Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
5
several galleries, playing host to temporary exhibitions of the museum's rich collection
from 1900 onwards, as well as classics of modern art from the likes of Matisse, Picasso
and Dalí.
Malmöhus and around
Malmöhusvägen 6 • Daily: June-Aug 10am-4pm; Sept-May noon-4pm • 40kr • W malmo.se
Take any of the streets running west from Stortorget or Lilla torg and you soon come up
against the edge of Kungsparken , within striking distance of the fifteenth-century castle
of Malmöhus . For a more head-on approach, walk west (away from the station) up
Citadellsvägen; from here the low castle, with its grassy ramparts and two circular keeps,
is straight ahead over the wide moat. It's one of Sweden's least aesthetically pleasing
castles, with mean windows and patched-up brickwork, but the inside is worth a peek.
After Sweden's destruction of Denmark's mint here in 1534, the Danish king Christian
III built a new fortress two years later. his was only to be of unforeseen benefit to his
enemies, who, once back in control of Skåne, used it to repel an attacking Danish army
in 1677. For a time a prison (its most notable inmate the earl of Bothwell, Mary Queen
of Scots' third husband), the castle declined in importance once back in Swedish hands,
and it was used for grain storage until becoming a museum in 1937.
The museum
Once in the museum , pass swiftly through the natural history section, a taxidermal
Noah's Ark holding no surprises; the most rewarding part of the museum is upstairs in
the so-called art museum , part of the historical exhibition, where an ambitious series of
furnished rooms covers most modern styles, from the mid-sixteenth-century Renaissance
period through Baroque, Rococo, pastel-pale Gustavian and Neoclassical. A stylish
interior from the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) period is also impressive, while other rooms
have Functionalist and post-Functionalist interiors, with some wacky colour and texture
combinations. Other sections of the historical exhibition include a display of medieval
skeletons from Malmö's churchyards, showing the signs of infection with contemporary
diseases like leprosy and tuberculosis - less gruesome than you might imagine. It's more
interesting to head into the castle itself, with its spartan but authentic interiors.
Banérskajen
A little further west, running off Malmöhusvägen, is a tiny walkway, Banérskajen , lined
with higgledy-piggledy fishing shacks selling fresh and smoked fish - a rare little area of
traditional Malmö that contrasts with the lively pace of the rest of the city.
South of the centre
Tourists are still rarely encouraged to venture further south of the city than the canal
banks that enclose the old town, but those who do are rewarded with the hip
multicultural district around Möllenvångstorget (see opposite). The buildings and areas
MALMÖ'S PARKS
Malmö is justifiably proud of its beautiful parks , a chain of which run southwards from the
grounds of Malmöhus, and there's a great deal of pleasure to be had by simply strolling around
these lovely green expanses, with free guided tours on their flora and royal history also
available (ask at the tourist o ce).
Heading south from the castle, the first park you encounter is Kungspark , with its graceful
trees and classic sculptures, bordering the canal. Just on the south side of the curving river is
Slottsparken , with graceful, mature trees and places to picnic; further south is the largest of
the parks, Pildammsparken , boasting several tranquil lakes.
 
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