Tylöns Naturreservat

Tylön is the only island in the south of the province Hallands Län and was already protected in 1927 because of the large breeding colonies of various seabirds. For this reason, the island must not be entered during the breeding season, which lasts from the beginning of April to the middle of July.

The flat and rocky island is almost treeless and is covered mostly with grasses, heather and shrubs. The few trees on the island are mainly an avenue of artificially planted hawthorn trees, which, accompanied by abandoned orchards, runs from the jetty on the east side to the highest point of the island.

The only buildings on the island are the steel lighthouse built in 1870 and the farm of the former lighthouse keeper, which consists of several houses. In the 18th century there was a small fishing village on Tylön which was reserved for the boatmen of the Swedish Navy and was already abandoned at the end of the 18th century.

Older witnesses of human settlement on the island are three Bronze Age burial mounds, two stone settings as well as the so-called Tylajungfrun – a menhir with a round stone on its top symbolizing a phallus.

Tylön and the surrounding sea area are important breeding grounds for eider ducks (Somateria mollissima), great black-backed gulls (Larus marinus) and European herring gulls (Larus argentatus), which breed in large colonies. In addition, other waterfowl such as common terns (Sterna hirundo), common shelducks (Tadorna tadorna) and oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus) breed to a lesser extent on the island.

Visitors who do not have their own boat can visit the island through organised crossings or guided tours offered at irregular intervals. Information can be obtained from the tourist office in Halmstad.