Blåvandshuk is a headland on the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegia ...

coast of

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

northwest of

Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport town and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban population of 71,698 (1 January 2022)

, and is the westernmost point of metropolitan

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , established ...

. The Blåvand Lighthouse is the westernmost located building in Denmark.

Natural Environment

A significant portion of Blåvandshuk is marsh land, moor,

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

s, and

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shells ...

es. Because Blåvandshuk is on the coast and has a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

(''Skallingen'') which stretches to the southeast, it is surrounded by much water. To the northwest is the

. To the southeast of ''Skallingen'' is Fanø Bay (''Fanø Bugt'') and the island

Fanø Fanø () is a Danish island in the North Sea off the coast of southwestern Denmark, and is the very northernmost of the Danish Wadden Sea Islands. Fanø municipality is the municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') that covers the island and its sea ...

. Beyond Fanø Bay is the

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( nl, Waddenzee ; german: Wattenmeer; nds, Wattensee or ; da, Vadehavet; fy, Waadsee, longname=yes; frr, di Heef) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern conti ...

. To the northeast of ''Skallingen'' lies Ho Bay (''Ho Bugt'') and the small island of Langli. ''Skallingen'' and the waters off its coast are protected, a part of the Wadden Sea wildlife reserve and protection area being discussed as a potential

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

Administrative status

Prior to January 1, 2007, Blåvandshuk was also the name of a municipality (

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

, '' kommune'') that contained the headland. The municipality covered an area of 223 km², and had a total population of 4,378 (2005). Its last mayor was Hans Chr. Thoning, a member of the Venstre (Liberal Party)

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or po ...

. The main town and site of its municipal council was the town of Oksbøl. Blåvandshuk municipality ceased to exist due to ''Kommunalreformen'' ("The Municipal Reform" of 2007). It was merged with former Blaabjerg, Helle,

Varde Varde is a Danish city in southwestern Jutland and is the primary city in the municipality of Varde, in Region of Southern Denmark. In 2015 municipality changed its motto to "We in nature" to emphasize its rural atmosphere. The town has an old ma ...

, and

Ølgod Ølgod is a railway town with a population of 3,705 (1 January 2022),coast radio station (from 1914) and later satellite radio hubs, including the Inmarsat station "Blaavand-Atlantic-East". In 1996 the radio station became remotely controlled from Lyngby Radio and finally closed down entirely in 2019. The radio station was of great importance to those employed in

fishery, and the message "Blåvand melder storm" (en: "Blaavand storm warning") was a particularly dreaded message, so much that a film was made with this title ( Blaavand melder storm) in 1938.

Mines

Located on ''Skallingen'''s southwestern coast was Denmark's last

minefield A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automatic ...

, left over from

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, when 1,389,289 landmines were placed in Denmark by the German occupation forces as part of their

defence line A defense line or fortification line is a geographically-recognizable line of troops and armament, fortified and set up to protect a high-value location or defend territory. A defense line may be based on natural difficult terrain features, su ...

. A 1.86 km² closed-off area on the peninsula still contained mines sixty years after the war. Demining efforts were hampered by the shifting sands that can bury mines several meters underground, and the drift of the sea which has moved the beach some 200 meters to the east since the end of the war. In accordance with the Ottawa Convention and Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty most of the minefield was cleared in 2006–2008 by the Ministry of Transport and the Danish Coastal Authority, and the last, most difficult section in 2012. Some 3,098 antipersonnel mines, 259 antivehicle mines, and 554 unexploded ordnance were collected and destroyed.

References

* Municipal statistics
NetBorger Kommunefakta
delivered fro
KMD aka Kommunedata (Municipal Data)
* Municipal mergers and neighbors
Eniro new municipalities map

External links

*
Varde municipality's official tourist information website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blavandshuk Former municipalities of Denmark Varde Municipality