The Coastscape of Denmark

How has and does Denmark’s coastscape shaped life and identity in Denmark?

Denmark as a country is home to 7,314 miles of coastline and only 43,094 square miles of land in total. At any given point, you can never be more than 32.3 miles from a coast, making the coastline an important factor in the shaping of Denmark. The miles upon miles of coastline in Denmark have played a key role in its development over the past few years and even up until recently. Years ago, the Vikings, who came from Europe would use the seas to travel all while raiding villages all over Europe and other North Atlantic areas. The use of Denmark’s extensive coastlines played a key role in their ability to do this.

The coastline of Gilleleje, Denmark

With approximately 450 islands within the country, sailing and the use of ships played a large role in transportation throughout the years. In modern years bridges and airplanes have reduced the amount, but the use of ships and boat is still prominent. On these boats, many of the Danes would go to work, as fisherman. Because Denmark is the fifth largest fish exporter in the world, with just over 5.5 million residents living here, fishing plays a vital role to economic stability as well as the Danish culture.

Boats within the harbor at Gilleleje

The people of Denmark would also form settlements on coastlines and these small villages focused most of their economic development on fishing. As time went on these villages grew larger and larger and eventually became a place for summer retreat. The town of Hundested in 1897 consisted of very few houses and large plantations, but just 100 years or so later in 1994, Hundested was home to many summer homes and much fewer plantations, as this location became a place for the Danish to come for the summer to relax on the shores of the Baltic.

The October 1943 Monument

The town of Gilleleje in Northern Denmark also became a hotspot for summer homes and soon enough it also became a tourist attraction for Danes and foreigners alike. One of the tourist attractions includes the October 1943 monument, which commemorates the saving of the lives of a large portion of the Jewish population in Denmark from the Nazis in Germany after Denmark was invaded. Because of monuments like as the October 1943 monument, the small shops and homes in the area and the picturesque views of Sweden, more and more tourists are coming for a vacation or retreat to come see it all.

Just a few of the shops and homes in Gilleleje

Other historic coastal towns, like Tisvilde, developed a method for preventing Dune Creep, which harms the land they used for agriculture by making it unusable. By building up Coastal Forests to be used as plantations, the Danes living in the area would be able to grow necessary food to survive and sell while also keeping the coastlines from receding into the land. This became a common occurrence along the northern Danish coastline and not only physically shaped the Danish coastline, but along shaped those living in it. Fishing, history and tourism are three of the most prominent factors from how Denmark was shaped by its coastscape.

The coastline of Gilleleje