Skagen (Denmark) is a small resort town, in the northernmost point of the country. This city is located on the Jutland Peninsula, on Cape Grenen.
Skagen is included in the list of the main fishing ports in Denmark, it provides fresh fish and seafood to residents of the whole country. In addition, this city is recognized as the resort capital of Denmark, and this is largely due to the fact that there are the largest number of sunny days in a year.
Skagen inhabits about 12,000 people, but during the holidays the number of residents increases many times due to vacationers from Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and Norway.
What is interesting to see in Skagen
Skagen amazes with the number of street cafes that serve excellent fish dishes. There are so many locals, and there are so many tourists in the season that it takes a very long time to expect an empty table. And in the evenings, many people go for a walk on the promenade, where every day exactly at 21:00 the flag is solemnly lowered, and at this time a trumpeter rises to a special platform and plays the trumpet.
But they’re not going to Skagen to sit in a cafe and listen to the trumpeter. This northernmost city of Denmark is known mainly due to Cape Grenen, which merges the two seas – the Baltic and the North.
From the tip of Cape Grenin stretches and goes far into the sea, washed over many years by a sand spit. Rather, she goes to the seas. Here, at Cape Grenen in Denmark, the North and Baltic Seas meet. Each of them has its own “salinity”, density and temperature of the water, which is why these waters do not mix, but form a clear and clearly distinguishable border. You can’t swim here, because it is life-threatening – the waves encountered create very strong undercurrents.
To see this phenomenon, you have to overcome the path of 1.5 km from the parking lot to the edge of the sand spit. If you don’t feel like walking, you can drive a Sandormen tractor with a trailer for 15 kroons.
Cape Grenin also has other attractions. Near the parking lot there is an old German bunker, preserved since the Second World War – it has a museum of bunkers.
Near the parking lot stands a lighthouse, which is allowed to climb. From it you can clearly see the city of Skagen, Cape Grenin and the sand spit, a place of confluence of the seas.
A little aside from the lighthouse there is not quite an ordinary building, the purpose of which is not so easy to guess. This is the old lighthouse Vippefyr, built on Cape Grenin back in 1727. The benchmark for the ships was the fire of a bonfire burning in a large tin barrel, raised high up.
Among other attractions of Denmark there is another one located in the north of Jutland, between the cities of Skagen and Fredrikshavn. This is the moving sand dune of Rabjerg Mile.
This dune is one of the largest in Europe, its height exceeds 40 m, and the area reaches 1 km². Under the influence of winds, Rabjerg Mile moves to the northeast at a speed of up to 18 m per year.
The wind here is very strong, it easily blows even a person from a place. By the way, unlike some other drifting dunes, Rabjerg Mile is allowed to walk.
The sand dune has already conquered the old church of St. Lawrence built in the 14th century, now known as the “Buried Church” and “The Church Filled with Sand”. People were forced to dig out the entrance to the church before each service, and in 1795 they stopped fighting with the elements – the church became abandoned. Gradually, the sand swallowed the entire first floor, most of the building collapsed, and only the tower has survived to this day.
Almost 50 years after the church of St. Lawrence was finally abandoned in 1795, a new religious building was built in the center of Skagen.
The building is light yellow in neoclassical style. It is characterized by carefully verified symmetry, large windows and a sloping roof made of tiles, typical of Denmark. At the top of the bell tower is an elegant dark green spire with a dial, designed in the Baroque style. A bell was installed on the bell tower, which was delivered from the sandy St. Lawrence Church.
Some interior details and church utensils, such as candle holders and communion bowls, were also transferred from the old temple.
Where to stay in Skagen
Skagen offers a wide range of hotels and other accommodation options.
Accommodation prices start at 65 € per day for two, the average price is at 160 €.
For example, in Krøyers Holiday Apartments, located 4 km from the city center, you can rent a twin room for 64 €. About 90 €, the cost of living in the villa “Holiday Apartment Sct. Clemensvej ”with two double beds. For 170 €, the Hotel Petit hotel, located in close proximity to the main street of the city, offers a double room with one double or two single beds.
How to get to Skagen from Copenhagen
There are many ways to get to Skagen from the Danish capital.
The nearest airport is Aalborg, approximately 100 km from Skagen. Airplanes from Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, to Aalborg fly daily, only sometimes there can be up to 10 flights a day, and sometimes only 1. You can see the schedule on the websites of Norwegian and SAS airlines, you can buy tickets on their websites. The cost of the flight is about 84 €, if there is luggage, if only hand luggage, the ticket will cost less. By time, the flight lasts 45 minutes.
There is an Aalborg Lufthavn bus stop right at the exit from Aalborg Airport. Here you need to take one of the buses No. 12, 70, 71 and go to the Lindholm Station stop, where the bus station and the railway station are located. The ride on the city bus lasts 5-7 minutes, the ticket costs 1.7 € and you can buy it from the driver.
There are no trains going straight from Aalborg to Skagen – at least one change will be required in Frederikshavn. Trains in this direction travel from 6:00 to 22:00, the trip takes 2 hours. The ticket will cost 10 €, you can buy it only in the terminal at the station. By the way, the spelling of city names is different in English and Swedish, for example, “Copenhagen” is written as “København”.
The roads in Denmark are beautiful and completely free. But the path to Skagen goes through the bridge that connects Zeeland and Funen, and you need to pay 18 € for travel on it. To pay, you must adhere to the yellow or blue strip – on the blue you can pay through the terminal using a bank card, on the yellow – in cash.
There are no direct flights from the Danish capital to Skagen, at least one change will be required in Frederikshavn. Although trains depart from Copenhagen to Skagen almost around the clock, you can only get with one change if you leave Copenhagen from 7:00 to 18:00.
You need to get to Frederikshavn at the final stop, the station is small and you can transfer from one train to another in a matter of minutes.
Important: getting on the train, you need to look at the scoreboard and check which cars go to which city. The fact is that wagons are in most cases trailed!
Tickets cost from 67 €. If you buy a ticket with the specified location, then another +4 €. You can purchase tickets:
- at the box office of the railway station;
- in the terminal at the railway station (payment is accepted only through a credit card);
- on the railway website (www.dsb.dk/en/).
Video: Skagen city, Denmark.
