The Limfjord ( common Danish: ''Limfjorden'' , in north Jutlandish dialect: ''Æ Limfjord'') is a shallow part of the sea, located 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 = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
where it has been regarded as a
fjord
In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...
ever since Viking times. However, it now has inlets both from 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 Norwegian S ...
and
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 hence separates the
North Jutlandic Island
The North Jutlandic Island (), Vendsyssel-Thy, or Jutland north of the Limfjord (''Jylland nord for Limfjorden''), is the northernmost part of Denmark and of Jutland. It is more common to refer to the three traditional districts Vendsyssel, Han ...
(Danish: ''Nørrejyske Ø'', which includes the old provinces of ''Vendsyssel'', ''Han herred'' and ''Thy'') from the rest of the
Jutland Peninsula
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 ...
. The Limfjord extends from
Thyborøn Channel
Thyborøn is a fishing village in Jutland, Denmark with a population of 1,890 (1 January 2022),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 Norwegian S ...
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 ...
. It is approximately 180 kilometres (111 miles) long and of an irregular shape with numerous bays, narrowings, and islands, most notably Mors, and the smaller ones
Fur
Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...
,
Venø
Venø is a small Danish island located in Limfjorden in the north of Jutland, north of Struer. It is long and has a maximum width of . With an area of , it has a population of 204 as of 1 January 2015.
Egholm
Egholm is a Danish island in the Limfjord
The Limfjord ( common Danish: ''Limfjorden'' , in north Jutlandish dialect: ''Æ Limfjord'') is a shallow part of the sea, located in Denmark where it has been regarded as a fjord ever since Viking t ...
and
Livø
Livø () is a 320-hectare Danish island with approximately 10-year-round residents. The island is located centrally in the Limfjord, about 20 minutes by boat from Rønbjerg, and approximately midway between Nykøbing Mors, Løgstør, Fjerritslev ...
. It is deepest at
Hvalpsund
Hvalpsund is a ferry port in Himmerland with a population of 649 (1 January 2022), located 20 km west of Aalestrup, 12 km southwest of Farsø and 25 km southwest of Aars. The town belongs to the municipality of Vesthimmerland Munic ...
(24 metres).
Its main port is
Aalborg
Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of Aalb ...
, where a railway bridge (
Jernbanebroen over Limfjorden
The Limfjord Railway Bridge ( da, Jernbanebroen over Limfjorden) is a railway bridge carrying the Vendsyssel railway line across the Limfjord, a shallow sound separating the North Jutlandic Island from the rest of the Jutland Peninsula, between Aa ...
) and road bridge (
Limfjordsbroen
Limfjordsbroen is a Danish bridge which connects Nørresundby and Aalborg over Limfjord
The Limfjord ( common Danish: ''Limfjorden'' , in north Jutlandish dialect: ''Æ Limfjord'') is a shallow part of the sea, located in Denmark where it ha ...
) have been built across the Limfjord to
Nørresundby
Nørresundby () is a city in Aalborg Municipality, north of Limfjorden, in Vendsyssel, in Denmark. The urban area has a population of 23,718 (1 January 2021). It is located just north of Aalborg, which lies south of Limfjorden. Statistically its ...
, while motorway E45 crosses it through a tunnel to the east. Commercial ports also exist at
Thisted
Thisted is a town in the municipality of Thisted in the North Denmark Region of Denmark. It has a population of 13,461 (1 January 2022)Nykøbing Mors
Nykøbing Mors is the largest town on the island of Mors in the Limfjord in Denmark. The town received its charter in 1299 and has a population of 9,033 (1 January 2022).
Løgstør
Løgstør is a town in Denmark with a population of 3,967 (1 January 2022) It is located 47 km west of Aalborg and 64 km north of Viborg. Løgstør's city centre consists of old streets with small houses built in the 1800s for fishermen and sailo ...
Lemvig
Lemvig, with a population of 6,816 (2022),BY3: Po ...
and
Thyborøn
Thyborøn is a fishing village in Jutland, Denmark with a population of 1,890 (1 January 2022),Oddesund
Oddesund is a strait in the Danish Limfjorden. The Oddesund Bridge ( da, Oddesundbroen) spans the fjord connecting the mainland of Jutland with Thy. According to the Heimskringla, a battle took place in Oddasund between the Swedish king Jorund a ...
,
Sallingsund Until 1 January 2007 Sallingsund municipality was a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') in the former Viborg County in the northwest of the Salling Peninsula, a part of the larger Jutland peninsula in northwest Denmark. The municipality covered an ...
Aggersund
Aggersund is a village in northern Denmark with a population of 290 (2022). The village is a part of Vesthimmerland Municipality in the North Jutland Region.
Evidence of settlement in Aggersund dates back to the stone age, and the village contain ...
From the early Middle Ages until 1825, the Limfjord was only open to the sea at its east end. In that year, the North Sea broke through from the west and created a second opening, turning the northern part of Jutland
Vendsyssel-Thy
The North Jutlandic Island (), Vendsyssel-Thy, or Jutland north of the Limfjord (''Jylland nord for Limfjorden''), is the northernmost part of Denmark and of Jutland. It is more common to refer to the three traditional districts Vendsyssel, Han ...
into an island.
An isthmus of shifting sand has separated the Limfjord from the North Sea during historic times. The present inlet, Thyborøn Channel, has existed only since 1862. A passage also existed during the
Viking Age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...
. Based on place names and the geography it is thought to have been to the south of the present one, between
Ferring Sø
Ferring is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It is part of the built-up area of Worthing and is accessed along the A259 road west of the town - comprising North Down Farm and Highdown Hi ...
(locally still called 'the Fjord') and Hygum Nor.
Canute the Great
Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway ...
sailed into it in 1027 on his way back from England. According to
Saxo Grammaticus
Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1150 – c. 1220), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. ...
it closed at some time around 1200. There are records of several floods piercing the isthmus during the 16th to early 19th century.
On 3 February 1825 a flood pierced a permanent opening, the so-called Agger Channel, in the north of the 13 km long and less than 1 km wide
isthmus
An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmu ...
, the
Agger Tange Agger may refer to:
* Agger (surname)
* Agger (ancient Rome), a type of ancient Roman rampart or embankment
* Agger (river), a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
* Agger nasi, an anatomical feature of the nose
* Agger Rockshelter, in Wisconsi ...
, which had until then linked Thy with the rest 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 ...
. The western part of North Jutland lost its road connection with mainland Jutland, but the towns and harbours in the western part of the Limfjord could benefit from becoming directly accessible from the North Sea, to the dismay of
Aalborg
Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of Aalb ...
. From the 1840s the western route became increasingly important, as Britain had opened for import of grain, and ships could return with British coal. However, the instability of Agger Channel made the towns of the western Limfjord look for a second option.
In 1862, a flood pierced another opening, the
Thyborøn Channel
Thyborøn is a fishing village in Jutland, Denmark with a population of 1,890 (1 January 2022),groyne
A groyne (in the U.S. groin) is a rigid hydraulic structure built perpendicularly from an ocean shore (in coastal engineering) or a river bank, interrupting water flow and limiting the movement of sediment. It is usually made out of wood, concre ...
s, persistent sandpumping and two road dams along their inward (eastern) side.
Løgstør Banks and the Frederik VII Canal
At Løgstør, where the wide, western part of the Limfjord meets the narrow eastern section, the infamous sand banks of Løgstør Grunde were an obstacle to ships. Larger ships needed to be unloaded and reloaded when passing the banks. The Frederik VII Canal at
Løgstør
Løgstør is a town in Denmark with a population of 3,967 (1 January 2022) It is located 47 km west of Aalborg and 64 km north of Viborg. Løgstør's city centre consists of old streets with small houses built in the 1800s for fishermen and sailo ...
was completed in 1861 to allow for easier passage. Traffic had increased after the western opening at Thyborøn became navigable. The sand banks were finally dredged out in 1901, rendering the canal obsolete. The canal is now a well-preserved heritage site.
Plans for re-closing the western inlet
A 1946 act provided for re-closing the Channel with dams and sluices at Thyborøn, but this was never carried out. This idea re-emerged in 2005 and is now officially being investigated. It is thought that the isthmuses would be easier to preserve, and that the water level of the Limfjord would be more controllable. In periods of persistent western winds, flooding occurs on low-lying land and harbour areas in the towns of the western Limfjord, since the water can't escape through the narrow, eastern part of the Limfjord.
Historically, a North Sea to Limfjord
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...
has also been proposed between
Hanstholm
Hanstholm is a small town and a former island, now elevated area in Thisted municipality of Region Nordjylland, located in northern Denmark. The population of the town is 2,104 (1 January 2022).
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 ...
and
Thisted
Thisted is a town in the municipality of Thisted in the North Denmark Region of Denmark. It has a population of 13,461 (1 January 2022)Jørgen Fibiger in 1933, the engineer behind the project of Hanstholm harbour.
In literature
Limgrim legend
According to myth, a woman (in some versions a ''
jötunn
A (also jotun; in the normalised scholarly spelling of Old Norse, ; ; plural / ) or, in Old English, (plural ) is a type of supernatural being in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, they are often contrasted with gods (Æsir and Vanir) ...
'') gave birth to a pig, Limgrim, which soon grew so big that its bristles could be seen over the treetops. It strolled around and dug channels in the ground. One day it reached the sea and water broke in. This would have been at the eastern inlet of the Limfjord, at Hals. The legend is also handed down in a medieval ballad with a Christian tint. In the ballad, the pig is summoned to a
Thing
Thing or The Thing may refer to:
Philosophy
* An object
* Broadly, an entity
* Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant
* Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuses ...
by peasants to pay for the damage to their crops, and it is sentenced to the
breaking wheel
The breaking wheel or execution wheel, also known as the Wheel of Catherine or simply the Wheel, was a torture method used for public execution primarily in Europe from antiquity through the Middle Ages into the early modern period by breakin ...
.
The state environmental surveillance vessel ''Limgrim'', based at Skive, is named after the legend.
Limfjord poets
A number of writers of the
Modern Breakthrough
The Modern Breakthrough ( no, Det moderne gjennombrudd, da, Det moderne gennembrud, sv, Det moderna genombrottet) is the common name of the strong movement of naturalism and debating literature of Scandinavia which replaced romanticism near the ...
period (1870-1890) and the next decades came from the area around the Limfjord and often used it as a lyrical motif, or a setting for their prose. These include
Jens Peter Jacobsen
Jens Peter Jacobsen (7 April 1847 – 30 April 1885) was a Danish novelist, poet, and scientist, in Denmark often just written as "J. P. Jacobsen". He began the naturalist movement in Danish literature and was a part of the Modern Bre ...
of Thisted,
Johan Skjoldborg
Johan Skjoldborg (27 April 1861 – 22 February 1936) was a Danish educator, novelist, playwright and memoirist.
Biography
Johan Martinus Nielsen Skjoldborg was born in the parish of Øsløs in Thisted in north Jutland, Denmark.
He was educated ...
Jakob Knudsen
Jakob Christian Lindberg Knudsen (14 September 1858 – 21 January 1917) was a Danish author, educator and clergyman.
Biography
Jakob Knudsen was born in Rødding, in the south of Denmark. Knudsen spent much of his childhood at Aggersborg ...
of
Aggersborg
Aggersborg is the largest of Denmark's former Viking ring fortress, and one of the largest archaeological sites in Denmark. It is located near Aggersund on the north side of the Limfjord. It consists of a circular rampart surrounded by a ditch. F ...
,
Jeppe Aakjær
Jeppe Aakjær (10 September 1866 – 22 (23) April 1930) was a Danish poet and novelist, a member of the ' Jutland Movement' in Danish literature". A regionalist, much of his writings were about his native Jutland. He was known for writings t ...
and
Marie Bregendahl
Marie Bregendahl née Sørensen (6 November 1867 – 22 July 1940) was a Danish author. She is one of Denmark's most acclaimed authors of rural literature whose novels and short stories were written in a realistic, almost grotesque style.
Biogr ...
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
laureate
Johannes Vilhelm Jensen
Johannes Vilhelm Jensen (20 January 1873 – 25 November 1950) was a Danish author, known as one of the great Danish writers of the first half of 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1944 "for the rare strength and fert ...
of
Farsø
Farsø is a town with a population of 3,349 (1 January 2022) in Region Nordjylland in Denmark in the Vesthimmerland Municipality. Farsø was the birthplace of Johannes Vilhelm Jensen, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1944. The village of ...
and his sister
Thit Jensen
Maria Kirstine Dorothea Jensen (19 January 1876 – 14 May 1957) was a Danish novelist and author who wrote under the name Thit Jensen. She is known for her short stories, plays, and socially-critical articles.
For her writing, Jensen was honored ...
Lemvig
Lemvig, with a population of 6,816 (2022),BY3: Po ...
belonged to the symbolism of the 1920s.
Johannes Buchholtz
Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as "John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, ''Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Yeh ...
in Struer was a prose writer and his home was a meeting point for many of the Limfjord writers. The house is still kept up by the Struer Museum, which allows visitors. Jeppe Aakjær's farm Jenle close to Skive, Johan Skjoldborg's house in Øsløs, and the Johannes V. Jensen Museum in Farsø are also open to the public.
Erik Bertelsen
Erik Bertelsen (8 August 1912 – 18 March 1993) was a Danish ichthyologist, who specialised in deep sea fish. The fish, '' Diaphus bertelseni'' is named in his honour.
He studied biology at the University of Copenhagen (1930 -) and in 1937 start ...
of Harboør is best known for the song ''Blæsten går frisk over Limfjordens vande'' ('The Wind Goes Fresh over the Limfjord's Waters'), a much-used "local anthem".
The later ones of these Limfjord writers, along with a few others, formed the
Jutland Movement
The ''Jutland Movement'' or folkelige realister opular realists were a group of loosely affiliated Danish writers. Their writing style, which dealt with the rural life of the Jutland peasants, formed them into a group. They existed around the tur ...
, which revolted against the symbolism of the early 20th century. Instead, they wrote social realistic prose, often about poor and exploited people in the countryside, who were a part of Danish society little known to the establishment in Copenhagen.
Biology and climate
The western breakthrough of 1825 changed the waters of the Limfjord from
brackish
Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...
to salty, with a considerable current from west to east.
Hypoxia
Hypoxia means a lower than normal level of oxygen, and may refer to:
Reduced or insufficient oxygen
* Hypoxia (environmental), abnormally low oxygen content of the specific environment
* Hypoxia (medical), abnormally low level of oxygen in the tis ...
sometimes occurs due to warm windless periods in summer or ice in winter.
The fjord today has oceanic salinity, approximately 30
PSU
PSU may refer to:
Organizations Military
*Police Support Unit, a paramilitary wing of the Zimbabwe Republic Police
*Port Security Unit, a U.S. Coast Guard expeditionary force protection unit
Political parties
* Parti Socialiste Unifié (disambig ...
(or per mille by weight) at all depths. Many animals and maritime plants that can be found in
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.
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 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 Norwegian S ...
can thus be found in the fjord.
Due to its shallow waters, the temperature rises rather quickly during warm and sunny days from mid-April to early September. While in winter, ice can form faster during the cold periods, especially in bays with little current. Problematic ice conditions do not occur every winter.
The Limfjord is notable for its tasty
mussels
Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve mollusc
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,0 ...
(''Mytilus edulis''). Gourmets appreciate its
oysters
Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...
, which are considered to be of extraordinary size and quality. Had it not been for
the western breakthrough in 1825, these mussels wouldn't grow as well as they do in the waters with ocean-like salinity.