| The Scanian Market
| | The herring fishing in the Sound and around the Falsterbo Cape created the Scanian market, which became an important economic centre in the Sound and Baltic region. Some years 300.000 barrels of herring were produced. The access to salt in North Germany and the Catholic Church´s demand for meat free fast were good conditions for the herring market and it became an important source of income for the royal power. |
Although the development of the cities in the Sound region was modest compared to the Hanseatic towns, the Danish kingdom had some advantages. Especially the herring fishing in the Sound.
The Scanian market | 
Herrings | 
Skanör Church | 
The Castle Hill |
The Herring
The demand for herring, which was salted with salt from Lünebürger Heide, was great as the Catholic Church demanded meat-free days in connection with Lent. Often even Friday was considered a meat-free day.
As early as the 12th century Falsterbonäs became a centre for the herring trade, which took place from August 24th to October 9th. In this period thousands of visitors gathered there and that meant a significant upturn for Skanør and Falsterbo. Form the beginning Skanør was the main area, but in the 14th century Falsterbo became more important.
International Market
Traders from England, Scotland, Flanders and Normandy came to the herring market, but the most dominating traders came from Germany, especially Lübeck. They traded other goods besides herring. There was wide array of different goods, among them horses, butter, iron, tar, corn and handicraft products.
The dominance of the Lübecks was evident because they had their own church in Falsterbo. The fishing and the Scanian market in Skanør and Falsterbo yielded a large income to the Danish kingdom. A good fishing year in the 14th century could mean an export of 300.000 barrels of herring and it is estimated that one third of the Danish king´s income came from the Scanian market. The large production and the great demand made Skanør and Falsterbo to the most important market of the region in the 14th century. |