The Skåne line

Beredskapsmuseet - the Military Readiness Museum and the Scania Line

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Beredskapsmuseet - the Military Readiness Museum preserves and displays the 17 restored defenses of the Skåne Line, preserves and arranges bunker tours inside Helsingborg of the restored city defenses, and also preserves and displays the Cold War radar facility in Laröd restored by the Preparedness Museum. 

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The Skåne line is included as a natural part of the view towards the sea for the Skåne people. Along the Scanian coast, you can still see hundreds of remains of the 1,063 defenses that were built in the years 1939-1940 to protect Sweden against enemy attack.

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The Preparedness Museum's founder and director, historian Johan Andrée, already started working in 1997 to preserve the Skånelinjen, whose bunkers were to be demolished. 

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In collaboration with the National Antiquities Office and the city of Helsingborg, it was finally decided that 17 particularly worthy of preservation along the north-west Skåne coast should be restored for display. In 2000, the very first bunker guided tour was held under the auspices of the Preparedness Museum. In 2009, the official inauguration of the preserved defenses took place.

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If you want to join a guided tour, you will find all events with a link to purchase tickets here at beredskapsmuseet.com. Welcome!

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History of the Skånelinjen 

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The Skåne line is being built

In the fall of 1938, the Defense Staff orders reconnaissance for infantry fortifications along the stretch Simrishamn–Falsterbo. The intention is to build a beach defense to be able to face a German attack from the sea.

In the summer of 1939, orders were given to start construction along Simrishamn-Falsterbo. Small coastal defenses (ie concrete bunkers) are built, mainly intended for use with machine guns and a defense crew consisting of six to nine soldiers.

The strategic purpose of coastal defenses along the shoreline is that they should form a coherent fire system where the distance between the defenses must not exceed 1200 meters. In this way, each guard's machine guns must be able to fire in front of the guard next to it, this in a long unbroken chain of guards.

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Until the turn of the year 39/40, in a first construction period, 271 defenses were built along the Scanian south coast. The second construction period starts already when the first one ends in December 1939. Now various defenses are being built at selected locations around the Scania coast, including the Öresund coast. This construction period lasts until April 1940 and includes 124 defences.

The Skåne line's various defenses in the first line, along the Öresund coastline, begin to be built in January 1940. The defenses are built to withstand shelling from 21 cm artillery and 300 kg aerial bombs. It is feared that any land-based German artillery on the Danish side could be used against the Scanian coast. At the same time, company and battalion stores are being built, intended to function as mobilization stores for the soldiers called up for readiness.

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After 9 April 1940, construction is forced as the risk of war is considered the greatest. During the first week of June 1940, 16 shields were cast a day! The Skåne line is planned as three defense lines.

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The first line of defense is placed directly on the coast to meet a possible landing attempt.

The second line of defense is placed a bit behind to be able to take up the battle if the first line is broken through or if the enemy comes from elsewhere.

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The third line of defense consists of a number of shelters for 24 and 48 men.

Only between Hälsingborg and Viken are the plans for the three defense lines in Skåne completed. Decisive for the fortification work is the important strategic location with the proximity to Denmark and a possible German attack.

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The Skåne line is modernized during the Cold War

For Skåne's fixed coastal invasion defence, it is mainly the coastal fortifications of the readiness years, which are still part of the war organisation. War deployed defense companies man the coastal defenses, in exercises with the aim of being able to repel an enemy coastal invasion attack.

Some of the defenses located at strategically important harbors were modernized during the 1960s and equipped with worn-out tank turrets of the year model m/42 and with 7.5 cm cannon m/41 as guard turrets. Old shelters may function as shelters.

The guards get a new type of entrance, "shock wave passage". Similar rearmament also takes place during the late 1970s, when new turrets are built on the coast with obsolete tank turrets of model m/74, with 7.5 cm cannon as turrets.

During the 1980s, there are a total of 61 toy defenses in Scania equipped with old tank turrets. Some of the piece defenses, located within Battery Hälsingborg's vicinity, between Hälsingborg and Höganäs, cooperate with the battery's fire control functions. The main thing is to plan and coordinate the opening of fire, the selection of enemy targets.

For the defense guns' fire line, a telephone connection is established from the defenses to the battery's close-in reconnaissance radar in Laröd.

At the beginning of the 1990s, all coastal and coastal defenses were phased out of the war organisation. Today, all watchtowers around the Scanian coast are scrapped, except for watchtower 740 in Viken, a piece watchtower with an intact m/42 tank tower as watchtower. The Pjäsvärnet is displayed by the Preparedness Museum on special occasions.

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The Skåne line is being discontinued

After 1990, there is a dramatic change in the war organization in northwestern Scania. The Skåne line's coastal fortifications are dismantled. Wartime shooting battalions and all defense companies with associated mobilization stores are withdrawn and disarmed.

In 1992, the data for 96% of the 1980s military units on the Öresund coast were decommissioned. When the government submits bill 1999/2000:30, "The new defence", this marks the end of the age-old defense thinking that has always been based on the fact that Sweden can be attacked by an external enemy. The following lines are quoted from the bill: "...the threat of invasion can be written off as the dominant basis for the design of total defense resources. It states that an invasion campaign aimed at the occupation of Sweden does not seem possible to carry out in the next ten years, provided that Sweden has a basic defense capability.

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Basic facts about the Scania Line

- The Skåne line ran between Båstad and Vieryd (Blekinge)

- The Skåne line was built in 1939 -1940. Renovations were carried out in 1943, in the 1960s and in the 1970s

- A total of 1063 defenses were built

- The guards were of 12 basic models and 15 type variants of the basic models

- The Skåne line's task was to prevent enemy landings and thereby gain time to be able to mobilize their own forces

- During the Cold War, Skånelinjen's task changed to being only a delay

 

The Preparedness Museum has preserved the ramparts both inside and out with help from the Fortifications Agency and the city of Helsingborg.

Signage along the coast has been made possible with support from the city of Helsingborg and the County Board.

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