Tag Archives: als

The Battle of Als (Kampen om Als) 2014

IMG_3233

During the coming weekend Sonderborg will be awash with memories of 1864. We asked Ditte Kock, a historian working at Historiecenter Dybbøl Banke, to tell us a bit more about what the event is and what will happen. Here is what she said:

As you may have noticed, the war in 1864 is very important here in Sønderborg. The battle on Dybbøl hill on the 18th of April is the most famous event of the war and it is marked with a military ceremony every year. The assault on Dybbøl led to a peace conference in London, which led to nothing. The war broke out again and on the 29th of june, Prussia attacked Als. The battle was a crushing defeat for Denmark and it has largely been forgotten since.

IMG_3216

This weekend, Historiecenter Dybbøl Banke reenacts the battle. We begin Saturday at 11.00 with a parade from the castle through Perlegade and up to Rønhave plads. There will be Danish and Prussian soldiers, horses dragging canons and women in beautiful dresses. At 14.00-19.00 the soldiers camp (drive to Burger King and follow the signs) opens. There will be stories about the war and the people who participated, battle demonstrations and much much more. Sunday morning at 03.00 we reenact the battle at the historically correct time. Prussian soldiers sail across the water and defeat the Danish army. This is a spectacular experience that you should not miss. Again, drive to Burger King and follow the signs. The soldiers camp opens again Sunday 10.00-19.00. Entrance for the entire weekend is 50 kr. I hope to see you there!

At the same time, Sønderborg city hosts a new event called 1864dage. The city will return to 1864 and there will be a market and several other 1864 events. It should be very fun and much less formal than the ceremony on the 18th of April.

IMG_3226

The Battle of Als is a yearly reenactment, although this year will be a particularly special event with it being 150 years since the events. You can read more about our experience last year. You can also read more about this year’s programme here.

IMG_1436

The Battle of Als/Kampen om Als

1864 is a significant year in the history of the region, with an influence that is still trickling down to the present day. This is the year of the second Schleswig-Holstein war, when Denmark fought Prussia for control of the duchies in this region.

IMG_3233

One of the most well-known battles from this war is the Battle of Dybbol on the 18th of June. However, for Als the defining moment is the 29th of June, when the Prussian army crossed Als Sound in the early hours of the morning and managed to take over Als. Als remained part of the Prussian/Germany lands up to the referendum of 1920.

For a long time the wounds from this war cut quite deep to the people living in the region. However, over the years the wounds of this war have abated such that the region is finding it in itself to commemorate the happenings. One of the ways this is done is by the now yearly ‘Kampen Om Als/Battle of Als‘ reenactment.

Kampen om Als was first held last year in order to promote interest in this event that helped define the Danish lands. The reenactment consists of the setting up of a historical soldier camp on the last weekend of June, with a reenactment of the crossing of Als sound.

The Soldier Camp

IMG_3220

The soldier camp is set up on Kær peninsula on Als. This year there were plenty of activities going on in combination with the camp for people like us who were not actively participating in the reenactment. There was food to taste, gunpowder to smell, soldier tents to see and loud bangs from firing guns and cannons to be heard. This being the second year the size of the camp is not too big. Therefore, you can get the time to enjoy every aspect without feeling overwhelmed by it all.

IMG_3213

The Crossing of Als Sound

This was the highlight of the reenactment for us and, probably, most of the participants. We arrived on site around 2:30am, waiting for the crossing to occur at the historically accurate time of 3am. In preparation for the crossing pictures from the time were beamed onto a sheet, setting the atmosphere for the 300 or so observers. Soon after Bjørn Østergaard started a commentary about the events of the day, what we were going to participate in and what we were seeing that continued throughout the whole event.This was probably what made the reenactment for me as it helped me understand what I was seeing and why it was significant (even with my basic Danish!).

[vine url=”https://vine.co/v/haieQD1MD9W” type=”postcard” size=”480″]

At 3 am boats ‘Prussian troops’ started crossing over towards Als. It was still dark so they were very hard to spot. No wonder they managed to over run Als! Once they were spotted the shooting extravaganza started. There was shooting at the boats, a battle between the Danish and Prussian on land, and the arrival of the Danish navy boat Rolf Krake. The real army, who was responsible for letting off the explosions, together with sounds and flashes, sure seemed to have had a great time preparing for this!

What next?

Next year is the 150 anniversary of 1864. This means bigger (and better things). It is already expected that next year will see around 3 times more reenactors than this year. Do keep an eye out on the website to hear about plans for next year. We will also be writing more about the event as we get closer to the date. In the meantime, if you are interested in the 1864 war, do keep an eye out on the 1864live twitter account, which is publishing short snippets about the 1864 war as they happened – with a 150 year delay.

Walking on Alsstien

There are many interesting paths for hiking around Als. One of them is “Alsstien” which runs along the east coast of the island. The path is close to the coast most of the way with some beautiful seascapes, going along pebble stone beaches, through beech forests and past ancient megaliths.

The whole path is around 73 km long and is in the official maps divided into three sections going from

All of Alsstien 73km hiking route from OSM

The path is in very varied terrain as the video further down will show. It is marked with blue signs with a white man. In places the route is not well marked and having the maps above at hand can be well worth it.

Together with two friends I decided to try and walk a section of the path. More precisely the section from Sarup in south to one of the shelters in Nørreskoven. We were not completely sure of how long this trip would be but expected it to be about 20-25km that we could cover in 4 hours.


View Hiking Alsstien (Nørreskoven) in a larger map

It turned out to be 18 km to the first shelter in Nørreskoven where we decided to stay for the night. The good thing about these shelters is that you do not need to bring a tent as you have a roof over your head. In our region the shelters offered by the kommune are mapped here.

Shelter in Nørreskoven

There is a small area were it is allowed to camp, a fireplace with a handy grill that can be raised and lowered according to the fire. When we arrived there was a family of about 10 people who had camped in tents on the grass area.

In the shelter a local drunk had already set up but there was still room so we decided to stay next to her which turned out to be a bad idea as she kept us awake most of the night.
All in all it was part of the experience and this was the view that greeted us as we woke up.

View from the shelter

We had thought of continuing the hike the next day but we were in for some heavy rain so rather than keep going we decided to backtrack a bit to a place were we could get picked up.

I shot some video from our hike. It’s in Danish and quite long but could be useful if you want to get an overview of the different landscapes along the route:

For more information about the path have a look at Britta from Blitzschuh’s account.

Blommeskobbel Long Barrows – Neolitic Remains

If you find yourself hiking the Als Trail (Alsstien) then you will at some point stumble across an opening in the middle of the forest called Blommeskobbel where you see two huge circles of stone. These stones mark the remains of two burial mounds – or long barrows, as they are called.

This is a great place for a break on the walk and you can try to imagine what this place must have been like when it was built many centuries ago.

The trees gave some shelter but it was as damp and muddy and joyless as you could ever want. Blommeskobbel cheered me though. How could it not? The site consists of two langdyssers and two round barrows, with good kerbing, nicely exposed chambers and lots of character.

The Modern Antiquarian

The barrows are a massive 34 and 53 meters long and since the top has been removed ages ago you can see the 20-ton heavy cover stone that makes the roof of the actual burial chamber.

The barrows are thought to be constructed in the neolithic period, which in Denmark was around 3600 – 3200 B.C., as burial mounds for powerful people in the community at the time. I’ve heard people mention that Als should have some of Denmark’s oldest long barrows but have not found any sources for that online.

In 1935 the barrows were excavated but grave robbers had already been there so the excavations did not bring much new to light. They found a clay jug and a flint knife from a later age. In May the archeological museum in Haderslev did a special talk about the barrows where they presented some pictures from the excavation and restoration.

Read more details on Megalithic

If you arrive by car you need to follow the gravel road to the parking lot at the edge of the forest and then walk according to the signs from there.

The picture is taken from Dansk Naturfredningsforening.

Gendarme path sonderborg

Hike or Bike the Gendarm Path

The Gendarm path, known as Gendarmstien in Danish, is the former border guard patrol path between Denmark and Germany. It was in use from 1920 until 1958, where each gendarm (or border guard) had a specific section of the coastline to patrol. They would walk along the water as best they could and thereby created a small walking path.

By Bent Rasmussen
Picture by Bent Rasmussen – used with permission

The Gendarm path is one of Denmark’s best know and popular walking routes and follows a very scenic landscape along the coast of Flensborg Fjord. The full length of the path is 74km from Padborg in west to Høruphav on South Als.

Gendarm Path Sonderborg

Trekking the 74km s not something we planned to do at one go, especially in our unfit state! However, walking the path is a good way of enjoying and experiencing the natural beauty of the area. So our aim is to get through all the path in smaller chunks.

This is our progress so far. We will add more as we cover more of the path:

  • Sonderborg – Horuphav: Hiked on 23rd September 2012. Easy path through open fields and forest, with views over Flensburg fjord. You can walk closer to water, but if you follow the marked path this does not happen much. Buses running from Sonderborg to Fynshav or Kegnaes and back stop close to the start of the Gendarmstien in Horuphav, making it a pleasant Sunday trek on a nice day without having to backtrack.
  • Sonderborg – Vemmingbund: Biked on 23rd July 2012. Beautiful views along the water’s edge. If you are not much into hills, the path along the water is easily manageable (from someone who abhors cycling up hills with a passion) and you can walk up the hills if you prefer. However, if hills are your thing you can knock yourself out on the various side paths. Perfect on a warm summer day as the sea breeze keeps you cool
  • Looping Broager Land peninsula: A mountain bike ride with lots of different vistas and road conditions, through forests, over beaches and fields.

If you are interested in following the trail yourself, the tourist centres in the area have developed a leaflet with maps of the path divided into 10 manageable chunks. The leaflet is only in Danish or German, but a map is a map so you should be able to find your way around. The path is also well marked on the ground with small wooden poles with a blue border guard on them.

Gendarme path sonderborg

Tips for a Tourist in Sonderborg

In the beginning of May Ann’s sister, Cecilia, and a friend came to visit us in Sonderborg for 5 days. We asked her to write a guest post about her experience. Cecilia is currently studying at DCU in Dublin.

IMG_0128

I am just back from 5 days spent in the Sonderborg area visiting Ann and Michael. I had been to Denmark before visiting Copenhagen and south Jutland, but this was my first visit to Als and its environs. We were blessed with some good weather, with the sun shining on most days, which was a welcome change to the Irish weather.

My main tip to anyone visiting the area is to get a good pair of comfy shoes since walking is undoubtedly the best way to see the town. The pier next to Sonderborg Slot was a favourite walking place of ours during our stay with really beautiful views and a relaxing atmosphere. But perhaps coming from a small island and now living in a big city, makes me slightly biased to the wonders of the sea (and a blue sky).

Sønderborg Slot i solen

The people in Denmark seemed to be extremely friendly, and I did not have much problems in communicating. Surprisingly enough, it was only at the tourist information in Sonderborg that I was asked whether I could speak German once I started speaking in English. Luckily I studied German for 6 years during secondary school so I managed to get the required information. However, people on the street we stopped to ask for directions, and people in shops were overall quite helpful, and even where the level of English was not that high, communication was not an issue.

If you are staying for more than 2 days, however, I would suggest you rent a car. This is because, once you spend a day visiting Sonderborg town (Sonderborg slot, perhaps the Dybbol site, and soaking in the atmosphere on the first day and Danfoss Universe on the second day), it would make sense to venture further afield. Nevertheless, keeping Sonderborg as a base is a good idea, since it is truly a lovely town and you can never get tired of walking along the pier in the evening and stopping for a coffee or ice cream at the café there.

We rented a car from Europcar in Sonderborg for the middle three days of our trip, having spent the first day walking around Sonderborg and the last day at Danfoss Universe. I was quite excited about this because I got to drive on the right hand side of the road (which is the wrong side where I am coming from i.e. Malta and more recently Ireland). But for those who have never done this before, do not despair. I did not find it to be that hard, and got into it quite quickly, although for the first day I had to keep telling myself: keep to the right…keep to the right.

Having a car, we got to go further afield. Froslev Prison Camp, I think, was one of my favourite places, being well laid out, having English versions for most (probably all) exhibits and really interesting. However, the highpoint of having a car was undoubtedly our visits to Germany, which is a short hop away from Sonderborg. Having lived on 2 different islands, this has not yet been possible to date. However, you must keep in mind that you then need Euros to use in Germany in addition to the Danish Kroner in Denmark (though with credit cards, this is a minor issue nowadays).

Us in front of Egeskov Slot

A further tip for a trip to the area is to remember to get your inner child out, especially when visiting places like Danfoss Universe and Egeskov castle. It is only by doing this that you can get maximum enjoyment out of the visit.

Tak Ann, Michael and all the people I met in Sonderborg and on this visit. I will hopefully be back :).

Sonderborg Castle #2/99

This review is based on our visit to Sonderborg Castle when we were in the area for my interview in early September. 

Fortifications in the Sonderborg Castle area have been around since the 12th century. The site, a piece of land jutting out from the island of Als into Als Fjord was excellently located to protect this area of Denmark from attacks from the south. This also puts the castle in a very picturesque location.

May 11/10 Sunset on the slot

Over time, what started out as a tower within a much larger system of fortifications developed through numerous transformations into the castle we see today. Nowadays, the castle houses the Southern Jutland Museum.

The museum covers the history of the castle on the ground floor, and the history of Southern Denmark from the middle ages to today on the upper floors. There are also exhibits of historical collections from the local area, such as of textiles and ceramics.

The museum packs quite a lot into the space without making the place feel crowded. Unfortunately, the information panels are only sporadically in English. This made it quite difficult to follow the story of any one section. I was, however, told that they are working on English translations at the moment, which is positive.

I have always loved museums, and my current studies and experiences have put me in close contact with quite a lot. So I must admit that I really appreciate having a national museum in Sonderborg. Maybe I should get more involved with it? Would love to find a way!

Photo by Judith Doyle

Enjoy Autumn Outdoors

The leaves are turning red and brown, it’s getting cold and windy and the Danish schools are getting close to the Potato Holiday – autumn is here.

Intense autumn

Monday October 17th the municipality in Sonderborg is celebrating the end of a project called Naturnet Als and the inauguration of a new set of walking guides (pamphlets and info boards) on nature paths on the island of Als.

After a speech by the vice-mayor a number of activities are provided by local organisations:

  • Crab catching from the bridge
  • Know your Danish trees
  • Bird spotting with the help of a guide at the bird tower
  • Plant spotting
  • Learn about fish and animals from the lake from biologist and fishermen.
  • Presentation of the new folders.
  • Pancake making over fire
  • There is pumpkin soup and bread + a beer/soft drink for each visitor
  • A character called Chapper from a kids TV show will sing nature-rap-songs(?!)

Read more in Danish

UPDATE 12/10/2011: You are encouraged to take bike or bus to the event as parking will be an issue on the small roads. For parking opportunities (and a one way street introduced for this day to help traffic flow) see the map here.