Vitaby: Mill, church and heritage railway

Vitaby brings together several themes for planning your trip: local architectural and railway history, as well as varied landscapes. Just outside the village is an old watermill, while the church and the history of the railway station offer further historical perspectives. The surrounding area brings together farmland and woodland. When choosing your destination, you can weigh up whether you are particularly interested in cultural history, the heritage railway or nature.

Mill and church: different traces of history

Krubbemölla is an old watermill on the Mölleån, just outside Vitaby. From Vitaby’s sports ground, the path to the mill follows Möllestigen. If you would like to plan your visit around an event, check the dates in advance.

In the village, Vitaby kyrka retains a distinctly medieval character. Inside is a triumphal cross dating from the early 13th century. The settlement around the church consists of two farms and the old school. The church, the cross and the few buildings mentioned here offer several concrete points of reference in the village, rather than limiting its history to a single building.

The cultural context reaches further back: the Haväng–Vitemölla cultural environment, designated as being of national cultural-historical interest, includes Vitaby parish and reflects settlement continuity from the Stone Age to 1940. This places the area’s long history of settlement in view alongside its individual buildings.

Railway history and heritage trains

On 18 September 1901, the first steam train stopped at Vitaby railway station. The railway-station settlement of Vitaby also began to develop around the turn of the 20th century. These two dates place the settlement’s development in the period when the railway became a visible presence in the village.

On Österlen, the heritage railway is maintained and developed by the Skånska Järnvägar heritage railway association. Heritage trains run along the 13.4-kilometre Brösarp–Ravlundabro–Vitaby–Sankt Olof section. The sequence of stops gives you a concrete idea of which places this section connects. If you are considering the railway as part of your plans, check the timetable in advance.

Farmland and woodland around Vitaby

The area around Vitaby is characterised by farmland with grazing land, copses and scrub. To the west of the village, large, untouched coniferous forests define the landscape. Together, these descriptions show different aspects of the area: both agricultural land and an extensive forest landscape west of Vitaby.

Torups ängar is a forest reserve near Vitaby, outside Simrishamn. Its reserve designation and location distinguish it from the landscape features described directly around Vitaby. If nature and landscapes matter to your travel plans, you can consider this information alongside the village’s historical attractions.

Market and practical information

The Vitaby market was first held in the village square in 1910 and takes place every year on a day in May. If you would like to plan your trip around the market, check the specific event date in advance. This distinguishes the historical tradition from planning for a particular travel date, without assuming a current date.

Bus services run from Vitaby to Brösarp in the north and Simrishamn in the south. Check the timetable before travelling. This gives you two different transport options to consider: bus services to the places mentioned and the heritage railway section between Brösarp and Sankt Olof. For the rest of your trip, you can also decide whether the mill and church, railway history or landscape should be the main focus of your stay.

Discover more destinations: Brantevik, Skillinge, Hammenhög, Gladsax, Simrishamn, Kivik, Simrishamn V, Vik.

Go to the main travel overview: Simrishamn.