrow fjords cut deep into the interior. The main traffic route, the E6, runs through both regions.
The Kattegatt Coast
Approaching from Helsingborg you can reach the Kattegatt coast by crossing the Hallandsasen foothills of the southern Swedish high country at Hjarnarp. The foothills extend over 40 kilometers in an east-west direction, and the highest point is Hogalteknallen (226 meters). This range of hills separates Skane from Halland.
If you are interested in prehistoric artefacts, you should definitely pay a visit to the burial mound of Lugnarohogen: just stay on the E6, take the exit to Vaxtorp and then the 115; the site is on the outskirts of Hasslov. It is the only burial mound from the Bronze Age in Scandinavia which contains a ship made of stone; it is eight meters long. After its discovery they lined the mound with concrete so the grave could be viewed from the inside as well.
The posh beach resort of Bastad (Route 115 heading west) is Sweden's only seaside resort with an international flair. The street of beautiful villas above the town's center is appropriately called "Italian Street:" Today, Bastad is a center for tennis in Sweden; from Borg to Wilander to Edberg, every Swedish tennis ace has trained here. |
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