Kivik is home to some of the most significant Bronze Age burial sites in Scandinavia. Once you’ve got your historical fix, go for a hike in the beautiful Stenshuvud National Park. Finish your visit with a stop at Kiviks Musteri, Sweden’s oldest apple orchard.
Kivik is a small village on the east coast of Skåne, in the south of Sweden. Kivik is the location of the Bronze Age burial sites of Kiviksgraven and Ängakåsen, some of the most significant in Sweden. Today Kivik is a town of 1000 inhabitants and is the gateway for visitors to the largest orchard in Sweden – Kiviks Musteri, and Stenshuvud National Park.
What to See and Do in Kivik
Kiviksgraven
Kiviksgraven is a Bronze Age burial site located in Kivik, on the east coast of Skane, in the south of Sweden. The site is sometimes called Kungagraven (The King’s Grave), this due to its size. The site, located about 320 metres from the shore, is dated to approximately 1400 BC. The tomb measures approximately 75 meters in diameter and 3.5 meters high, making it the largest bronze age tomb in Sweden and one of the largest in Scandinavia. The site was long forgotten and became a stone quarry.
In 1748, the quarry had reached so far down that two farmers discovered the huge burial coffin at its center, though quarrying continued. The coffin was constructed of 10 large stones, 8 of which were adorned with stunning petroglyths. In 1756, the site had its first visit by an archaeologist, though it wasn’t until 1931 that the site was fully excavated. Besides the carvings, archaeologists also found skeletal remains, fragments of bronze, and flintstone shards. Following the excavation in the 1930s, the tomb was reconstructed based on etchings from the 18th century.
Today , it’s possible for visitors to enter the tomb and to see the 7 remaining engraved stones. The carvings depict people, animals, ships, and even a chariot drawn by two horses and with four-spoked wheels.
Season: April to October
Hours: Variable depending on day/month.
Price Adult (16+): 30 SEK
Price Youth: Free
Tickets are bought from Café Sågmöllan.
Ängakåsen
Ängakåsen is a large Bronze Age burial site, 300 meters southeast of Kungagraven. The site contains more than 130 graves, making it one of the richest Bronze Age burial sites in Scandinavia. There is also an outline of a stone ship measuring 60 meters long and 8.5 meters wide, and a 23 meter diameter stone circle, called Penninggraven, with an erected stone in the center.
Kiviks Musteri
In 1888, Henric Åkesson planted the first apple trees on the slopes of Stenshuvud, just south of Kivik. His orchard would become Sweden’s first professional fruit grower. The orchard was the first in Sweden to produce apple juice, cider, and sparkling wine. The word “musteri” can be defined as the process of pressing fruit to make juice: pressing, filtration, pasteurization, and bottling. The difference between “juice” and “must” is that: juice contains additives and/or preservatives, whereas must is raw juice with no additives or preservatives. If juice or must is fermented, it becomes cider. Today Kiviks Musteri squeezes four tons of apples an hour! They have a farm shop (Musteributiken), cafe (Stinas Café), restaurant (Kernhuset), an exhibition – Äpplets Hus (The House of Apples), and nursery. You can take a stroll around the orchard yourself, or take a guided tour with cider tasting.
Stenshuvud National Park
Stenshuvud National Park is located a couple of kilometres south of Kivik. The national park was formed in 1986, and today is one of three national parks in Skåne. As the surrounding landscape is relatively flat, Stenshuvud can be seen from a great distance and has traditionally been used as a landmark for seafarers.
The majority of Stenshuvud is covered with deciduous broadleaf forest, including beech, oak, and hornbeam. In the south of the park are heaths, meadows and moorland. Stenshuvud offers delightful hiking trails through lush forest and heathland, viewpoints out over the sea, a beautiful sandy beach suitable for swimming, and even the ruins of a 6th-century fortress.
Hikes Near Kivik
Forsakar
Forsakar is a nature reserve that encompasses a deep forested ravine with two of Skane’s highest waterfalls. The slopes of the ravine are dominated by beech but also include ash and elm. A short hike does a 1.7 kilometre long loop.
Hallamölla
Hallamölla is Skåne’s highest waterfall at 23 meters, on the Verkeån river. The waterfall gets its name from an old mill that has existed on the site since the 1400s. In the past there were serveral mills and buildings along the river, today only Hallamölla survives. The present mill house dates from the 1850s. Hallamölla operated with hydropower from the Verkeån, producing 75 horsepower, until the mill shut down in 1949. The plant is still intact and is put into action once a year on “Möllersas dag”.
Österlenleden / Skåneleden
Österlenleden (Österlen Trail) is a part of the larger 1250 kilometre long Skåneleden (Skåne Trail). The trail begins in Ystad and follows the coast anti-clockwise, passing through Simrishamn, Stenshuvud National Park, and Kivik, before going inland to Brösarp, and eventually back to Ystad. The 188 kilometre long trail is split into 14 sections, with each section corresponding to a day of walking. Simrishamn is the rest stop between sections 4 and 5.
Section 4: Borrby Strand – Simrishamn (20km)
Section 5: Simrishamn – Kivik (21km)
Stenshuvud National Park
Stenshuvud National Park offers a variety of walks, all of which are colour coded. The shorest trail is 0.5km and takes only 30 minutes, while longer hikes go for a couple of kilometres. To find out more about Stenshuvud National Park and the posible hikes visit the Stenshuvud National Park page below.
Sträntemölla-Forsemölla
Sträntemölla-Forsemölla nature reserve was formed in 1976 and covers 48 hectares. The reserve consists of the old farms of Sträntemölla and Forsemölla, and majestic forest and open meadows and pastures. The well established forest consists mainly of beech but also contains oak, linden, and maple.
Sträntemölla
Sträntemölla is the name of the farm by the main carpark which has been in place since the 1300s. The mill was operational until 1969.
FORSEMÖLLA
Forsemölla, located upstream from Sträntemölla, beside the Forsefall waterfall, is the site of another old farm and mill. On the morning of 23 May 1934, a fire broke out and thick clouds of smoke swept out the windows. Its believed that embers from the fireplace set the thatched roof alight. Fire brigades rushed from Kivik, Östra Tommarp and Rörum. The firemen fought the fire but after half an hour the farm was destroyed. They were worried that the fire would spread to forest and to the neighboring Sträntemölla, though eventually got the fire under control.
Nearby Kivik
Ångtåget på Österlen
Ångtåget på Österlen (Steam Train in Österlen) is Sweden’s oldest railway museum. The Ystad-Brösarps line began construction in 1899 and offically opened in 1901. The line remained operational until closing in 1971. Following the closure of the Ystad-Brösarps line, the non-profit museum association Skånska Järnvägar (Skånska Railways) overtook management of the line between Brösarp and Gärsnäs. In the same year they began operating a steam train service from Brösarp to Sankt Olof, a distance of 13.4 kilometers. Skånska Järnvägar still operate steam trains today during the summer months. Trains depart from Brösarp, stop in Sankt Olof, and then make the return trip.
Prices (Return)
Adults: 195 SEK
Youth: 25 SEK
Christinehof Slott
Christinehof Slott is a Baroque style castle located 11 kilometres west of Brösarp. Christina Piper bought Andrarum farm and the Andrarum aluminum mill in 1725 and had a castle built. The castle took 12 years to build and was completed in 1741. Christina Piper died in 1752 and the castle was renamed Christinehof in her honour. Today castle is included in the Christinehof’s Ekopark, which surrounding nature.
Haväng
Haväng is located at the mouth of the Verkeån, on the southern end of Hanö Bay. The region is characterized by coastal heathland, rolling green pastures, lush deciduous forests of beech, oak, and sandelwood, knotty old pines, a rippling stream, a rich flora and fauna, and a magnificent stretch of sandy coastline with view from Blekinge to Stenshuvud. The stone age tomb of Havängsdösen is also located here.
Where to Eat
Eva på Torget
Västanvägen 2, Kivik
Kaffestugan Alunbruket
Alunbruket 101, Brösarp
Kiviks Café & Bageri
Killebacken 3, Kivik
Where to Sleep
Kaptenshuset Bed & Breakfast
Kiviks Stora Väg 46, Kivik
STF Kivikstrand Badhotell
Stengatan 32, Kivik
How to Get to Kivik
Kivik is 18 kilometres north of Simrishamn. SkåneExpressen 3, operated by Skånetrafiken, connects Kivik and Simrishamn. The ride takes 30 minutes and costs 27 SEK. Buses run once an hour.
Kivik by Bus
Route: SkåneExpressen 3
Frequency: Every hour
Duration: 30 minutes
Price: 27 SEK
Nearby Destinations
Prästens Badkar (The Priest’s Bathtub) – a unique rock formation just south of Vik.
Simrishamn
Stenshuvud National Park
Ystad
