Hareskoven, or Hareskovene (plural), is a forested area straddling the boundary between Furesø and

Gladsaxe Gladsaxe Kommune is a municipality (Danish, ''Commune (subnational entity), kommune'') near Copenhagen in Region Hovedstaden on the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , and ...

municipalities in the northwestern suburbs of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

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 = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. The core parts consists of Lille Hareskov and Store Hareskov, but Hareskovene also includes the adjacent woodlands of ''Egebjergene'', ''Jonstrups Vang'', and ''Bøndernes Hegn''. Hareskovene covers an area of only 8-900 hectares, but connects to many other woodlands and nature sites, reaching west to the

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; da, Øresund ; sv, Öresund ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width v ...

, and north to the large

Gribskov Gribskov (Grib Forest) is Denmark's fourth largest forest, comprising c. 5,600 ha of woodland situated in northern Zealand, west and south of Lake Esrum. The forest is owned and administered by the State of Denmark, and a part of the Kongernes N ...

forest.

History

The first part of the name (Hare- or Harre-) is derived from the Norse word ''

Hörgr A hörgr (Old Norse, plural ''hörgar'') or hearg (Old English) was a type of altar or cult site, possibly consisting of a heap of stones, used in Norse religion, as opposed to a roofed hall used as a Heathen hofs, ''hof'' (temple). The Old Norse ...

'', meaning altar or cult site. Hareskov was severely damaged during the

Swedish Wars This is a list of wars involving the Kingdom of Sweden. There are legendary accounts of Swedish kings well into prehistory and they are mentioned by Tacitus in his '' Germania'', but St. Olof Skötkonung (995–1022) was the first ruler docume ...

in the late 1650s. At the end of the war it was concluded that "the forest will only be able to feed 90 pigs". It was therefore protected for the next few years while it recovered.

Ecology

Harskov consists mainly of

beech forest Beech Forest is a town in Victoria, Australia. The area of Beech Forest is largely used for potato farming. History The town was named after the many myrtle beech trees of the area. Beech Forest Post Office opened on 10 May 1890 and closed in ...

with scattered oak, linden and maple trees. Notable solitaire trees include the three ancient oak trees ''Skrædderen'' (The Tailor), ''Grenaderen'' (The Grenadier) and ''Djævelen'' (The Devil). The latter used to look like a devil's hand reaching out for the sky. It was partly destroyed in a storm in 1981 but is still alive. In the winter and on migration, considerable numbers of

Eurasian Woodcock The Eurasian woodcock (''Scolopax rusticola'') is a medium-small wading bird found in temperate and subarctic Eurasia. It has cryptic camouflage to suit its woodland habitat, with reddish-brown upperparts and buff-coloured underparts. Its eyes ...

come to feed in the bogs that usually do not freeze over.

Historic features

Hareskoven contains a total of six

dolmen A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were somet ...

s from the Stone Age. The largest one is located close to ''Sandskredshus'' at

Skovbrynet station Skovbrynet station is a station on the Farum radial of the S-train network in Copenhagen, Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_capt ...

. Two examples of earthworks from the Swedish Wars known as ''Lejrens Indelukke'' (The Camp's Enclosure) and ''Svenskervolden'' (The Swedish Rampart) can still be seen in the southern part of the forest.

Activities

Hareskoven forest contains a network of

bridle path A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider r ...

s for horseback riding as well as a trail for mountain biking. There are several basic campsites as well.

References

External links

Hareskovene
Forests of Greater Copenhagen Furesø Municipality Gladsaxe Municipality {{CapitalDK-stub