Skagen

Skagen (The Skaw) is a municipality (Danish, kommune) in North Jutland County on the northernmost tip of Vendsyssel-Thy, a part of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 143 km², and has a total population of 11,803 (2005). Its mayor is Hans Rex Christensen, a member of the Venstre (Liberal Party) political party.

Attractions

The headland at Grenen, the northernmost point of Denmark, is a spectacular setting where the two parts of the Baltic Sea, the Kattegat and the Skagerrak meet. This makes for turbulent seas and strandings? beachings and shipwreckings are not uncommon. The frequent shipping losses and the strategic location as the gateway to the Baltic led to Skagen being the site of one of Denmark's earliest lighthouses, the Vippefyr, constructed in the 15th century. A reconstruction of the lighthouse is located to the north of the town of Skagen.

Related Topics:
Grenen - Vippefyr

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The lighthouse was originally built and funded by the late Medieval Danish state with the proceeds of the "sound dues", and was superseded by the 'white lighthouse' or hvidefyr in the 17th century, and then the far taller 'grey lighthouse' or gråfyr of the 1850's.

Related Topics:
Medieval - Sound dues - Hvidefyr - Gråfyr

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The desertification that hit the area in the 18th and 19th centuries led to the abandonment of the old parish church to the migrating sands? the famous Buried Church (tilsandende kirke). The tower of the church remains protruding from the dunes, as it was left as a sea marker when the church was abandoned at the close of the 18th century.

Related Topics:
Tilsandende kirke - Dune

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