Small harbour @ Ven island
photo by bjaglin

Ven (Danish: Hven) is a small Swedish island which lies in the middle of Öresund Sound, between southern Sweden and Denmark. It is best known as the site of the renaissance-era astronomical observatory built by Tycho Brahe.

Understand

Ven is roughly 4.5 km by 2.5 km in size. It was part of the Kingdom of Denmark until 1658. The island is popular with hikers and cyclists and can get fairly crowded during weekends in the summer.

Getting there

Ferries from the Swedish town of Landskrona run about every 90 minutes; the trip takes 30 minutes. In the summertime, there are also ferries from Copenhagen and the town of Råå, south of Helsingborg.

If you come in your own boat you can stay in Kyrkbacken on the west side or Bäckviken on the East side.

See

  • Tycho Brahe Museum, Landsvägen 182, + 46 (0)418 72530, (Email: tychob@landskrona.se), . Ven's historic claim to fame, Tycho's observatory, which is considered one of the first modern scientific research institutes, was built in 1576, abandoned in 1597, and subsequently destroyed. The museum is housed in the former All Saints' Church, near the grounds of the first observatory, Uraniborg. The observatory once stood at the center of the Renaissance Garden, which has been partially restored. Just down the road, the ruins of Tycho's second observatory Stjerneborg have been incorporated into a small multimedia theater.

Things to do

Ven has a 9-hole golf course on the northern coast.

Eat

The island has numerous small restaurants and cafes.

Sleep

Inns, rooms in private homes, and campgrounds are available. There is a hostel in Bäckviken and also on the mainland in Landskrona.

By bus

An infrequent bus (matching the ferry timetable) runs between the two ends of the island. You can get on and off anywhere along the route.

By bicycle

Bikes can be rented at various places.

By cart

For a leisurely, scenic view of the island, travel by tractor or horse-drawn cart.

By foot

Given its small size, much of the island can be covered by foot in a day.

Contact & location

1 Review

Eric
Eric

on Jun 01,2011

I liked

It is the most relaxing place I've ever been. The beginning of the summer before the tourist season is perfect, but even then it's manageable. I went there for 5 hours for a 'fika' picnic with a Swedish girl and it was perfect. Acres of grass to our left and a 50 ft cliff down to the ocean on our right, it was the highlight of my time in Sverige.

I disliked

Leaving.

Add your review

Already have an account? Log In
Will never be displayed

The photos displayed on this page are the property of one of the following authors:

bjaglin, Håkan Dahlström, Aske Holst, Dinko Srkoc

Some photos courtesy of: . The photos provided by Flickr are under the copyright of their owners.

This travel guide also includes text from Wikitravel articles, all available at WikitravelView full credits

Tatatabot, Daniel, Paul N. Richter and Niels Elgaard Larsen, Jelse

This travel guide also includes text from Wikipedia articles, all available at WikipediaView full credits

Share this:

My lists

People who've been here (1)

People who'd like to go there (1)

Going to Ven Island?
... and need recommendations

Ask your friends on Facebook

Ask on Twitter