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Öresund The Sound, called Öresund by the Swedes and Øresund by the Danes. Öresund is the E-most of the passages between Kattegat and the Baltic Sea. Öresund separates Sjælland (Denmark) from the W coast of Skåne.  Passing Kullaberg. Kullen lighthouse to the left on the picture and the small village Mölle to the right.
Coming from north the first light we see is from Kullen lighthouse. Kullen Light  house is one of the most prominent landmarks along the Swedish coastline and it stands at the west end of Kullaberg.
If the south entrance to Öresund is characterized by sand, the north entrance is characterized by rocks on the Swedish side. Kullaberg was a scourge for the ships and the danish king built a light house on Kullaberg 1560. The world famous Tycho Brahe was a light-keeper at Kullens Light House, but more about that if you visit my page about light houses in Öresund. Entering Öresund from the south you pass Måkläppen and Falsterborev on the way around Skanör, the southern most peninsula in Sweden. Falsterborev is the place in Sweden where you find most ship wreck. A few hundred meters from Skanö'r harbour there is a ship from 1390 and a little north of that is a ship from the 16th century loaded with bricks. Every year they find new wrecks. So there was a few prayers dedicated to Falsterborev added to the sailors prayer-book On night in July 1839 a storm stroked and a schooner Thetis was surprised by the storm. The schooner was just about to round Falsterborev and Skanör on the way from Pillau - the harbour of Königsberg - for London. Onboard the ship was the nowadays famous Richard Wagner. Onboard they could see the 2 lanterns on the light vessel (a freight vessel which had been placed there 1831) The light from Falsterbo L/H on shore was too weak. They managed to round the peninsula and pass trough Öresund. The wind was not abating and the ship must seek a port of refuge in Sandviken at Borøya near Tvedestrand, a little town at the southern coast of Norway. Wagner got the inspiration from that horrifying  journey when he wrote the "Flying Dutchman" and who knows, maybe he could see the ghost ship him self when passing Måkläppen and Skanör.
Opposite the harbour in Sandviken there is a vertical cliff overhanging the sea. As the crew on the Thetis lowered and folded the sails, they sang their  seaman's calls in rhythm with their work. The echo from the cliff made an impression on Wagner, and he later used a similar effect in the sailor's choir in Der fliegende Holländer.
Countless are the stories about chaos, sudden death and despair along the coast of Skanör, today related to sun, beaches, rest, ice cream and beer When Skåne belonged to Denmark it was important for the Swedes to pass safely through Öresund without the Danish help. The first Swedish sailing direction for Öresund was made 1644 by Johan Månsson from the Swedish admiralty. Back then it was only the Drogden channel west of Saltholm that was marked with buoys. 1658 when Skåne became Swedish the inhabitants in Malmö planned a revolt against the Swedes. The Danish king thought it was a great idea and send troops with ships from Copenhagen to Limhamn. Even though the ship had a pilot onboard they ran aground off Saltholm. If it wasn't for the pilot being negligent, clumsy and maybe even shit faced maybe the history would have looked different today. Sweden was one of the first countries in the world with a well working land- survey. On land that served 2 purposes: The knowledge how much land the farmer had so they could tax the farmers to a maximum and for the army. The navy needed detailed charts. 1694-1695 there was several charts published. Even though the charts were detailed there were a lot of unmarked shoals. Even the chart published 1737 over Öresund was insufficient. 1746 the new sailing direction was published. In the sailing direction it's advised not to use Flintrännan because of the treacherous shoals along the channel. There have been pilots in Öresund since the 15th century. From time immemorial the Drogden channel between Copenhagen and Saltholm has been the safest passage through Öresund. Because of that there was most pilots stationed in Dragör. 1684 Dragör got the royal privilege and the sole right to guide ships coming from the south through Öresund. At times there was about 60 pilots' working there. Especially at the autumn there was plenty ships waiting for the wind from NW to change to SW. Sailing to windward were not recommended in Drogden channel because of the numerous shoals. During this time many of the houses in Dragör get porches and lookout room "kikkenborg" on the roof ridge. From the roofs they looked for ships needing pilot. The people in Dragör got rich acting as guides in Öresund. Take a look at the houses next time passing Dragör. In Malmö the "Öresund's Pilot society" was founded 1872. Öresund's Pilot society had access to a private pilot boat that could reach the ships far out from the shore. The Danish pilots were not too happy about that and things turned sour. 17th May 1873 the Danish government issued a decree that the police could arrest any person that was not employed by the Danish pilot society guiding ships through Öresund. The Danish police started to arrest Swedish pilots without the right to do so, not without trouble. There was no police that could cope with the pilot "Big Petter" from Viken. When the police should search him he banged the fist in the table so the thick oak table cracked. Then he showed his valet with the word: - Here is the money for the pilotage. Take it if you can. The situation was intolerable and in August 1873 there was a treaty signed between Denmark and Sweden. Denmark got the right to guide ships in Drogden and the Swedes got the right to guide ships between Saltholm and Skåne in Flintrännan. At this time they placed Kalkgrund light vessel in Flintrännan  Click different places on the map for exciting information
 But hey!!! Don't get over excited here.  |