ETR // Stage 27 // Ebeltoft - Hanstholm

56°11'57.1"N 10°40'25.8"E
56.199182, 10.673832
Ebeltoft - Hanstholm
VR EXPO - 60 Stages
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Distance

Ebeltoft - Hanstholm
Radius 100 km
252 km

Highlights

Northern Djursland
Kattegat Centre
Skagens Museum
Vippefyr Lighthouse
Råbjerg Mile
Grenen near Skagen
North Sea Oceanarium
Lille Vildmose
Mårup Church
Løkken Bunkers
Vigsø Bunkers
The Atlantic Wall
Bunkermuseum Hanstholm

Head north from Ebeltoft across Djursland

While you're in Djursland you should also visit the Kattegat Centre in Grenå, which offers a different type of entertainment, featuring all kinds of fish. Sharks, rays, cod and probably many species you do not know. If you're brave, you can get to dive with members of the centre in a giant tank, enabling you to come in close contact with the fish. The Kattegat Centre is beautifully situated by the harbour in Grenå.

From Grenå, drive north and you’ll find the beautiful beaches and stunning wild, raw nature. Northern Djursland is filled with good, small roads, winding through fields, woods and small towns, such as Karlby, Gjerrild and Sangstrup. Djursland has everything you could want from a motorcycle ride but be warned, the beauty of Djursland gets right under your skin.

Skagen and there the two seas meet

Take a ride up to Skagen and the northernmost point of Denmark, the headland at Grenen, where you can stand with one foot in The Kattegat Sea, and one foot in The Skaggerak. This makes for turbulent seas, and strandings, beachings and shipwrecks are common. The frequent shipping losses and the strategic location as the gateway to the Baltic led to Skagen being the site of one of Denmarks earliest lighthouses, the Vippefyr, constructed in the 17th century. A reconstruction of the lighthouse is located to the north of the town of Skagen.

The combination of art, culture, impressive nature and a treasure trove of locally produced food, makes a visit to North Jutland a unique experience. Taste the locally produced dairy products, schnapps, beers, and the famous salt of Læsø. The spectacular beaches of the region stretch all the way from the white sandy beaches of the west coast of Jutland, to ”The Danish Desert,” Råbjerg Mile. This migrating dune, the largest in Northern Europe, with a height of 40 metres, moves up to 18 metres every year, and is visited by more than 250,000 people every year.

Ride the Sand Worm

During the summer, the town of Skagen is one of the most visited destinations in Denmark. Here, you can take the tractor bus ”Sandormen” to the northernmost point of Denmark, a narrow strip of beach known as Grenen, where it is possible to stand with one foot in the Skagerak Sea, and the other in the Kattegat Sea.

Inspiring artists for centuries

The nature of North Jutland inspired famous Danish painters such as Anna and Michael Ancher, P.S. Krøyer and Asger Jorn. Their works are displayed in museums all over the region, with Skagens Museum being the most famous. But North Jutland also offers great experiences for the entire family. The North Sea Oceanarium in Hirtshals gives you the opportunity to touch a real shark, or observe the giant golden eagle in the nature paradise of Lille Vildmose, the largest protected land area in Denmark. Between the charming towns of Lønstrup and Løkken, you can visit Mårup Church, which, due to centuries of erosion, is now close to falling into the sea. Take the west coast route southwards and visit the bunkers at Løkken, or cut over to the city of Aalborg.

Photos

Dave O'Byrne
European Touring Route AS

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Bunkermuseum Hanstholm and The Atlantic Wall

Whichever direction you take to Hanstholm, visit the bunkers at Vigsø before you arrive at Bunkermuseum Hanstholm, a large sea fortress, constructed by the occupying German military during World War II.

The fortress was part of The Atlantic Wall and its main purpose was to seal off the entrance to Skagerrak together with the Vara fortress in Kristiansand, in southern Norway, with extensive marine minefields in the Skagerrak. The fortress had a wide range of artillery, ranging from medium-sized 17cm guns up to four massive 38cm S.K.C/34 guns, weighing 110 tonnes each. The 38cm guns were similar to the ones fitted to the Bismarck class battleships and had been intended for Gneisenau. However, after Gneisenau was damaged in a bombing raid, a decision was made not to fit the guns to the ship, but to use them in stationary fortresses instead.

The fortifications around Hanstholm were built into the hill surrounding the small fishing village, and four 38cm cannons were installed, with a range of about 55,000 meters, and the capacity to shoot almost half the distance to Norway. These were used to block allied access to the Kattegat and the Baltic sea, and similar cannon emplacements were installed in Kristiansand in Norway, sealing the other side of the channel.

Enough ammunition for a great day out

We got there relatively early in the morning, and managed to explore the area before the museum opened at 10.00am, and after some refreshments, spent another few hours exploring the museum itself. One of the interesting exhibits is a 2-meter long model of the world's largest canon, the infamous railway-cannon 'Dora', with an 80cm gun, mounted on a railway carriage. But that's another story...

The Bunkermuseum at Hanstholm is also partially submerged into the hill, with the main museum section still visible above ground, while the various gun emplacements, logistical corridors, soldier’s quarters and ammunition storage facilities, remain completely integrated into the surrounding environment. Access by motorbike is extremely easy, and you can park the bike just 100 meters from the museum’s entrance.

After visiting the main Museum, you can make your way down into the underground bunkers, and feel the cold chill of a submerged military ecosystem, and see how the soldiers lived, how they handled the ammunition, and moved it by train from the many ammunition depots, out to the huge cannons, ready for firing. From here, you can see just how well-integrated these fortifications were, hidden from view, and protected by the hillside.

The entire area surrounding the museum is definitely worth exploring also, as it is littered with smaller gun emplacements, anti-aircraft installations, supply bunkers, and even a light rail system, which was used for transportation of ordinance and ballistic material around the site.