Hjärnarp: Church Art, Forest and Moor

Hjärnarp offers several points of interest to help you plan your trip: historic art at Hjärnarps kyrka, outdoor activities in the Hjärnarps prästaskog nature reserve, and landscapes and trails in the surrounding area. Each destination has a different focus. You can therefore plan your stay around the subjects that interest you most—from church furnishings and paintings to forest, moorland and hiking trails.

Church art and historic details

The present-day Hjärnarps kyrka was completed in 1844. Its preserved furnishings include a sandstone baptismal font from the 12th century, a brass basin from the 17th century and a collection box from the 18th century. These items date from different centuries and give the church an art-historical and cultural focus.

A large painting in the church measures approximately 100 square metres and depicts around sixty figures. Together, they portray the Passion Week of Jesus. In addition to individual historic objects, the church also features a multi-figure depiction: the figures present their subject as a unified scene, while the baptismal and brass basins and the collection box are each distinct objects in their own right.

Forest and outdoor activities in Hjärnarp

The Hjärnarps prästaskog nature reserve is a beech forest with high nature conservation value, established in 2023. The reserve includes a lit running track and an outdoor gym. The track offers two options: 1.2 kilometres and 1.7 kilometres. The 500-metre difference makes the two route options easy to compare.

Another way to stay active is the “Puls & Styrka” activity circuit along the exercise trail in Hjärnarp. It has twelve boards with strength exercises at two difficulty levels. The activities differ in format: on the running track, the focus is on the chosen distance, while the activity circuit takes you through the exercises on the boards. The outdoor gym provides an additional, separate facility within the nature reserve.

Djurholmen: Hiking trails and a ravine landscape

You can reach Djurholmen via the Hjärnarp exit on the E6, exit 37, and then follow the signposted route. It is about 8 kilometres from Hjärnarp. At Djurholmen, marked hiking trails cross a moor, pass through a stream ravine with small waterfalls, and continue through beech and coniferous forests. The trail descriptions thus cover several types of landscape rather than focusing on a single forest or moorland route.

Århultsbäcken cuts a deep ravine with old forest and a small waterfall into Hallandsåsen. The remains of a skvaltkvarn (a small watermill) can also be found beside Århultabäcken in Djurholmen. The mill’s water power was used to grind families’ grain into flour or to saw timber. Together, the ravine and the mill remains point to two distinct aspects of the area: the natural features along the stream and an earlier use of water power.

Raised bog and trails in the surrounding area

Djurholmamossen is one of the few remaining raised bogs in Skåne. It is located near Hjärnarp and serves as a lekking site for black grouse. It is also one of the region’s few remaining black grouse lekking sites. The bog is therefore noteworthy not only as a landscape type, but also for its importance as a lekking site.

Two other trails in the surrounding area are described, each with different features. Mossestigen in the Århultsbäcken nature reserve is 4 kilometres long and hilly. The 2.8-kilometre Grönalidstigen follows an old sunken lane. Mossestigen is therefore 1.2 kilometres longer, while the historic sunken lane is the defining feature of the Grönalidstigen route description. These details help distinguish the two trails by length and character.

Cycling through Sinarpsdalen

A cycling route stage also includes Hjärnarp–Båstad in its name. It follows a railway embankment through the 230-million-year-old Sinarpsdalen valley and continues to the scenic landscapes of Hallandsåsen. Alongside the running and hiking trails, this offers a cycling route with its own landscape features: Sinarpsdalen and the railway embankment are part of its description, and the stage then leads to the views of Hallandsåsen.

Discover more destinations: Ängelholm, Vejbystrand, Strövelstorp, Stavershult, Norravaralov, Munka-Ljungby

Go to the main travel overview: Ängelholm.