Hässleholm stands at the northeastern corner of the Skånian Heartlands, and is the largest town in the region. The kommun with which it shares a name is the second largest in the county, and stretches all the way north to the border with Kronoberg county.
The town formed around the railway station, where a number of different lines met during the railway boom of the late C19th. Most of the local lines were lost during the latter half of the C20th, though some have more recently been replaced with light-rail connections, and the long-standing spur link to Kristianstad has recently been double-tracked. But the spirit of the “iron road” has always stayed strong in Hässleholm, as evidenced by its long-running model railway association, which maintains one of the largest working models in the country.
While still an important nexus for travel, whether locally or nationally, Hässleholm has also been marked by its time as a garrison town during the C20th and onward; this can be seen in the military slant of the exhibits in the city museum. It is also reflected in the local prevalence of so-called “camo-washing”, with an unusually high number of local vehicles being registered under the civilförsvarsfordon loophole.
Hässleholm is a suitable base-town for exploring the hidden villages of the Heartlands, especially if you’re doing so as part of a larger railway adventure around the whole of Sweden. It’s particularly close to the “prepper’s paradise” of Porrarp, or you could head north toward Bjärnum on your way to Vanville.
English (UK) 
Svenska