Råå - pittoreskt i södra Helsingborg

Råå is a charming old fishing village in southern Helsingborg. Today, it is a picturesque coastal community with a boat harbour, beach, restaurants, camping and nice pitches for motorhomes.

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Råå in Helsingborg

Once upon a time, Råå was Sweden's largest fishing village. Today, fishing is more small-scale and many of the boats are used for purposes other than fishing. But this is still a cosy coastal community!

Råå is located in southern Helsingborg, on the west coast of Skåne.

Is it in or on Råå?

One of the first things we learnt when we started talking to Helsinki residents about Råå is that it should be called "on Råå" and not "in Råå". This seemed a bit strange at first, but when we read up on it, we realised that it has to do with the fact that the town has a history as a fishing village, and that according to older Scanian language tradition, people spoke of "on a fishing village" instead of "in a fishing village".

The river that flows through Råå was formerly written as Rååån and the eels caught in it were called roughly. It was long the only word in Swedish with four consecutive y's.
Wikipedia

Another interesting thing to think about when it comes to the place name is how many "å" you can get together in a single word. A long time ago I (Helena) attended a weekend course at a course centre in the area, and we joked that an eel caught in the river Råå should be a "Rååå eel". When I now read about the place on Wikipedia, there was also a paragraph about this ...

Råå - a picturesque gem

Råå is a truly picturesque little gem. When we arrived here, we immediately wanted to go out and take pictures of all the boats and small charming houses along the estuary. There are also several small restaurants and shops and the Råå Museum for fishing and shipping. We were also told that there is a "self-service dog wash" at 4 Tassarnas Trim, which is apparently unique in its kind!

Kallbadhuset Rååbaden

We walked down to the beach where one of Helsingborg's three cold bath houses is located. Rååbaden is a cold bath house with a sauna and is run by the association Rååbadarna on behalf of the city of Helsingborg. The bathhouse has a long history and was built in 1897.

Beaches

We then continued a bit along the beach at Råå. Here are small charming boathouses and nice small boats. In one place we found the sign "Stress-free zone", but the fact is that it felt quite stress-free everywhere along the beach ...

There are also dog baths along the beach, and if you walk a little further you will also find a naturist bath.

Pitches and camping at Råå

There are parking spaces in several places in Råå. On Kajgatan there are a total of 12 sites with electricity. We stayed here for two nights. In addition to standing nicely by the water, there is good service in the form of toilets, showers and the possibility of emptying and filling tanks. It is also possible to empty the grey water. Here the price was 200 SEK/day, and you pay in a vending machine (2021).

If you walk along the river towards the coast, we discovered another site with a view of the sea. Here it costs 270 SEK/day and you pay in the restaurant next door. There is also the First Camp Råå Vallar campsite nearby.

The church in Raus

Not far from Råå you can visit Rau's church, which is from the 12th century and thus one of the oldest preserved buildings from the Middle Ages in Helsingborg. In addition to looking at the church itself, from here you can find various nature experiences and hikes in the surrounding area.

Råån valley and nature reserve

Raus church can serve as a starting point for discovering the Rååns valley and nature reserve. The river runs 25 kilometres inland and the nature reserve extends for about five kilometres. Here you can hike or fish for trout, and there are also some historical remains in the form of old burial mounds and mills.

Landborg Promenade

Another nice walk that can be done starting from the church is the "Landborgspromenaden". We haven't walked this walk ourselves, but we suspect it's nice because we visited several of the places along the way. In addition, we had a nice chat with a lady at the information sign, who told us that she used to walk this, with a break for coffee.

This first section of the Landborg Promenade runs between Rau Church and Kärnan in Helsingborg. Along the way you visit a wide range of cultural and historical sites, including the Ramlösa well.

More to see and do in the neighbourhood

It is of course close to visiting the other Helsingborg with 20 attractions, including Fredriksdal Open Air Museum, Ramlösa Brunnspark, The Tropicarium in Helsingborg and beautiful Sofiero Castle and Gardens. It is also not far to pleasant Landskrona with 12 attractions with its castle, or to the the cosy island of Ven with the Tycho Brahe Museum and 10 great tips.. In fact, you can go to Ven directly from Råå with the Råå boats.

Bästa i Skåne — All our top tips for holidays in Skåne

Facts about Råå in helsingborg

Landscape: Skåne
County: Skåne County
Municipality: Helsingborg
Location: South of Helsingborg
Watercourses: River Råån
Population (in Råå): More than 3300 (2020)
The name: The place name was written in 1521 Raa and is named after the river Råån. The name of the river comes from the Old Danish "ra", which means border mark. The river once formed a border between two districts.

History of Råås

Early history: As early as the Stone Age, people travelled up the estuary at Råå.
16th century: The settlements became permanent, and the fishing village belonged to Denmark at that time.
1658: With the Peace of Roskilde, Skåne became Swedish.
1675-1679: During the Scanian War, Danish soldiers landed to reclaim Scanian land.

18th century to the present

1709: The Danes landed again.
1712-1713: Charles XII ordered the fishing village to be fortified and the Råå ramparts, with bastions, were built. These are now an ancient monument.
1788: Shortly after the outbreak of Gustav III's Russian War, the 'Great Russian Fire' occurred. The Russians burned 32 houses in the fishing village.
19th century: Society recovered.
Late 19th and early 20th century: Råå was Sweden's largest fishing village.
1918: Råå was incorporated into the city of Helsingborg and became a neighbourhood.

READ MORE: Campsites and pitches in Skåne
READ MORE: Things to do in Skåne - attractions and experiences
READ MORE: Holidays in Sweden - your guide to Sweden's best destinations

10 Comments

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Nils-Åke+Hansson says:

Landborgspromenaden there are many nice sections to walk, if you do not want to walk the entire length. But to cycle you can, but there are a lot of stairs you have to get past.
Pleasant reading

18 August 2021 - 7:41

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Now we are in areas that you have good control over, I think! 🙂 Landborgspromenaden seems nice! Good info regarding cycling!
  
  18 August 2021 - 9:46
  
Hasse says:

Råå is nice and along the sea you can discover a lot. Helsingborg's centre is inviting, as is the area around the core. Take a trip with the Sundsbussen and experience a real tour.

18 August 2021 - 8:34

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Agree that both Råå and Helsingborg are nice places! A trip over to Elsinore is tempting, but we save that for another time!
  
  18 August 2021 - 9:48
  
Solan says:

I have memories of Råå because Allers Förlag, as it was then called, had its headquarters in a non-picturesque concrete building nearby. Often took the opportunity to jog along Råån when we were there once a month.
Sounds like it's time to revisit the fishing village...just came from a trip to Skåne so it will be next year...😊🚐
I will join you along the coast.

18 August 2021 - 9:10

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Then I understand that you have memories from Råå! As I said, I (Helena) have also been here once, on a course somewhere further up the river. And absolutely, Råå is worth a return visit! Funny that you hang out with us! 🙂
  
  18 August 2021 - 9:49
  
Åsa says:

We had the family's summer cottage at Rya golf course for many many years (or ON Rya as it is called....!) so Råå is almost like home for me 🙂 Too bad that both grocery stores closed again and moved outside the small town centre.
If you have not had time to go further north, I recommend Wallåkra stone vessel factory, I was there last week!

18 August 2021 - 13:02

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  What fun that this is so close to you! 🙂 Really cosy area! Thanks also for the tips! We have had time to drive a little further, so we can not catch this now, but maybe at another time or as a tip to others!
  
  18 August 2021 - 18:24
  
BP says:

Nice to see your pictures and read your info about Råå. When you get home, I can recommend reading Stefan Ahnhem's detective novel about/with Inspector Fabian Frisk who happens to live in Råå - as a complement as well;-).

PS. Sofiero in Helsingborg would have been something too. I think the Swedish version of the "Chelsea Flower Show" is being held there right now. DS.

18 August 2021 - 19:52

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Nice that there is a detective novel with a connection here, I had no idea! And yes, we have visited Sofiero! Fantastically nice! 🙂
  
  19 August 2021 - 8:00

Råå - picturesque in the south of Helsingborg

Råå in Helsingborg

Is it in or on Råå?

Råå - a picturesque gem

Kallbadhuset Rååbaden

Beaches

Pitches and camping at Råå

The church in Raus

Råån valley and nature reserve

Landborg Promenade

More to see and do in the neighbourhood

Facts about Råå in helsingborg

History of Råås

18th century to the present

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10 Comments

Nils-Åke+Hansson says:

Helena says:

Hasse says:

Helena says:

Solan says:

Helena says:

Åsa says:

Helena says:

BP says:

Helena says:

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