Bornholm travel guide
Bornholm is “Scandinavia in a nutshell”. Sitting in the middle of the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Poland, this enchanting island features a variety of landscapes typical to different areas of Scandinavia. It is a peaceful place, home to about 42,000 Bornholmers, with no large towns and almost no industry. Visitors have a perfect opportunity to relax, although from early July until the end of August the population swells fourfold with holidaymakers. It is three hours from Copenhagen by train/ferry, and 30 minutes by plane.
Places to visit on Bornholm
Hammershus
Tel: 56 48 24 31
Perched on a huge rocky knoll on the northwest corner of the island are the impressive ruins of Hammershus. The castle was built around 1200 to defend the island against attack, and is today Scandinavia’s largest castle ruin. At the time the castle was built, Bornholm was owned by the Archbishop of Lund (in what is now southern Sweden, but then part of Denmark); he was openly at war with the kings of Denmark. Strong separatist feelings still exist among some Bornholmers. Their banner is a Danish flag with a green cross instead of the familiar white one.
Rønne
With around 14,000 inhabitants, Rønne is the largest town on Bornholm, and its harbour is one of the largest provincial ports in Denmark. Some parts of the town have been well preserved, especially in the area just east of Skt Nikolai Kirke. The beautiful Kastellet (citadel) is on the east side of town and now houses a military museum, Forsvarsmuseet (tel: 51 33 00 33).
NaturBornholm
Grønningen 30, åkirkeby
Tel: 56 94 04 00
åkirkeby is the main town in the southern part of Bornholm, and the only one of the larger towns situated inland. One of its main attractions is NaturBornholm, a superb interactive visitor centre that explains the island’s history, wildlife and geology. The building was designed by Henning Larsen, architect of Copenhagen’s Opera House.
Svaneke
The easternmost town in Denmark, Svaneke prospered with the success of its shipping captains. The largest buildings were originally merchants’ houses. Today it’s the prettiest town on Bornholm, famous for an abundance of artists’ workshops and its lively craft market, from 9am on Wednesdays and Saturdays in summer. North of the town is an old Dutch mill, and nearby an un-traditional water tower, built by the architect Jørn Utzon in 1951.
Medieval round churches
østerlars Kirke just over 10km (6 miles) west of Svaneke, is the largest of the four medieval “round churches” of Bornholm, which include Nylars, Nyker and Olsker. When the Slavic Wends ravaged the island they were occasionally used as places of refuge, and in the 14th–16th century Hanseatic merchants from northern Germany would move in during the herring season. At østerlars the enormous support pillars create the impression of a fortress, which was the second purpose of the structure. Inside the church (built around 1150), the vault is painted with fine frescoes of biblical scenes. On the north wall of the oval-shaped choir, stone steps lead to the second storey, where the hollow central pillar has two entrances. The outer wall has a watchman’s gallery. The double altarpiece was painted by the local artist Poul Høm.
If you’re here with children, drop in on the nearby Bornholms Middelaldercenter (tel: 56 49 83 19; www.bornholmsmiddelaldercenter.dk), an activity-packed introduction to the medieval age. The reconstructed town comes alive in summer, with craft demonstrations, performances, a bustling July market, bonfires and booming cannons.
