Mölle - a classic seaside resort in Southern Sweden

"Mölle, in the far northwest of Skåne, is a small town set in spectacular isolation on the dramatic headland of the Kulla Peninsula. It is an old fishing village with a beautiful harbor that sweeps up to the Kullaberg Range. You will find beech forests, stupefying views, and rugged shores and beaches, surrounded on three sides by sea."(Fodor´s)

During the first years of the 20th century, until the start of the First World War in 1914, the scenic village Mölle in northwestern Scania was one of the most well-known seaside resorts in northern Europe.

Mixed bathing in Mölle in 1910. (Photographed by Peter Lundh)

This is how the Swedish photographer and author Jan Olsheden describes the transformation of the sleepy fishing village into an international resort, in an article from 1982:

"Surrounded on three sides by water, the natural terrain is enchanting, with steep cliffs plunging down into the sea and caves that are the stuff of fairy tales, small coves to bathe in and avenues of beech trees to lure the wanderer. In the late 19th century, the traditional livelihoods of the area were herring fishing, farming and mining. 
The old village slumbered idyllically. Only in the autumn, when the herring run, did it really come to life. Job opportunities were few, and here, as in numerous other Swedish communities of the time, many were forced to emigrate to America - to carve a better life for themselves and to ensure the survival of those who remained."


"Suddenly, however, sleepy Mölle was overrun by tourists. They came from Denmark, France and Sweden, but above all from Germany. They arrived by steamer from Copenhagen and Malmö. And soon they also arrived by a new railway built directly to Mölle itself. Boardinghouses and and hotels shot up, as in any modern resort. By the 1890s Mölle was transformed. What had happened? The answer is that Mölle permitted mixed bathing; men and women - in striped bathing costumes - together, not the customary yards apart. It was a scandal, and thus absolutely first class entertainment. Behind much of this was the photographer Peter P. Lund (1865 - 1943)."


"It was Lund who took pictures of the mixed bathing, and disseminated them in postcard form throughout Europe. They brought tourists to Mölle in droves."

Hotel Kullaberg, the first major hotel built in Mölle (1890, Peter Lundh)

Bathing in Mölle in the 1920´s (image Wikipedia)

Although the golden years as a leading European seaside resort are over, Mölle still attracts a great number of visitors both from Sweden and abroad during the summer months. Many - (rather affluent) Swedes have their summer residence in the area. Mölle´s permanent population of 700 trebles during the summer months.

The Grand Hotel is still a dominant sight in Mölle

The Mölle harbour.

The beautifully renovated hotel Kullaberg today.

The view from the harbour.