Ystad is a town and the seat of Ystad Municipality in Skåne County, Sweden. Ystad had 18,350 inhabitants in 2010. The settlement dates back to the 11th century and has become a busy ferryport, local administrative centre and tourist attraction. The detective series Wallander, created by Henning Mankell, is set primarily in Ystad.
In 1285, the town’s name was written Ystath. Its original meaning is not fully understood, but the “y” is probably related to an old word for the yew tree, while -stad is town, or place.
Infrastructure
Economy
Some of the main industries of the town are trade, handicraft and tourism, derived from being one of the best-preserved medieval towns in the Scania province and its association with the Wallander detective novels.
Transport
The ferry port has services to the Danish island of Bornholm and to Świnoujście (formerly Swinemünde), in Poland, forming part of the E65 road route south from Malmö.
Ystad connects the Ystad Line and Österlen Line railways. Passenger traffic runs between Malmö and Simrishamn (operated by Skåne Commuter Rail). Until December 2017, a direct train service linked Ystad to Copenhagen via the Øresund Bridge (operated by Danish State Railways).
Sports
The most popular sport in Ystad is handball, with two big clubs. Ystads IF is in Elitserien (the highest Swedish men’s national league, as of 2008) whilst IFK Ystad is situated in Division 1 (the second highest league, as of 2008). Several famous handball players have played for these clubs, including Per Carlén.
Media
The only newspaper published at present in Ystad is the Ystads Allehanda, which also covers the neighbouring municipalities of Skurup, Tomelilla, Simrishamn and Sjöbo. The newspaper was founded in 1873.
Places of interest
One of Sweden’s best preserved medieval monasteries, the Greyfriars Abbey, lies in Ystad. The town also has an additional large medieval church, the Church of the Virgin Mary (Mariakyrkan). Both are highly influenced by Gothic Hansa architecture (which can also be seen in churches around the Baltic Sea, for instance in Helsingborg, Malmö, and Rostock) and are among the best examples in Sweden of Brick Gothic. In addition, there are areas of surviving medieval town architecture, like the Latin school (built c. 1500) and several townhouses. The city is also included in the European Route of Brick Gothic. From the steeple of the Church of the Virgin Mary the Tower Watchman (tornväktaren or lurblåsaren) sounds his horn every 15 minutes from 21:15 to 01:00 to let the people of Ystad know that the town is safe from fire and enemies. The Tower Watchman also says a special line when sounding his horn: “The clock strikes …. (for example twelve). All is quiet! From fire and thieves may God preserve the town!” The tradition has existed since the eighteenth century.
