|
|
|
|
|
|
Business |
|
|
Holiday/Leisure |
|
|
Fishing |
|
|
Services |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Touristguide
|
Sondervig
|
"The road to the North Sea passes through Ringkøbing" is a popular slogan
launched by the local tourist association many years ago. And the fact is that nowhere in
the country do railway lines and main roads converge so closely on the North Sea as they
have done in Ringkøbing since their construction in the 1800s. Train services on the
western trunk line began in 1875, providing the basis for regular summer tourism. |
 |
A consortium of business-minded Ringkøbing men built
the first beach hotel in Søndervig in 1884. The first summer home had already been built
by the well-to-do Councillor of State E.M. Møller of Ringkøbing, a trend setter in his
day. The house "Klitly" still stands in Lodbergsvej, just north of Badeland,
although somewhat changed and now called Gl. Klitly. It is a solid L-shaped house in red
brick and straw roof - a style that blends with the local farms. But it took years before
summer tourism really took flight. In 1918 there were still only 25-30 villas in
Søndervig. |
|
But so many bathers were cycling to
Søndervig from Ringkøbing that the tourist association began to make plans for a bicycle
track along the fjord. The 9 km track was opened in 1921 and became the first bicycle
track in the country to have been constructed on its own base rather than next to an
existing road.
To travel to Søndervig from Ringkøbing one must cross Holmsland.
Originally an island, Holmsland was first connected to Ringkøbing by a bridge across
Vonåen in 1862. |
A few years later a dyke with a road was built between
Brøllundgårdene on Holmsland and Søndervig. The dyke formed part of a major land
reclamation project for Holmslands Sande, a broad shallow sound then connecting West
Stadil Fjord and Ringkøbing Fjord, while dividing the island Holmsland from Klitten. |
 |
|
Another dyke further south and part of
the same project was destroyed in high floods in 1865, the year of its completion, and all
efforts to repair it failed. This dyke was called Bagges Dæmning after one of the project
initiators. It has found later use as the foundation for the power lines running from
Holmsland to Klitten.
Holmsland has always been known for its good farm land and many farms
scattered across the landscape without forming villages, as is common in west Jutland. The
old road wound its way from farm to farm, but increasing motor and tourist traffic made
the road too cumbersome, and in 1936 a new road was constructed through to Søndervig as
an extension of highway 15.
This road, now heavily trafficked, offers fine views of the fjord and
the church spires of Nysogn and Gammelsogn which were formerly important navigation marks.
At Fjordsvej, about 1 km on the far side of the stream Vonåen stands a memorial stone,
raised in 1895 for the lecturer N.J. Fjord (1825-91). Fjord was born in Gammelsogn school
and is known for his work as a teacher at the agricultural college in Copenhagen and as a
pioneer in agricultural science. |
 |
From prehistoric times the Holmsland horizon was
dominated by burial mounds, but these have long been flattened and farmed. Only the
scarred remains of one, Tueshøj, still stand south of the road about 2 km further out.
Along the side road to Kloster stands another stone commemorating another famous local
son, Martin Nyrop (1849-1921), the architect of Copenhagen Town Hall. Nyrop was born in
Holmsland parsonage. The parsonage burned down in 1903; only the stone marks the site. |
|
Heading northwest from Ringkøbing, the
Søndervig road swings west-southwest, heading straight for Søndervig about 1 km after
the turn-off to Kloster. The last stretch runs across low-lying flat terrain, the
reclaimed Holmslands Sande, where a large golf course now occupies the old reclaimed farm
lands. The gravel road leading to the course and to Lodberg Hede follows the old still
recognisable coast line of the island Holmsland. Lodberg Hede, once covered in shifting
sands, is now a plantation with many holiday homes. During WW II, the German occupation
forces used the area as military terrain, and in the post-war period the area and its
barracks served as housing for refugees. |
| |
<<
Previous | Next >> |
| |
|
|
