We walk for the environment

1. Ekovandringen
Birgittavägen till Lunds domkyrka

2. Skånes Fagerhult
Just south of the border to Småland I met up
with a small group of Pilgrims in order to guide
them, safe and well, through Scania. End
destination Lunds cathedral some 150 km to
the south. They have been walking along
“Riksettan” the old highway from Markaryd to
Skånes Fagerhult.

4. Intercession
Kungsvägen, the King’s Road, through Skånes Fagerhult was
one of the few roads between Denmark and Sweden during
the Middle Ages. This was a troubled region. Danish and
Swedish armies joined battle here in the Snapphane area,
which brought hardship to the local populace.
The church bell from 1572 took part in the wars. The bell
tolled in for worship but also warned in case of danger. As it
did when the enemy came to ravage and burn. ”If God is with
us, then who can be against us”, the engraving on the bell
states.
This is where the Pilgrim Way Skåne Blekinge begins, or, if
you have travelled from the south, here is where it ends.
Pax et bonum! Peace and all good!

5. Pilgrims preparing
supper before a well
deserved rest.

6. Örkelljunga
Next stop for the pilgrims is Örkelljunga, at a
distance of approximatly 16 km. We follow the
old railway track from Skånes Fagerhult
through Skånes Värsjö, Åsljunga and then
Örkelljunga.

7. A short breakfast
break along the old
railway bank, just
before Skånes Värsjö.

8. To build an alter
Abraham and Sarah wandered as nomads in the land of
Canaan. Wherever they settled, whether for a long or
short time, Abraham built an altar, a meeting-place with
God. For building material he used what the place could
offer, like earth and stones.
Abraham knew that God went with him wherever he
wandered, but still he needed a holy place to go to.
Every morning when he stepped out of his tent, the altar
reminded Abraham of God’s existence. He and his
people were not alone, the Eternal One had joined them.

9. Looking in or looking
out?

12. Be like a child
In the beginning Åsljunga Chapel was a school.
Between 1914 and 1959 the youngest of the school
children walked here every day. It is important to
preserve the memories of all the little feet that
walked over these floors. They can remind us of
what is most essential of all in life.
In the Bible Jesus says that the children are the
model for adults. The children carry a secret that
makes them able to live closer to God. Jesus urges
every adult to try to be like a child.

16. Welcome to
Örkelljunga

17. A widened room
Örkelljunga Church was probably built in the 14th
century. Remnants of the oldest walls can be found in
the chancel in the east. Over time as the population
increased in the area the room was enlarged in several
stages from the 17th century and onwards.
The church has never been torn down to be rebuilt.
Instead room after room has carefully been added and
incorporated. This is how the walls of the small, simple
original church have been stretched to make room for all
the people who came seeking God’s face. The borders of
the room have been moved because God is boundless.
The church room reminds us of a heart stricken by love.
The heart widens overflows, throbs, expands!
Every time we walk into Örkelljunga Church we are
reminded of God’s heart that has room for every little
person on earth.

18. S:t Petri church, Klippan
The next stage, some 24 km, led us to into
Grytåsa recreation area and from there via Rya
church ruin the forests of Bjersgård Manor.
Before we reached Klippan we filled our water
bottles at the Tea-water spring.

19. Ready for take off,
destination Klippan

21. It seems we raised
some attention
among the locals

24. With the sky as a roof
In the 1870’s the roof and interior of Rya medieval
church was auctioned off. A new church was built
in Eket and the old church was abandoned. But
only for a while.
The church is now a ruin with the sky as a roof and
daisies as a floor. The simplicity of the room offers
the visitor rest, peace and space. The bare walls
make no demands. This is a place for listening to
the stillness and the silence.

27. Many pilgrims have filled their bottles
at the tea-water spring

28. Watering the newly
planted oak tree in
Klippan

29. Kågeröd
Going up and going down. We are leaving
Klippan to reach Scanias highest situated
church in Stenestad. Then we leave the
Söderåsen ridge for Kågeröd. Todays walk is
about 19 km.

30. Whole bricks
St Petri Church is unique. Every little part of the room is
carrying a deep sense of symbolism. The story about the
sacred is told silently but clearly to anyone who takes her
time to see and listen.
The church is built with nothing but whole bricks. Not a
single one has been cut to fit into the wall. It is told that the
architect Sigurd Lewerentz stubbornly rushed in as soon as
he heard anyone cracking a brick.
In he Christian symbolism the Church is a fellowship of
living stones, of people. The walls of St Petri remind us that
every person is unique, holy and inviolable. And they dare
us to stubbornly and carefully rush in as soon as someone’
s life is threatening to break down.

31. Beautiful trail up
Söderåsen through
the beech forest. A
must to see in spring

34. Before Stenestad
church we met up
with a new group
who joined for the
day

36. The mountain
A man lived at the foot of a very small mountain. As often as
he could he went up to the top and dreamt away over the
wide open spaces. On the way down from the mountain he
always felt a little lighter in his heart. He had found new
horizons and peace in his soul. That is why he went here.
A friend asked him if he might not want to climb another
mountain some time, a mountain that was higher and more
intriguing. A mountain where he could see even further. “It
does not matter if a person climbs Mount Everest or my little
mountain”, the man smiled. “Once you have reached the top
you can not get any higher”.
Stenestad Church is the highest situated church in Skåne,
188 metres above sea level. People have come here since
the 12th century – to get a little lighter in their hearts and to
find peace in their souls.

38. Lunchbreak at
Stenestad church
who received us
with open doors

39. Youth group from
the church in
Kågeröd,
assisting with the
watering of the
oak

40. Vadensjö - Landskrona
We are leaving the northern part of Scania and
entering the plains of the south. We are leaving
Kågeröd and are pointing the compass towards
Vadensjö and Landskrona, some 20 km away

41. A small universe
The great astronomer Tycho Brahe was born in 1546
at Knutstorp’s castle close to the village Kågeröd.
Both his parents are buried here in the church crypt.
Tycho himself is buried in Prague.
Tycho Brahe studied all the stars and other celestial
bodies carefully. In 1572 he was known throughout
Europe for having discovered a new, brilliant star that
turned out to be a supernova. His discoveries
concerning the Universe formed the basis of an
altered world view.
Just like Tycho who ventured among the stars and
planets of the heavens, every person can venture into
her own inner universe. There is always a lot more to
a human being than what is visible on the surface.
The church father and mystic Origen who lived in the
200’s describes a person’s inner lifejust like a
universe. To his contemporaries and to all of us who
sometimes feel emptiness and desolation in our inner
selves he writes: ”You must understand that you are
another world, a small universe; that there is sun and
moon inside you, yes, even stars”.

43. Resting place,
Duveke manor on the
road to Halmstad
village

44. Angels
The angels live in Halmstad Church. The original church was built
in the 12th century. In the 19th century the entire old church was
demolished except for the tower and a new one was built on the
same spot.
Even if the church has changed radically the angels still remain.
You can find some of them on the other side of the altar at the
easternmost end of the chancel wall. Here in the chancel the
parishioners gather for worship. Those who wish stand or kneel at
the altar ring to receive the bread and the wine. The altar ring
does not look like a ring, but like a semicircle. From this side, you
can only see the half circle that is visible. The rest of the circle is
on the other side, invisible to our eyes. In this way the angels of
heaven and everyone who passed on before us can celebrate
mass together with the living. It is the invisible world that makes
the circle complete.
There are angels even on the pulpit. The Bible tells us about
many meetings between people and angels. They whisper words
of comfort into people’s ears: ”Have no fear”. ”Do not be afraid”.

46. The light
The church in Sireköpinge is consecrated to John
the Baptist who according to the Bible was a
relative to Jesus. John wandered in the deserts of
Judea. He called on his countrymen to repent and
be baptized by him in the river Jordan. It is written
of him that he lived on grasshoppers and wild
honey and that his clothes were made out of
camel-hair.
John’s mission was to tell about Jesus, not about
himself. When Jesus began his mission John sent
his disciples over to Jesus. It is the same way with
Sireköpinge Church. During the almost 900 years
that she has stood here on the hill next to the river
Råå she has told about someone other than
herself.

48. On the way to
Vadensjö

49. On arrival in
Vadensjö, coffe,
tea and home
made cinnemon
buns

50. Healing
One can see a long way from Vadensjö Church.
On a clear day one can get a glimpse of Öresund
and the bridge over the sound. During the Middle
Ages Öresund were Danish waters connecting
Skåne with the rest of Denmark. Then came the
wars between Denmark and Sweden. When the
peace treaty was concluded in Roskilde in 1658
Skåne became a Swedish province. But Denmark
did not give up its territory. In the summer of 1676
the Danish army disembarked at Råå south of
Helsingborg and on 3 August the Danes captured
the city of Landskrona.
People in the area have never given up on their
church but have faithfully walked up here to heal
what has been wrecked. All the hands that have
patched, mended and rebuilt the exposed little
church throughout the centuries are a picture of
God. The faithful, healing God who never gives up
on any single person.

51. Water ceremony
in Sofia Albertina
church,
Landskrona

52. The ship
A ship is a vessel that carries a person over troubled
waters and brings her to undiscovered shores. Maybe
that was why the Christian church at an early stage
chose the ship as a symbol.
According to tradition, every church building is
therefore a ship, the crew is every person who comes
into the boat with her longing for the spiritual. Christ is
the one at the helm.
Sofia Albertina Church was consecrated in 1788. The
old church from the 15th century had been torn down
by then as it was considered to be too close to the
fortress. The new church was built here, on land
reclaimed from the sea. A proper place for a boat, a
bark.
Those who walk into Sofia Albertina Church enter the
nave, the big room where the community gathers to
worship. In the light, space and stillness in here, one
can let oneself be carried for a while. And brought to
shores one has never before seen.

53. S:t Ibb on the island of Ven
What better place for a rest than the island of
Ven. Situated between Sweden and Denmark
you can see Helsingör, Helsingborg, Malmoe
and Copenhagen.

55. Looking at the
bridge between
Malmoe and
Copenhagen with
Turning torso on
the Swedish side

57. The island
Isola means island. Those who travel to an island
isolate themselves. Not everyone feels at home on
an island. Some stay for a short while only,
because the island limits them. For others, the
limitation helps them to stop for a while and calm
down.
St Ibb’s Church is consecrated to James, or Ibb in
Danish, the patron saint of pilgrims. The pilgrim is
also constantly in motion, constantly on the move.
But the pilgrim realizes the importance of stopping
for a while each day, to step aside. To find the
strength to go on.
In the middle of this stream of life from east to west,
from north to south the church on top of the island
points in another direction, towards heaven. She
reminds us that life also has a vertical dimension,
easier to reach if you stop for a while, step out of
the middle of the whirlwinds of life and find rest like
an island in the sea.

58. Barsebäck
The trail is going south towards Barsebäck
village some 19 km away. We are crossing
some busy roads and still we feel the impact of
the ancient times and the travellors from those
days.

59. Crooked but still
growing straight

61. James
Just inside the doors of Barsebäck Church James, also known
as Jacob, greets the visitor. He is the patron of the pilgrims.
James was the son of Zebedee the fisherman, brother of John
and one of Jesus’ closest disciples. After Jesus’ death and
resurrection Herode had James beheaded. According to the
Bible he was the first of the apostles to be killed.
However, there is a legend that says that James had travelled
to Spain earlier as a missionary. James assembled there
seven disciples who followed him back to Judea. When James
was killed the seven brought his body with them in a boat that
was stranded on the coast in northwestern Spain. There they
buried him in Sant (Saint) Iago (James/Jacob) de Compostela.
James often carries the attributes of a pilgrim. He wears a hat
to protect himself from the sun and a cloak to wrap himself in
when the nights are cold. He has shoes on his feet, a
knapsack on his back and a staff in his hand. The staff is a
reminder to James and all other pilgrims of the Invisible One
who constantly walks beside every pilgrim.

62. Bjärred
We can almost feel the presence of Lunds
cathedral on the way to Bjärred, it is almost as
it is watching to see where we are.

63. Always with me

64. The Cholera grave
yard in Bjärred

65. Arrival in Bjärred

66. Lee
In Skåne there is often a strong wind. It blows hard from the sea in
the west and moves in over the open, unprotected land. Throughout
the centuries the four-sided farm buildings with interior courtyards
have given the people of Skåne a windfree room in the middle. A
sheltered place, a breathing-space in the storm.
In this way Bergagården with Berga Church was built in the 1970’s.
As a traditional Skåne four-sided farm structure. With leeward sides
in the middle.
No one lives on Bergagården. This place is for every person who
needs a moment for repose and recuperation, for fellowship and
peace. But life is lived out there, in the everyday life. And after a
while in the lee you walk out again. A little happier. A little bolder
and a little less lonely. Even on those days when the storm is
blowing hard in your life.

67. Cathedral of Lund
Final stage, 12 km to home. The water will be
brought on all the way to Paris. Our group have
done our part. For the climate we still have to
continue our work.

69. Watch the entrance to the
Cathedral of Lund
Click here

71. The heart
This place is the heart of the Pilgrim Way, consecrated to St Laurence and Mary, the Mother of Jesus.
During the Middle Ages Lund was an important spiritual centre in northern Europe. From the beginning
of the 12th century it was the residence of the archbishop. Today the cathedral is the heart of Lund
Diocese and a place many call their own.
This is also the place for a young man’s heart. In the summer of 1387 queen Margaret travelled with
her son Olof in Skåne. In Falsterbo the inconceivable happened. Olof died, only 17 years old. Margaret
brought his remains to Sorø abbey in Denmark. But his young heart she buried here, in the middle of
the cathedral, in the floor beside the picture of Mary called “Mary-in-the-middle-ofthe- floor.”
The cathedral was completed in 1145. Before that there was a smaller church from the11th century,
and before that a stave church in wood.
Welcome to this holy place! Maybe you can perceive the footprints of all the people who have walked
in here before you during these last 1000 years. You are walking on sacred ground.