Thurø is a small Danish island in the south-east of

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

and belongs to the

Svendborg Svendborg () is a town on the island of Funen in south-central Denmark, and the seat of Svendborg Municipality. With a population of 27,616 (1 January 2025), Svendborg is Funen's second largest city.South Funen Archipelago The South Funen Archipelago () is the popular name for the part of the Baltic Sea south of the ports of Faaborg and Svendborg on the Danish island of Funen. The depth of the sea is typically between 20 and 30 meters. The archipelago includes s ...

, comprising c. 55 islands altogether. The island had 3,555 inhabitants . Connected to Svendborg proper by a small bridge, Thurø has become a popular place to live due to its quiet streets and proximity to both

Svendborg Svendborg () is a town on the island of Funen in south-central Denmark, and the seat of Svendborg Municipality. With a population of 27,616 (1 January 2025), Svendborg is Funen's second largest city.Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

. Thurø is also a holiday destination, with two popular sandy beaches, three campsites and a number of houses for rent. The sea around horseshoe-shaped Thurø is considered fine fishing-water, particularly for trout. There are several small harbours around the island and ''Thurøbund'' - the inner part of the horseshoe - is a well-known safe nature-harbour used by the sailing fraternity. The entire island is served by a direct bus link to Svendborg city centre, from where onward routes cover the Funen region.

History

According to legend, and as told in Saxo's

Gesta Danorum ("Deeds of the Danes") is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Literate", literally "the Grammarian"). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark and is an essentia ...

(chronicles of the Danes), as well as in the

Scylding The Scyldings ( OE Scyldingas) or Skjǫldungs ( ON Skjǫldungar), both meaning "descendants of Scyld/Skjǫldr", were, according to legends, a clan or dynasty of Danish kings, that in its time conquered and ruled Denmark and Sweden together with ...

Sagas Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...

, Helge (brother to

Hrothgar Hrothgar ( ; ) was a semi-legendary Danish king living around the early sixth century AD. Hrothgar appears in the Anglo-Saxon epics ''Beowulf'' and '' Widsith'', in Norse sagas and poems, and in medieval Danish chronicles. In both Anglo-Saxon ...

, both known from the

Beowolf ''Beowulf'' (; ) is an Old English poem, an epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The date of ...

poems) once came by this island on one of his raiding expeditions. Here, he came to the house of the elf-woman Thora (Thurø meaning literally "Thora's island", or in some legends, "

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

's Island"), whom he raped. When he returned to the island years later, Thora sent out their daughter,

Yrsa Yrsa, Yrse, Yrs or Urse (fl. 6th century)The dating has never been a matter of controversy. It is inferred from the internal chronology of the sources themselves and the dating of Hygelac's raid on Frisia to c. 516. It is also supported by archa ...

, to greet him, as revenge. He either raped, or fell in love with and married, Yrsa, not knowing she was his own daughter, and she then had his son,

Hrólfr Kraki Hrólfr Kraki (Old Norse: ), ''Hroðulf'', ''Rolfo'', ''Roluo'', ''Rolf Krage'' (early 6th century) was a semi-legendary Danish king who appears in both Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian tradition. Both traditions describe him as a Danish Scylding, ...

, who would go on to become one of Denmark's greatest and most legendary kings. When Helge learned that Yrsa was his daughter, he committed suicide. Denmark's oldest "pacifier-tree" has been located on Thurø for 85 years. Part of Danish tradition is for children to "sacrifice" their

pacifier A pacifier is a rubber, plastic, or silicone nipple substitute given to an infant or toddler to suckle on between feedings to quiet their distress by satisfying the need to suck when they do not need to eat. Pacifiers normally have three parts: ...

s (dummies) at a local tree to mark their passage from infancy to childhood.

Notable people

Karin Michaëlis Karin Michaëlis (20 March 1872 – 11 January 1950) was a Danish journalist and author. She is best known for her novels, short stories, and children's books. Over the course of 50 years, Karin Michaëlis wrote more than 50 books in Danish, Ger ...

(1872-1950) a Danish journalist and author; from 1933 she took in German emigrants at her property in Thurø, including

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

and

Marlene Norst Marlene Johanna Norst (24 March 193020 December 2010) was an Australian Linguistics, linguist, Pedagogy, pedagogue and Philanthropy, philanthropist of Austrian heritage. Her main areas of work were German language and German literature, liter ...

; she is buried in Thurø cemetery *

Laura Brun-Pedersen Laura Oline Hedvig Brun-Pedersen (19 July 1883 – 7 March 1961) was a Danish painter. Born in Copenhagen, she studied art at the painting schools of Ernst Goldschmidt (1917–18) and Harald Giersing (1919-20). She painted deeply coloured landsca ...

(1883–1961) a Danish painter of deeply coloured landscapes with human figures and animals; she lived on Thurø for 30 years *

Tom Kristensen Tom Kristensen (born 7 July 1967) is a Danish former racing driver. He holds the record for the most wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with nine, six of which were consecutive (from 2000 to 2005). In 1997, he won the race with the Joest Racing te ...

(1893 in London – 1974 in Thurø) was a Danish poet, novelist, literary critic and journalist *

Jan Pytlick Jan Pytlick (born 5 June 1967) is a Danish handball coach, and trains Saudi Arabia national team. He was head coach for the Danish women's national handball team from 1998 to 2006, and again from 2007 to 2014. Pytlick has led the women's nation ...

(born 1967 in Thurø) a Danish handball coach. He was head coach for the Danish women's national handball team 1998-2006 and 2007-2014

References

Sources

Den lille Svendborgguide
Guide to Svendborg and surroundings

External links

Islands of Denmark Geography of Funen Geography of Svendborg Municipality {{SouthernDK-stub