Helgenæs is 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 ...

, approximately twenty square kilometres in size, stretching out from

Mols Mols is a small Danish gathering of hilly peninsulas in the southern part of the larger peninsula of Djursland on the east coast of Jutland. The largest peninsulas of Mols comprise Skødshoved to the west, and Helgenæs to the east. Mols' la ...

in Denmark. Mols is itself part of the large peninsula of Djursland, in the middle of 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 ...

sea between Denmark and Sweden. MolsHerred

West of Helgenæs, 16 kilometres across the

Bay of Aarhus The Bay of Aarhus, or Aarhus Bay, is a Danish waterway by Aarhus in eastern Jutland. The Bay of Aarhus is bounded by Kalø Vig in the north, Sletterhage and Helgenæs in the east, Samsø and Tunø to the south and the east Jutland coast to the wes ...

, lies

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

, the second-largest city in Denmark. Ten kilometres to the east is the small coastal town of

Ebeltoft Ebeltoft is an old port town on the central east coast of Denmark with a population of 7,204 (1 January 2022).marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

s and summer rentals in the surrounding countryside, including Helgenæs. Five kilometres to the northwest is Skødshoved, another minor peninsula of Mols. Villages on Helgenæs are Kongsgårde, Borup and Fejrup. Just north of Helgenæs is the large recently inaugurated

Mols Bjerge National Park Mols Bjerge National Park or Nationalpark Mols Bjerge is a Danish national park in the area known as ''Mols Bjerge'' (Mols Hills, lit.: Mols Mountains) in Syddjurs Municipality, Central Jutland, inaugurated on 29 August 2009. The protected area, me ...

, comprising most of the entire Djursland region. Lake Helgenæs

Etymology

The name, Helgenæs, derives from Danish words ''hellig'' (holy) and ''næs'' (headland), and the earliest written sources from 1230, spelled it "Hælghænæs". Inhabitants of Helgenæs are known as ''Helboere'' (singular: ''Helbo'').

History

As nearly all of Denmark, Helgenæs was formed at the end of the last ice age some 12,000 years ago. The narrowest part of the peninsula, Dragsmur, is 240 meters wide. It is said that 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 se ...

, when sailing in and out of the Bay of Aarhus transported their

longship Longships were a type of specialised Scandinavian warships that have a long history in Scandinavia, with their existence being archaeologically proven and documented from at least the fourth century BC. Originally invented and used by the Nors ...

s across the narrow section, perhaps by rolling them on tree trunks. By doing this, they were able to save approximately of travel. The waters around Helgenæs was the site of a larger naval battle in 1043, when the exiled king

Sven Estridsen Sweyn Estridsson Ulfsson ( on, Sveinn Ástríðarson, da, Svend Estridsen; – 28 April 1076) was King of Denmark (being Sweyn II) from 1047 until his death in 1076. He was the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, and the grandson o ...

attacked and battled King Magnus the Good here in order to reclaim the throne of Denmark. Sven lost, but regained the throne only a few years later, as Magnus died by other means in 1047. The local association of "Helgenæs Præstegård" was established in 2011 in order to mediate the cultural history of Helgenæs to both locals and visitors alike. They are based in a restored former parsonage farmhouse just east of Fejrup.

Tourism

Tourists from other parts of Denmark, other

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

n countries such as

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and

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 t ...

, and Germany often visit Helgenæs and represents a considerable percentage of the population in the summer. Especially the town of Fejrup and the hills of Stødovbakker have many summer rentals. The hilly countryside with a long and accessible coastline in a mild, not to hot, summer climate is an attraction. Sletterhage Fyr, an old lighthouse in southwestern Helgenæs, and Tyskertårnet, a concrete watchtower built during the German

occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

World War II 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 opposin ...

, are also visited by many guests. In the southwestern part of Helgenæs, in the town of Ørby, is a gallery with the paintings of

Bo Bendixen Bo or BO may refer to Arts and entertainment Film, television, and theatre *Box office, where tickets to an event are sold, and by extension, the amount of business a production receives *'' BA:BO'', 2008 South Korean film * ''Bo'' (film), a ...

, a noted Danish painter. The main shopping facility on Helgenæs is the small " Dagli'Brugsen" supermarket in the village of Kongsgårde. Chiefly (though not only) in the summer, tiny stands in the roadside sell honey, fruits, potatoes, eggs or even homemade souvenirs; these are scattered all over the peninsula, although mostly in main streets going through towns. These small stands are normally unmanned, and payment works on the

honor system An honor system or honesty system is a philosophical way of running a variety of endeavors based on trust, honor, and honesty. Something that operates under the rule of the "honor system" is usually something that does not have strictly enfo ...

Stødov Kirke is the only church on Helgenæs, and in a small building close to the church lies a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

of local history. In the middle of Helgenæs is also a community house, where summer and Christmas parties are held. There is an exhibit at the Sletterhage lighthouse, with modern and old navigational instruments, and a geological exhibition, showing how the Helgenæs landscape was formed during the ice ages. On display are also characteristic stones that can be found on the beaches, that can be traced back to different prehistoric volcanoes in Norway and Sweden, brought to the area by ice sheet movements. Helgenæs Naturefterskole; is an independent boarding school on Helgenæs, for lower secondary students with educational focus on nature and outdoor activities, including angling from the shores of Helgenæs.http://www.hne.dk/pages/om-skolen.php Last accessed February 2010

Transport

Bus route 361 goes between Helgenæs and

Rønde Rønde (or Roende) is a town on the southern part of the peninsula, Djursland in Denmark, Northern Europe, 23 kilometers north-east of the north end of Denmark's second largest city, Aarhus. It is in part a commuter town to Aarhus, with a motorw ...

once an hour in weekdays between 05:00 and 18:00, going counter-clockwise around the peninsula. This connects Helgenæs with other bus routes going to larger cities such as

Århus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

Grenå Grenaa (or Grenå) is a Danish town and seaport on the east coast of the Jutlandic peninsula. Tourism, education and commerce are important sectors in the economy of Grenaa. It is the only larger town on Djursland. Grenaa is the municipal seat, an ...

Ebeltoft Ebeltoft is an old port town on the central east coast of Denmark with a population of 7,204 (1 January 2022).Randers Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 62,802 (as of 1 January 2022).
- Official website of Helgenæs . {{DEFAULTSORT:Helgenaes Peninsulas of Denmark Peninsulas of the Baltic Sea National parks of Denmark Syddjurs Municipality Tourist attractions in Denmark