The medieval City Wall around Lund

Attraction Walk
about 4,4 km
about 2-4 hours
High resolution map More direction
Google Maps, GPX-fil In the 1130s, a city wall was built around the 84-hectare urban area which constituted the whole city of Lund for almost 900 years, until the late 1800s. There were four entrances or tolls, in the north, the south, the east, and the west. The tolls consisted of gates and wooden bridges that were equipped with a drawbridge over a moat running along the outside of the entire city wall. Today, only a small remnant of Lund medieval city wall remains, but its traces can still be seen in the medieval city center, shaped like an oval diamond. The streets which were surrounded by the city wall are still largely identical to how they were laid out more than a thousand years ago when Lund was established in the late 960s.

An interesting way to see Lund as a tourist or visitor is to walk alongside the city wall that surrounded Lund in the medieval. There are many interesting places to see along the way, not only the places where the medieval tolls were located. For instance, you will pass the botanical garden, the culturally and historically interesting eastern cemetery, the city park and the beautiful medieval Cloister Church.

The walk alongside the medieval city wall, as described in this visitor guide, begins at the northern entrance to medieval Lund, Norrtull (1). But you can start and end wherever you want as the walk goes a whole lap around what was the whole city until the end of the 1800s. The visitor guide also refers to other visitor guides, which tell more about some of the places you pass on the way. Of course, you can also divide the walk into several shorter stages if you want to see more along the way or if it is too much taking the whole walk in one day.

As far as possible goes the walk along roads where the city wall used to be. Today, only a 500-metre-long remnant of it is left (16). Before going on the walk, it can be nice to know a little more about the history of the city wall and what it looked like, so let’s start with that.

The history of the Lund city wall

Lund was established sometime in the late 960s. The entire urban area was divided into blocks with yards and streets marked by so-called yard trenches, about 1 decimeter deep. Such trenches have been found also in several places outside the area surrounded by the medieval city wall. There is no information about the initial size of the urban area, but the area surrounded by the city wall, which was built in the 1130s, was about 84 hectares large. Since the mid-1800s, Lund has grown far beyond the area, which was surrounded by the city wall, but the shape of a diamond, formed by the wall, is still clearly visible if you look at a map of Lund. Not least because a lot of streets around the Lund center follow the same route as the city wall had.

A map from 1784 showing that the whole city of Lund was still inside the city wall at that time. The original city wall was about 3,700 meters long, 10 to 12 meters wide, and 2.5 meters high. On the outside of the city wall there was a moat 8 to 10 meters wide and 2.5 meters deep. The moat was not filled with water, but it was water-bearing, much like a creek. In the northern part of the city, the city wall was slightly wider and higher than in the southern part. The construction of the city wall meant that about 60 to 70 thousand cubic meters of soil had to be moved by hand.

There was some kind of wooden palisade on top of the soil wall, but it is not known what it looked like. However, the purpose of the city wall does not seem to primarily have been defense and protection, but instead to create control over the transport of goods, taxes and customs, and troops in and out of the city. There were four entrances or tolls, to the north, south, east and west. At the tolls, there were gates with wooden bridges equipped with a drawbridge over the moat. The city wall created a clear boundary line for the city and its laws, rights, obligations and finances. Customs had to be paid for goods brought into the city until 1811.

At the beginning of the 14th century, the city wall was decaying. As the city's autonomy increased, the people living in the city wanted to renovate the city wall, serving as a clear boundary to the countryside on the outside. The city wall was restored in the early 1330s and the route through the current city park was slightly changed, the city wall was put across Sankt Måns cemetery, located there before. The wall was also widened in the western part, so it went around the St. Peter's and Mary´s cloister, which then was located just inside the city wall. Around the year 1400, the old wooden bridges over the moat were replaced by stone bridges and brick gates with towers.

In the end of the Middle Ages, the city wall gradually began to decay but was still maintained until the mid-1700s. Since the 1700s, the moat has been completely filled and since the end of the 1800s, there is only a small remnant of the city wall left in the city park. It was not until the end of the 1800s that Lund really began to expand outside the old city wall.

1) The North toll

The sign about Lund's northern entrance, Norrtull. The gate to the north into the medieval Lund was called Norrtull, but it was also called North gate (Norreport), Bredgata's gate or Sankt Olof's gate. From around the year 1400, the entrance consisted of a brick gate tower. There is a sign at the site telling a bit about Norrtull.

During the Battle of Lund on December 4, 1676, there were several strife on and around the Mill Hight, which was only about 150 meters north of the northern entrance to Lund. It was extremely close that the Swedes lost the Battle of Lund at this place. You can read more about the strife at the Mill Hight in our visitor guide about the Battle of Lund.

In the evening, when darkness had already fallen, on September 6, 1716, the Swedish King Karl XII rode into Lund through this northern gate. Soon most of his courts also arrived in Lund. King Karl XII ruled Sweden from Lund for two years. At five o'clock in the morning at June 11, 1718, the king rode out of Lund through this gate again, and five months later, on November 30, 1718, he was shot dead at Fredrikshald (Halden) south of Oslo in Norway.

2) The medieval St. Olaf Church

Somewhere here, just north of the northern city gate, was St. Olaf Church. The name Sankt Olof's Gate originates from the medieval church, which was located here just outside the northern entrance to medieval Lund. The church was probably on the west side of the tower of the All Saints´ Church (Allhelgonakyrkan) which is located here nowadays. Although, no remains of the church are found during archaeological investigations, a lot of medieval graves have been found. The medieval church, which was built of stone possibly as early as the 12th century, and it is mentioned in a written source for the first time in 1350, was sacred to the Norwegian king Olaf the Holy, who died in the Battle of Stiklastad in 1030.

3) The All Saints´Church

The All Saints´church (Allhelgonakyrkan), located just outside the north toll, is wort a visit. It began to be built in 1887 and was then the first church to be built in Lund since the Middle Ages. The church was designed by the cathedral architect Helgo Zettervall, in a neo-Gothic style with oak interior and polished granite columns to support the stands. The church was inaugurated on All Saints' Day November 1, 1891. It is a very stately and beautiful attraction, and you can read more about it in the visitor guide about the All Saints´Church.

4) The Sand street

After a short walk through the university area, you reach the crossing between the Sand street (Sandgatan) and the Bishop street (Biskpsgatan). Here, an additional opening was made in the medieval city wall, except the already existing four gates, North toll (Norrtull), East toll (Östertull), South toll (Södertull) and West toll (Västertull). Exactly when the opening was made is not clear, but probably at the end of the 1600s.

5) The Old Bishops house

The old Bishops House was built in the early 1840s, intended for the departments of zoology, physics and chemistry at Lund University. However, soon the house was considered too small, and by an exchange deal with the Cathedral Council in 1855, the house became a home for the bishop. From 1856 to 1865, the Bishop in Lund, Johan Henrik Thomander and his family lived in the house.

6) The University Library

At the place usually called the Saints´ Hill (Helgonabacken), the main building of the Lund university library was built in 1907. In 1698, Lund University Library, along with the National Library in Stockholm, became one of the two university libraries in Sweden that have to receive a so-called legal copy of everything printed in Sweden and save it forever. Today, the Lund University Library's collections include over 130,000 shelf meters of printed material, books and journals. The library is open to visit, but in some rooms, functioning as reading rooms, it should be quiet. You can read more about Lund University Library in the visitor guide about the University History Walk. In the entrance, the tallest runestone found in the Nordic countries, the so-called Lundagårdsstenen is placed. The stone also has an interesting history.

7) Remains of the All Saints´ Monastery

Remains of the All Saints´ Monastery. In the Middle Ages, the All Saints´ Monastery was placed at the Saints´ hill (Helgonabacken). The monastery was probably founded as early as 1070s. It was a monastery for Benedictine monks and one of the oldest monasteries in Denmark. On the north side of the University Library main building, there are a few remnants of walls that belong to the All Saints' Monastery, as red fragments of bricks, and a memorial plate. There are two ponds left in the area, which have been used by the All Saints´ Monastery.

8) The Tome gap

Where the Tome gap street (Tomegapsgatan) and the large Tome street (Stora Tomegatan) ends, an opening was made in the city wall, probably in the 1850s. This was an addition to the already existing openings at the four gates, Norrtull, Östertull, Södertull and Västertull, and the one at Sandgatan. The opening was called Sankt Thomas gap or Tome gap, after the medieval Sankt Thomas church, located nearby inside the city wall. It was used for letting the cattle out to graze, which were driven through this opening via Själbod street (Själbodgatan) and Deer street (Hjortgatan). These streets used to be called the Cow street (Kosträdet in Danich), and was a back street not fully built until the 1860s. People comming into the city through this opening, used to go via the Adel street (Adelgatan) when proceeding further down in the city.

9) The medieval Saint Thomas church

The location for the medieval St. Thomas church. The medieval Saint Thomas church was built of stone, and dedicated to St. Thomas, probably the St. Thomas of Becket, an English Archbishop of Canterbury who was assassinated in 1170. The church has not been found but must have been located at the eastern part of the small Tome gap street (Lilla Tomegapsgatan). The church is mentioned in a written source in 1285. Some graves at its cemetery were found during an archaeological excavation in 1943, and fragments of gravestones found indicate that the cemetery was used as late as 1668.

10) Botaniska trädgården

The Botanical Garden was established between 1862 and 1867, after being moved from the nowadays University Plaza (Universitetsplatsen), which since 1690 was the first location for a Botanical Garden in Lund. The Botanical Garden is a large, beautiful green oasis in Lund, open almost every day of the year, and there is no admission fee. The tropical greenhouses also have free admission and toilets. Especially in the summertime, there is a lot to see, but the greenhouses are rain forest warm even in winter.

11) The Eastern Cemetery

The north entrance to the The Eastern Cemetery. The Eastern Cemetery was established in 1845, by a newly formed cemetery joint-stock company consisting of 100 shares, each share entitled 10 graves. Since 1816, when the North Cemetery was opened, burials were no longer allowed in the city. However, many people thought that the North Cemetery was too far away from the city, and the way there was often in poor condition. The Eastern Cemetery was therefore established as an alternative to the North Cemetery. Many culturally and historically interesting people with connections to Lund have been buried here, and several of the student nations also have graves at the Eastern Cemetery.

12) The Eastern toll

The sign about Lund's eastern entrance, Östertull. The gate in the city wall at the eastern toll (Östertull) was also called Eastern gate (Österport), Mårten's gate or “burled”, which means fortress opening. The brick gate tower is mentioned in written sources for the first time in 1429. From the eastern toll, the road continued east towards the village Dalby along the current Dalby road (Dalbyvägen).

The name Mårten's Gate originates from the medieval Sankt Mårten Church, which was built in the 1100s on the southwest side of the current Mårtens square (Mårtenstorget). It was sanctified to the French canonized bishop St. Martin of Tours. He is also the reason for Martin Day, which is celebrated in Scania on Mårtens Eve. The church was first built as a wooden stave church in the mid-11th century, then rebuilt as a stone church sometime in the 1100s.

About 500 meters outside the east toll (Östertull), the St. Jörgen hospital and hospital church were in the Middle Ages. At the hospital, people suffering from leprosy were isolated. The hospital was established in the mid-12th century and was probably the oldest leprosy hospital in Denmark.

13) Monument for the city wall

The monument for the city wall. At the crossing between the east Wall street (Östra Vallgatan) and the South Esplanade (Södra Esplanaden), there is a small beautiful monument for the city wall. The monument consists of a bronze plate on a granite slab with an image of the city wall showing its moat, gates and gate towers. In the model, there is also an interpretation of how the medieval street network in Lund may have looked like.

The monument was placed here in 1990 after a heated debate caused by the felling of eight trees and, thereby, the route of the crossing streets was changed so they no longer followed the city wall.

14) Södra Vallpromenaden

During the 1890s, the South Wall Promenade (Södra Vallpromenaden) was established as an avenue with Linden trees in double rows, marking the place where the city wall used to be, south of the current South Wall street (Södra Vallgatan). The Swedish author August Strindberg often went for walks along the avenue when he lived in Lund and mentioned his walks in his autobiographical novel Inferno.

15) The South toll

The gate in the city wall at the south toll (Södertull) was also called the South gate (Söderport), the Red Gate (Röde port) or porta rubra, which is Latin for the red gate. The name Red Gate came from the fact that the tower above the gate was bricked with red bricks as a square brick building in the wall. Remains of the drawbridge have been found under the foundation of the tower.

The sign about Lund's south entrance, Södertull. Lund main street, the Large South street (Stora Södergatan), starts at here at the South toll (Södertull) and goes all the way up to the Main Square (Stortorget). Southwards, the road continued towards the city Trelleborg and through the Iron and Viking age town Uppåkra. Uppåkra was probably precursor to Lund before the city got its current location in mid-960s.

Just inside the city wall, on the east side of the Large South street (Stora Södergatan), the House of the Holy Spirit (Helgeandshuset)and its church were located, sanctified to the German St. Godehard. The main task of the House of the Holy Spirit was as a hospital, taking care of ill, old and poor people. It is mentioned in a written source in 1269, while the church is mentioned in 1377. In 1773, the activities and properties of the house was transferred to Malmö Hospital and the church was demolished in 1834. Above the portal in the south tower of the Lund Cathedral, there is a tympanum (a sort of stone tablet in church portals) that previously was in the church of the Holy Spirit.

16) Preserved remains of the city wall

When continuing the walk west from the South toll (Södertull), you will immediately see a grassy earthen wall, and behind that the city park. The wall is a more than 500 meters long preserved remnant of the almost 900-year-old city wall. Nowadays, the wall is lower than it was in medieval times and there is no longer a moat on the outside.

A map of the city park in Lund from 1940. There is a long widespread misunderstanding that the preserved rest of the city wall is an old railway embankment. This misunderstanding is probably because there has been a railway passing along the city park. That railway line went between Lund and Harlösa, east of Lund, between 1905 and 1939. That route is now preserved as a nice bicycle and pedestrian path called the Hardeberga track (Hardebergaspåret).

In the map from 1940 you can see how the railway passes around the city park and continues eastwards. The preserved rest of the city wall is marked with a green line on the map.

17) The City park

Originally, the City Park (Stadsparken) was a garden laid out by Lunds Park company in 1860, and only open to company shareholders. But in 1903, the city of Lund bought the garden and established a park. In 1907, an industrial, crafts and art exhibition was held in the park. Nowadays, only a music pavilion remains from the exhibition, and it is not in the same place as then. During the exhibition, the music pavilion stood upon the city wall at the breakthrough that was created as an entrance to the exhibition area.

In 1909, the city of Lund bought the land that belonged to Lund's cooperative dairy, the today’s music arena Mejeriet, and the City Park was inaugurated in 1911. Today, the park is a large green oasis in Lund for exercise, walks and events. There is a toilet in the entrance to the indoor swimming Högevallsbadet.

18) The medieval St. Måns Church

The place where the medieval Sankt Måns church was Just inside the city wall, in the northern part of the current City Park, was the medieval St. Måns church. It was built of stone and sanctified to Saint Magnus, probably the Norwegian-descended Duke Magnus Erlendsson of the Orkney Islands, later also called Saint Måns. The church has not been found but is mentioned in a written source in 1304. However, its cemetery has been investigated archaeologically on two occasions. When the city wall was restored in the early 1330s, the stretch through the current City Park was slightly shifted so that it went over the cemetery.

19) The luminaire factory

The luminaire factory from the 1890s. It is not possible to follow the exact route for the city wall in the western part. All changes on the west side, including the railway, make it difficult to see exactly where the city wall was. When passing through the tunnel under the railway and then continuing the Gas Work Street (Gasverksgatan) on the other side, as the blue line on the map shows, you will be on the inside and somewhere near the city wall. You pass the luminaire factory (Armaturfabriken), which was built in 1890 with red brick, and contained a foundry. In 1896, the factory was extended with two more floors. The building is a fine and culturally valuable memory of industrial history. Since 2004 the entire factory building has been used for offices.

20) The West toll

The gate in the city wall at the Western toll (Västertull) was also called Wester gate (Västerport) and Nunne (nun) burled, which means fortress opening. The name Nunne burled is mentioned in a written source 1423, and refers to the St. Mary and St. Peter's cloister, which were located here just inside the city wall. Nowadays, only the cloister church is preserved.

21) The Cloister Church

The Cloister Church. The Cloister Church is one of two remaining medieval churches in Lund. It was first built in Romanesque style with three wings just inside the city wall in the mid-12th century, and twelve Benedictine nuns lived there. In the early 1300s, the church was rebuilt with red brick as it looks today. After the rebuilding, the city wall was too close to the western cloister wing, therefore, the moat passing the Cloister church was filled and a new moat was dug west of it.

The three cloister wings were demolished in the mid-1600s while the church was preserved as a parish church. The church is a very beautiful attraction both inside and outside. There are still several traces left in the church from the medieval age when it was a cloister church, and you can read more about that in the visitor guide about The Cloister Church in Lund.

22) The Warehouse

To follow the route of the city wall as far as possible, you continue passing the railway station and cross via the bridge north of it. You will then go by the warehouse, built in 1857. The station building, south of the warehouse, was built the same year.

Lund Railway station around 1920. When the main railway network was built in Sweden, construction began at the same time from Malmö and Gothenburg towards Stockholm. On December 2, 1856, the railway between Lund and Malmö was opened, this was one of the first parts of the main railway that was completed.

Just outside the Warehouse is a red brick house, which was built in 1894 as a customs house where foreign goods were cleared through customs. In 1974, it ceased to function as a customs house.

23) The Lund tramway

From December 13, 2020, you can travel by tram from Clemens Square (Clemenstorget) through the large university and research business area in northeastern Lund. The tramway is 5.5 km, and it takes 15 minutes to travel all the way to the last stop at the research facility European Spallation Source, ESS.

After crossing Clemens Square (Clemenstorget), you follow the tramway line along St. Laurentii Street (Sankt Laurentiigatan), which follows the same route as the city wall. In the park on the north left side at the end of the street, there are some traces of a ditch that originates from the city wall. At the end of St. Laurentii Street (Sankt Laurentiigatan), you will be back at the North toll (Norrtull) where this walk began, and you have now been walking around the whole of the medieval Lund city.