A sign of spring in Landskrona

This morning I found another sign of spring at the roundabout, close to the Landskrona train station:

I do not know what this sculpture is officially called, but for me it is a giant steel tulip - another sign of spring!
PS
The "medieval" tower in the background must be an old water tower - quite interesting architecture from the 19th century, I would think.

The Ven ferry Uraniborg late last night

This is the Ven ferry Uraniborg arriving at the Bäckviken harbour last night. The 9 AM departure back to Landskrona is the last chance for visitors to return to the Swedish mainland:

The Uraniborg and a full moon.

Research vessel/icebreaker Oden in Landskrona

The freshly painted Oden in Landskrona on July 12.

This is the Swedish Maritime Administration's combined escort icebreaker and research vessel Oden on July 12 at the Oresund Drydocks in Landskrona, where it arrived in late May for extensive water blasting and paint work. The maintenance work is probably done, but it appears that Oden is still lying in Landskrona.

The Oden - delivered by the Götaverken Arendel shipyards in 1989 - is an interesting ship:

Oden is owned by the SMA and manned by Viking Supply Ships AB. Oden has since delivery made many expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic. 
Furthermore, icebreaking operations have taken place in the Baltic during winter time. For the purpose of using Oden as a platform for research activities, SMA has entered into a longtime agreement with the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat.

The polar classed Oden is designed as a combined escort icebreaker and research vessel. In the course of time, Oden has been upgraded and fitted out with advanced scientific equipment and at present the vessel is one of the leading research platforms in the polar oceans. Oden is very flexible and can carry scientific equipment, containerized laboratories, frozen storage, containers, seismic equipment and deep drilling equipment for geological surveys etc. 

On 7th September 1991, Oden became the first non-atomic powered vessel to reach the North Pole and Oden has been to the North Pole five more times since then. In the last years, Oden has also sailed the southern latitudes under a Swedish–American cooperative project, “Oden Southern Ocean”. 

The Landskrona - Ven ferry service

The Ventrafiken ferries M/S Uraniborg (left) and M/S Stjerneborg meet close to their home port Landskrona. 

The ferry service between Landskrona and Tycho Brahe's island Ven (Hven in Danish) in the middle of the Sound, is operated by Ventrafiken. The company uses two modern ferries, the brand new M/S Uraniborg and the recently rebuilt M/S Stjerneborg on the route. The crossing takes about 30 minutes.

The M/Stjerneborg approaching Landskrona.

A closer look at the M/S Stjerneborg, with a capacity of 247passengers and 11 cars.

Passengers disembarking.

From Landskrona's Citadel you have a good view of Ven.

The Landskrona Citadel - One of Europe's largest and best preserved historic fortifications

The city of Landskrona is this year celebrating its 600th anniversary. The city was founded at the location of Scania's (at the time part of Denmark) best natural harbor, as a means of King Erik of Pomerania's anti-Hanseatic policy. 

From a visitor's point of view, the Landskrona Citadel, initially built in 1549-1559 as a purely defensive fortification, is the most interesting sight. The Citadel, with three moats, is one of Europe's largest and best preserved. 

During the first decades of the 20th century, the Citadel was used as a women's prison. It now serves as a museum, and can also be rented for conferences and other occasions.