The area is now, and was then, densely populated. Here's an article (in Swedish) about the roads in Skåne. Covers a long period. https://www.sydsvenskan.se/2

The area is now, and was then, densely populated. Here's an article (in Swedish) about the roads in Skåne. Covers a long period. https://www.sydsvenskan.se/2017-03-25/alla-landsvagar-bar-till-det-forflutna https://www.sydsvenskan.se/2017-03-25/alla-landsvagar-bar-ti... Malmö was even then Sweden's third largest city. Copenhagen was a global city and Denmark the center of European pork production. Prussia's huge estates were the foundation for the aristocracies' wealth. To get goods to market, or to a rail hub, good roads helped a lot.