An Episcopal residence. A fortified town with lively trade and shipping. Here one could find wealthy commoners, tough lads, widely travelled skippers and learned monks and scholars. This was Åhus, as it became market town in 1149. It happened when Archbishop Eskil in Lund got the area around Helge Å river from the Danish king. The market town got the name Aos. As defence against enemies from the seaside the bishop had a fortress at the small river’s mouth built. The ruin, which later was excavated from the sand bank at the entrance to the port, bears witness that the archbishop’s fortress was without counterpart in Scandinavia. Protected by the fortress and with support from archbishop Eskil and his successors the fishing village and market place developed into a market town. However war between the Swedes and the Danish as well as internal conflicts between the Swedish king and the archbishop damaged the medieval Scania. The market town by Helge Å Dhad an exposed position and was repeatedly ravaged by plundering and fires. But Åhus emerged again very quickly after each and all devastations and established its status as the most important trade and shipping town in eastern Skåne. The more recent historiography only deals with what the inhabitants of Åhus calls the three sins; eel, tobacco and distilled spirits. Here the export of eel was established and early in the 19th century an average of four tons eel daily were exported to several European countries. Here tobacco was cultivated and refined throughout 200 years. The Åhus Havana was the cigar gentlemen smoked with the greatest delight. The third sin is a concept in the whole world, much greater than that other Swedish sin, which became so notorious in the world in the 1970ties; distilled spirits. In the 16th century, when distilled spirits mostly was used as medication for various diseases and pains, the local Brandywine Queen, Barbara Brännvin, began to manufacture and sell distilled spirits from her own booth. It was situated at the same place as where the distillery is situated today. But it was the Brandywine King who made the beverage into a large-scale industry. L.O. Smith was born 1836 in Kiaby north of Åhus. 1879 the tenfold-refined spirit was presented under the name of Absolut Rent Brännvin. For some time L.O. Smith controlled more than half of the sale of distilled spirits in Sweden. At that time he sold more than 60 million litres distilled spirits a year. He had branches in Russia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, France, Spain, and on Malta. At that time L.O. Smith was one of the richest men in Europe. 1917 the State-operated Vin & Spritcentralen monopolised the manufacture of brandy-wine and took over the distillery in Åhus. 72 years later, 1979, the launch of Absolut Vodka began, among others by means of a publicity campaign no-one had seen the like of. Today approximately 100 million litres Absolut Vodka, manufactured in Åhus, is sold around the world. That makes it the third most sold sort of spirit.