Österlen, Coastal agricultural region in Skåne County, Sweden.
Österlen is a rural area in Skåne County, southeast Sweden, spanning Tomelilla and Simrishamn municipalities along the Baltic coast. Flat cropland covers the southern part, while forested hills with beech, oak and wild orchids dominate the north.
The name Österlen comes from the 17th century when Denmark ruled this territory and called it Östreslätt, meaning eastern plains. The term referred to routes leading east from Ystad.
Painters, sculptors and craftspeople settle in converted barns and old farmhouses across both municipalities. Visitors can walk into open studios and watch artists work on canvases, ceramics and textiles.
Seventeen nature reserves offer marked hiking routes through forests, coastal meadows and wetlands. The largest, Verkeåns Naturreservat, covers 1,100 hectares (2,700 acres) and includes the highest waterfall in Skåne.
A historic narrow-gauge railway runs steam trains between Brösarp and Sankt Olof during summer months. It is the oldest operating standard-gauge museum railway in Sweden.
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