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Hanstholm is a small town and a former island, now elevated area in
Thisted municipality Thisted municipality is a municipality ( Danish: '' kommune'') in North Jutland Region, Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 1,072 km², and has a total population of 45,549 (2008). The main town and the site of its municipal council ...
of
Region Nordjylland The North Jutland Region ( da, Region Nordjylland), or in some official sources, the North Denmark Region, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish municipal reform, which abolished the tr ...
, located in northern
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 , establish ...
. The population of the town is 2,104 (1 January 2022).BY3: Population 1. January by urban and rural areas, area and population density
The Mobile Statbank from Statistics Denmark


Etymology

The former island Hanstholm (short form of the original name Hansted Holm) has many placenames, including Hansted, Nørby, Gårddal, Ræhr, Hamborg, Bjerre, Febbersted, Krog, Nytorp and Vigsø. In the beginning of the
second millennium File:2nd millennium montage.png, From top left, clockwise: in 1492, Christopher Columbus reaches North America, opening the European colonization of the Americas; the American Revolution, one of the late 1700s Enlightenment-inspired Atlantic Re ...
, churches were built in Vigsø, Ræhr and Hansted, forming three
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...
es. At the end of the 20th century, Denmark's largest harbour was built in Hansted, and a 10-fold larger harbour town was needed. A new town was planned, covering the places Hansted, Gårddal and Nørby, and the new town was officially named Hanstholm. This has led to some confusion, because the people from the towns Ræhr and Vigsø live on Hanstholm (the former island), they live in Hanstholm postal district, they live in Hanstholm municipality, but they don't live in Hanstholm town. However, since all the parts of this new harbour town belong to Hansted parish, and because Hansted has been the harbour town for so many centuries, many people refer to this town simply as Hansted instead of Hanstholm. Besides Hanstholm and Hansted, one more name is related to this, Hanherred: * Hansted means "The place of Han". This suffix is often used with town names in
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 , establish ...
. * Hanstholm means "The island of Hansted". * Hanherred means "The herred of Han", where herred is an old-age administrative division.


Geography

To the north is Vigsø Bay (‘’Vigsø Bugt’’) a part of
Skagerrak The Skagerrak (, , ) is a strait running between the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, the southeast coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area through the Danish Straits to the Baltic Sea. T ...
. To the west is the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...
. The ferry MV Norröna of Smyril Line operated a weekly summer service to the
Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
and
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
from Hanstholm until 2010. This service now departs from Hirtshals. The northern part of Denmark is rising because of
plate tectonics Plate tectonics (from the la, label=Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of large ...
, and has lifted the island of Hanstholm out of the water so that it is no longer an island, but an elevated area. You can still see two old farms: Bådsgård, which means boat farm, is located on the previous island Hanstholm; Færgegård, which means ferry farm, is located in Sårup towards Hansted. Today you can simply drive between Sårup and Hansted.


Urban planning

As Hansted's population grew from a couple of hundred to several thousand people during the 20th century, some
urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...
was applied. It seems to have been modelled in the same way as other growing Danish towns in the 1960s, which basically means that you can drive through the city without noticing the size of it. Most shopping is concentrated in a shopping mall (Hanstholm Centret), and there are separate pedestrian and bicycle paths covering most of the city.


History


Pre-historic

Several excavations have shown that the Hanstholm area was inhabited by farmers as early as 1000 B.C.


Teutons

In the year 120 B.C.,
teutons The Teutons ( la, Teutones, , grc, Τεύτονες) were an ancient northern European tribe mentioned by Roman authors. The Teutons are best known for their participation, together with the Cimbri and other groups, in the Cimbrian War with ...
inhabited the area, but left in a large exodus, together with the
Cimbri The Cimbri (Greek Κίμβροι, ''Kímbroi''; Latin ''Cimbri'') were an ancient tribe in Europe. Ancient authors described them variously as a Celtic people (or Gaulish), Germanic people, or even Cimmerian. Several ancient sources indicate that ...
, towards the south, where they encountered the Romans.


Age of the Vikings

In the years 800 to 1050, Hanstholm and the area around it were
island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
s, and nearby was the gathering point for the
Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and ...
for their invasions of
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.


First Christianity

According to legend, the first Christian
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...
in the Thy area was built in 1040 in Vestervig, where Christian priests coming from England entered Denmark. A big monastery was later built here and this was the beginning of the end of the Viking era. The churches in Ræhr, Hansted and Vigsø were built in the 12th century in Roman style, and on Hansted church, one of the stones shows the picture of a trading vessel. This trading vessel has been used as model for the arms of the former Hanstholm municipality.


Norwegian trade

From approximately 1600 to approximately 1850, people from the area of Hanstholm traded considerably with
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
, which was a part of Denmark at that time, with special boats across the
Skagerrak The Skagerrak (, , ) is a strait running between the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, the southeast coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area through the Danish Straits to the Baltic Sea. T ...
. They exported food, mostly grain, and imported logs. There were no trees in the whole area, so wood was in high demand. The primary harbours for this trade were Vigsø and
Klitmøller Klitmøller is a Danish town in Thisted Municipality, the North Denmark Region. Klitmøller has a population of 1,114 (1 January 2022). The town is located 11 km southwest of Hanstholm and 18 km northwest of Thisted. It used to be a s ...
, the latter because they had water mills to produce flour. For this trade, special ships were designed, named 'sandskuder', meaning 'sand boats'. They were able to sail directly onto the beach and were designed for the transport of grain, flour and logs.


Sand drift

A lot of sand began to drift from the west coast towards the east in the 14th century. In 1555, the sand drift had damaged a large area of Vigsø parish, and the local
pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...
suggested the abandonment of both the parish and the church. However, people stayed in the area, and the parish remained active. The other parishes were hit hard as well, and in 1690 there were dunes on the pastor's fields, more than 12 metres high. Numerous attempts to stop the sand drift finally succeeded in the 19th century by the planting of trees and lyme grass. However, many low coastal areas between the former islands had already been covered with dunes. South of Hanstholm, a unique dune landscape of approximately 4,000 hectares has become a wildlife reservation, named Hansted Reservat.


Hanstholm Lighthouse 1843

The lighthouse was initially built in 1842, but the construction was too weak, so it had to be torn down and rebuilt in 1843. It was the first lens-based lighthouse in Denmark. When it was electrified in 1889, it became the strongest lighthouse in Denmark, and still is today, even though the light intensity has been lowered. In a period of its life, it was also the strongest lighthouse in the world. The lighthouse was automated in 1970, and in 1979 the buildings associated with the lighthouse were converted to a museum about the nature and history of the surrounding area. From the top of the lighthouse, 65 metres above the ocean, you can see the entire area.


World War II

During the
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 opposi ...
, the citizens of Hansted were removed and Europe's biggest fortress was built by the Germans in this area. Large 38 cm. naval guns were installed, that could shoot almost half the distance to
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
, in order to block allied entry into the
Kattegat The Kattegat (; sv, Kattegatt ) is a sea area bounded by the Jutlandic peninsula in the west, the Danish Straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Skåne in Sweden ...
and thus the
Baltic sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...
. Similar cannons were installed in
Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporati ...
in Norway. Thousands of
bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...
s were constructed in the area. After the war it was too dangerous to blow them away and the bunkers themselves were too solid to remove in other ways. Therefore, most bunkers still remain in the ground, and some can even be seen on beaches or in the water, where the ocean has moved the coastline (the coastline moved, but the bunkers did not). Only a few bunkers lying in the way of road constructions have later been blown up using a special method of filling them with water before the explosion. A museum in Hanstholm gives access to the central parts of this World War II fortress. After the war, many conifers were planted in order to provide shelter against the wind and in order to hide the German concrete constructions (ref. SkovOgNatur brochure). The conifers are now slowly being replaced by broadleaf
tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s, which are more natural to area.


The Municipal reform of 2007

As a result of the Municipal reform of 2007, Hanstholm Municipality ceasted to exist on 1 January 2007, when it was merged with Thisted and Sydthy municipalities to form the new
Thisted Municipality Thisted municipality is a municipality ( Danish: '' kommune'') in North Jutland Region, Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 1,072 km², and has a total population of 45,549 (2008). The main town and the site of its municipal council ...
.


The harbour

Hanstholm is located on the northern edge of a
salt dome A salt dome is a type of structural dome formed when salt (or other evaporite minerals) intrudes into overlying rocks in a process known as diapirism. Salt domes can have unique surface and subsurface structures, and they can be discovered usin ...
, and this edge consists of very hard chalk, which is the reason that ice age erosion did not remove these formations. Because the ocean streams in this area prevent the ocean from freezing, and because of Hanstholm's geographic location, it is the perfect place for an industrial harbour, open all year. In 1917, the Danish
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
decided by law to build a harbour in Hanstholm. However, this was delayed by numerous incidents, including the low grants in the 1930s, and even though the Germans had plans to use the harbour as part of their strategy when they occupied Denmark in the Second World War, they stopped all construction in June 1943, removed all machines and blew up the buildings on the beach. After the
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 opposi ...
, a political struggle began to complete the harbour's construction, but the other harbours in Denmark feared this. But the passing of a new law on 29 April 1960 finally led to the harbour's completion. It opened in 1967 and today is one of the largest harbours in Denmark. Fjord Line ferries sailed from Hanstholm until autumn 2008 to Western
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
(
Egersund Egersund is a town in Eigersund municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The town is located along the southwestern coast of Norway, about south of the city of Stavanger. The town is situated along a strait which separates the mainland from the ...
, Haugesund and
Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...
). Fjord Line's fast ferry Fjord Cat to
Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporati ...
sailed from the harbour(ex-MasterCat and Mads Mols) until October 2009. Previously there has also been a ferry service to the
Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
and
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
from Hanstholm with the ferry Norröna owned by the Faroese shipping company Smyril Line. But in the autumn of 2010, after almost 20 years of regular ferry service to and from the Faroe Islands and Iceland, the shipping company Smyril Line unexpectedly chose to stop all of its operations to and from Hanstholm. Instead it moved all Danish operations to
Hirtshals Hirtshals is a town and seaport on the coast of Skagerrak on the island of Vendsyssel-Thy at the top of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark, Europe. It is located in Hjørring municipality in Region Nordjylland. The town of Hirtshals has a p ...
approximately 140 km north of Hanstholm. With the loss of the ferry service to the Faroe Islands and Iceland, Hanstholm also lost its last ferry connection to and from the city, but there are still on-going attempts to establish new ferry routes to the city, and at the same time try to get some of the old ferry routes back to the port of Hanstholm.


Museums

There are two museums in Hanstholm, one of which enables visitors to go down into the World War II bunkers, see how the soldiers lived, drive the ammunition train from ammunition depots to the cannons, and get an impression of how huge they were.


References


Hanstholm Municipality

Museumscenter Hanstholm


(with explanation in Danish) * L. Mehr: Livet på Hanstholm. Abildgaard Jacobsens bogtrykkeri, Thisted, 1953. This is a book by the pastor of Ræhr, Hansted and Vigsø, about Hanstholm.


External links


Hanstholm portal

Port of Hanstholm

A temporary homepage for the new municipality under which Hanstholm will belong

The homepage of the municipality to which Hanstholm has belonged since 2007

Hansted church community

Ræhr church community

Vigsø church community

Map of the coastline about year 1000



A description of the town Sårup


{{Authority control Cities and towns in the North Jutland Region Port cities and towns in Denmark Viking Age populated places Port cities and towns of the North Sea Thisted Municipality