Learning On The Move - Malmö

It is said all roads in the southern province of Skne led to Malmö. Founded in the late 1200’s, Malmö, originally belonged to Denmark and only became Swedish in 1658.

The old town area (to the west) of this Swedish coastal city, features cobble squares and historical buildings. Malmö to the east is known for its modern settings including skyscrapers and an award-winning library. There are lots of places where you can see the old and the modern mixing.

History: King Erik of Pomerania first built a fortress in 1436. However, Malmöhus Castle has been destroyed a number of times so you are only seeing the latest version, which turns out to be the oldest surviving renaissance castle in Scandinavia. The original was built to collect a toll or tax, any foreign ships that passed between Helsingor and Helsingborg. He also over saw the major expansion of Malmö’s seaward defences. A seawall had been under construction in the city but the royal order accelerated the work and the new fortress came to for the western defence point of the seawall.

In 1525, Frederick 1, order his lord of Malmö Fortress to build a new castle.  The King paid a huge sum of money to cover the four years it would take to build the new castle. However, a fire broke out at the castle in 1529 and the cost of rebuilding had gone up and had to be paid for.

In 1822 the castle buildings were handed over to the Prison Board, and this became the Sweden’s largest and modern prison. It was not until 1937 that the buildings were moved to the castle island, by which time it became a museum.

History linked with Religious Education: normally I send you off to look at something built in the 13th, 14th or 15th centuries just to admire the amazing buildings. Here we have yet another fabulous building to visit. Sankt Petri Kyrka (St Peter’s Church) is an example of a brick Gothic church built in the 14th century. The Merchant’s Chapel is richly decorated with late medieval murals and are well worth a visit. Can you sort the religious motifs from the secular?

Design and Technology:  The main building of the Moderna Museet Malmö was originally an electricity plant built in 1901. It was converted in to the exhibition hall in 1988. If you are in KS3, then a visit to the modern and contemporary are is worth an educational visit.

For a real cultural treat, why not visit Bullen, established in 1897. Now we don’t normally recommend a named company but during our visit there, all the locals really rated this restaurant. If you are going to try Swedish Meat Balls - and you should if you are part of the Orchard Training Home school Cookery Club - then here is the place to go. The difference between the Swedish meat balls we buy in the supermarket and these; is like the difference between chicken nuggets and roast chicken.

Physical Exercise:  Just like many of the other historic city centres we visit, Malmö has a lot to see in a small space, that you can plan a walk around some great historic buildings and green spaces. You will find plenty of green palaces to visit and get away from the city. Slottsträdgården, which surrounds Malmöhus Castle, is a huge garden with lots of ornamental plants, a Japanese garden as well as edible crops, for those of you who are members of the Orchard Training Garden Club

Cycling is highly promoted; Malmö has like most Scandinavian cities clearly defined cycling routes. It is very easy to hire bikes of all sizes. The cycle paths are mainly separated from the car traffic routes, and are the perfect way to explore the city. However, we would advise that you make yourself familiar with the cycling protocols around hand signals and turning left at traffic lights. We would strongly suggest having a paper map with you as the use of handheld mobile phones while cycling is prohibited.

Swimming is also available at Ribersborgsstranden beach, this amazingly is a 1.4km beach just 10 minutes for the old town. Here you can swim at the historic open aired cold bath house.

If you don’t fancy getting in to the water, there is also kayaking on the water – with guided tours around the inner-city canals or along the coast for a view of the Öresund Bridge.