This small Swedish town, located 20 kilometers from Malmö, has a medieval church from 1300 and a historic railway station. The Aggarp burial mound dates back to the Bronze Age.
Svedala, a town of 23,470 people in Sweden’s Skåne County, sits 15 kilometers southeast of Malmö. Each July, the streets fill with music and crowds during SommarRock, a festival hosting bands like The Ark and Wilmer X. You can play golf at the Bara PGA Golf Course, ranked 17th in Europe, or walk through neighborhoods lined with 19th-century brick buildings. The municipality grew through mergers between 1952 and 1977, now including modern infrastructure and rural areas like Hönsinge and Bosarp. About 96% of residents have Swedish citizenship, with schools and sports clubs forming the backbone of daily life.
SommarRock Music Festival
SommarRock takes over Svedala every second week of July, drawing up to 12,000 people for outdoor concerts. Since starting in 1987, it has featured Swedish bands such as Mustasch and September, spanning rock and pop. Stages are set up in open fields, with food stalls serving grilled sausages and local beers. The festival’s 25th anniversary in 2012 included a fireworks display that lit up the night sky. Locals and visitors return yearly, making this one of southern Sweden’s most reliable summer events.
Bara PGA Golf Course
The Bara PGA Golf Course, a 10-minute drive from Svedala’s center, opened in 2009 with an 18-hole layout. Water hazards and sand bunkers test players across rolling hills and flat stretches. You can rent clubs or take lessons from instructors certified by the Swedish Golf Federation. After your game, the clubhouse serves smörgås sandwiches and coffee with views of the course. Many golfers visit from Malmö, combining a round with dinner at nearby farm-to-table restaurants.
Town History and Growth
Svedala’s current boundaries resulted from mergers with smaller parishes like Aggarp and Lindved in the mid-20th century. Older brick farmhouses from the 1800s still stand in surrounding villages, some converted into cafes or craft workshops. The municipal office, built in 1963, reflects the clean lines of Swedish functionalist design. Though there’s no permanent museum, the town occasionally displays historical photos and tools at the library during festivals. A partnership with Bergen auf Rügen in Germany focuses on sharing strategies for managing public spaces.
Population and Daily Life
Roughly 55% of Svedala’s residents are between 18 and 64 years old, with football and handball popular in local leagues. The weekly Lokaltidningen Svedala newspaper covers everything from school board meetings to summer job listings. In December, the town square hosts a market where farmers sell apples, honey, and wool knitwear. Over 30% of households have children, and the community center organizes after-school coding classes and theater groups. Newcomers from Poland, Syria, and Iran have added dishes like kebab and baklava to grocery store shelves.
Getting to and Around Svedala
Frequent buses connect Svedala to Malmö Central Station, with a trip taking 25 minutes. From Copenhagen Airport, take the train to Malmö and transfer to bus 307 or 325. You can bike easily on flat, clear paths linking the town to villages like Bara and Kågeröd. Free parking lots near the Coop supermarket and municipal library simplify driving. For coastal day trips, follow Route 101 south to reach sandy beaches near Skanör within 40 minutes.
