Ivö Lake is the largest and deepest lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

 of Skåne, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, located in the municipalities of Kristianstad

Kristianstad Municipality

Kristianstad Municipality is a municipality in Skåne County in southernmost Sweden. Its seat is located in the city Kristianstad....

 and Bromölla

Bromölla

Bromölla is a locality and the seat of Bromölla Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 7,428 inhabitants in 2005.The town of Bromölla only consisted of a few houses until it began to grow about 100 years ago around a newly established limestone quarry, leading to the establishment of several...

 in the northeastern part of Skåne County

Skåne County

Skåne County is the southernmost administrative county or län, of Sweden, basically corresponding to the historical province Scania. It borders the counties of Halland, Kronoberg and Blekinge. The seat of residence for the Skåne Governor is the town of Malmö...

. It covers an area of just under 55 km²

1 E7 m²

To help compare sizes of different geographic regions, we list here areas between 10 km2 and 100 km2...

, with a maximum depth of 50 meters. The lake is the richest in fish species in Sweden, including pike, salmon

Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

, burbot

Burbot

The burbot is the only gadiform fish inhabiting freshwaters. It is also known as mariah, the lawyer, and eelpout. It is closely related to the marine common ling and the cusk...

, vendace

Coregonus albula

The vendace, Coregonus albula, is a species of freshwater whitefish in the family Salmonidae. It is also known as the European cisco. It is found in lakes in northern Europe, especially Finland, Sweden, Russia and Estonia, and in some lakes of the United Kingdom, northern Germany and Poland...

, bream, ide, ruffe

Ruffe

The Eurasian Ruffe or simply Ruffe is a freshwater fish found in temperate regions of Europe and northern Asia. It has been introduced into the Great Lakes of North America, reportedly with unfortunate results...

, minnow

Eurasian minnow

The Common minnow is a species offreshwater fish. It is a member of the carpfamily oforder Cypriniformes, and is the type species ofgenus Phoxinus. It is ubiquitous throughout much of Eurasia,...

, rudd

Rudd

The common rudd Scardinius erythropthalmus is a bentho-pelagic freshwater fish, widely spread in Europe and middle Asia, around the basins of the North, Baltic, Black, Caspian and Aral seas.-Artificially introduced:...

, and spined loach

Spined Loach

The Spined Loach is a common freshwater fish in Europe and Asia. It is sometimes known as spotted weather loach, not to be confused with the "typical" weather loaches of the genus Misgurnus...

, rare for this area, which has prompted biodiversity conservation efforts and attention from among others EU Natura 2000

Natura 2000

Natura 2000 is an ecological network of protected areas in the territory of the European Union.-Origins:In May 1992, the governments of the European Communities adopted legislation designed to protect the most seriously threatened habitats and species across Europe. This legislation is called the...

. 25-30 different species are regularly caught in the lake. It is very well known among fishing enthusiasts, not only in Sweden but in many countries in Europe.

A lake with numerous islands and sheltered bays, it has become a popular tourist destination for sightseeing as well as fishing. It is surrounded by hills with deciduous

Deciduous

Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...

 forests and valleys with fertile soil, and is located in a climate zone suitable for fruit tree cultivation. The area is one of Scania's fruit districts.

One of the larger islands in the lake, Ivö Island, has a permanent, year-round population. A free, cable-driven car ferry operates a regular scheduled service to the island from the village Barum on the mainland. On the island are the ruins of Anders Sunesøn's castle Ivöhus. Sunesøn, a Danish archbishop of Lund, died in Ivöhus in 1228.