It’s called a cave but is actually a mine. Tykarpsgrottan is a limestone mine to be exact! The Swedish film based on Astrid Lindgern’s book Ronja Rövardotter was filmed in the mine and the Christmas market down here is stunning.

How to visit tykarpsgrottan

The mine is located just outside of Hässleholm in the south part that we call Skåne in Sweden. You can easily park here and it’s straightforward from there.
Once inside the mine, you each get a lantern so you can see in the dark and then you get to walk around and look in the cave, led by a guide. There are different halls, corridors, and nooks and crannies that you get to see.
In some places, there is a lot of space

And in a single place it is crowded (but it is voluntary to go through this way):

Ronja Rövardotter filmlocation

The funny thing is that films have been shot in the cave and the most famous one is probably Ronja Rövardotter! Here below are photos that are from filming locations. In the first picture, Morris is sitting on a piece of styrofoam that was used in the film, and in the second picture it was where the “race” took place in the film and where they were going to dig someone up:

• Naturum Kristianstad – A beautiful hike outside a small city
• Nimis and Kullaberg Nature Reserve
• Alpaca trekking
• Europe’s largest statue of a lizard in Sweden
• Caving down in caves

Let’s talk about the important stuff

So now to the important questions…
Creepiness factor? For us, nothing at all, but you can improvise!
Adrenaline factor? Maybe a small moment when you crawl forward in the narrow passage:
The chance to encounter animals like bats but they are small cute and hard to spot

Is it worth a visit? Yes, but we think so. We probably won’t come back to do a guided tour here but we will definitely come here when it’s Christmas market because it seems so cozy to be at a Christmas market in a lime mine.
By the way, did you know that the lime in the mine – which is very porous – comes from dead animal skeletons? Many millions of years ago it was full of water and when fish and other sea creatures died they ended up on the bottom and formed lime… interesting! Want to go on a hunt for fossils click here

The website is Tykapsgrottan.se