Smygehuk

Smygehuk is the mainland's southern tip at about 55 degrees 20 minutes north, and the point itself is undramatic - a low shelf of rock running into shallow water with a marker on it and people photographing each other beside it. What makes the visit worth more than the marker is the rest: a lighthouse of 1883 that can be climbed, a small harbour with a smokehouse selling fish, old limekilns on the shore where limestone was burned, and a stretch of coast path either way. The Baltic here is shallow and the shore is stony rather than sandy. It is the standard end point for anyone driving the length of Sweden.

Background

Smygehuk is the harbour and fishing village of Smygehamn in Skåne, and its tip is the southernmost point of the whole Scandinavian Peninsula as well as of Sweden. West of the harbour stand the Smygehuk Lighthouse and the Smygehuk Hostel. In the harbour is a statue of a nude woman by the artist Axel Ebbe, put up in 1930 and named Famntaget, "The Embrace". Its model, Birgit Holmquist, was the mother of Nena von Schlebrügge, herself a model, and the grandmother of the actress Uma Thurman. The Skåneleden hiking path SL7 Sydkust, or South coast, passes through the village on its way between Skåre and Ystad.

Source: Wikipedia, "Smygehuk"

The main sights

• The southernmost point marker - on the low rock shelf.
• A lighthouse of 1883 - climbable in season.
• A harbour with a smokehouse - fish sold on the quay.
• Old limekilns - on the shore nearby.

When to go

May to September, when the lighthouse and smokehouse open. An hour and a half.

Before you go

The point itself is visually unremarkable. Summer brings coach traffic and queues for the marker. Facilities close out of season. Wind off the Baltic never really drops.

Nearby

Trelleborg is west; Ystad is east along the coast.

Key facts