Recent events near Bornholm have made me realize that although Bornholm is world famous in Denmark, it is not so known worldwide. However, today everybody knows where it is on the map due to acts of terrorism nearby.
Approaching Svaneke you see the Utzon Water tower and next to it Svanemøllen; to the right far away Christiansø
Looking to the south the church dominate the view
The most eastern village on Bornholm is Svaneke, which means the small bay with swans. It was the summer vacation destination for the first quarter of a century of my life i.e.my childhood with my immediate family and also extended family of cousins, uncles and aunts as well as grandparents. My grandmother was a native of Bornholm and her childhood home had been converted to a summerhouse which was the center of the summer circus for our extended family.
Arriving in Svaneke the road takes you by the harbour
Our summers were concentrated around Svaneke which at that time was kind of overshadowed by Godhjem from a tourist’s point of view. Gudhjem means ‘Home of God’. In my family we divided people into pro- Svaneke and pro-Gudhjem, the latter meant they considered Gudhjem more beautiful than Svaneke. We Svaneke people were quite happy not to be too run-over by too many tourists, but today strolling around the small streets of Svaneke there are many more tourists than in my childhood.
View over Svaneke's roof tops from Hundebakken
In vindication, in 1975 Svaneke was awarded the European Gold Medal for the best-preserved historical town center together with Colmar, Alsace, France (what a distinguished company we hold!). Furthermore, in 2013 the Danes voted Svaneke the most beautiful town in Denmark. We may conclude that there is consensus that Svaneke is indeed the most beautiful village.
Gudhjem on the other hand is the only town in Denmark built on a cliff side with a serpentine road and a steep main street falling into the harbour; but that may be the subject of another post.
Rumor has it that the respected Danish author: Martin Andersen Nexø in 1910 made a tour of Svaneke and exclaimed: For God’s sake, do not allow tourists to come here. They will spoil everything! Well, we haven’t so far, I include myself among the tourists, my last visit August 2022, there are changes, but not so drastic that I cannot recognize my childhood Svaneke, I even believe that if my grandmother who was young in the 1890’s could then feel right at home here as it is today, even though the bakery on Baker Street is long gone. There is a number of new things like the sweets shop, the liquorice shop, the brewery, for me they are aliens, but are now so much part of the village view and important for the tourism. I just enjoy strolling along the streets enjoying the newly painted house walls with colorful gardens, green trees with a sense of nostalgia.
Fast overview of the history of Svaneke compared to world history
History:
Svaneke was likely established in the 12th century as a seasonal fishing hamlet for ‘the herring fishing adventure’ of the Middle Ages, which attracted traders and fishing boats from Germany (the Hansa), Sweden and Norway; Bornholm is strategically located in the middle of the Baltic Sea allowing shelter in storms and markets to sell fish that were salted and exported. On Bornholm then there were few villages except for seasonal market places set up for the fishing season (24th August to 9th October) and that included both Svaneke and Gudhjem; the towns developed later in the Middle Ages. At that time people were farmers living on farms spread out on the fields and not doing collective farming in villages and towns as in other parts of Denmark. Since before the time of the Vikings Bornholm has always been part of the Danish Kingdom. When Denmark went Christian the eternal fight between king and church caused Bornholm to be divided between the two as to whom to pay taxes to.
A first written account about Svaneke is from 1543 stated that Svaneke was an established market town, the smallest market town in Denmark. A church would always be built when a village was established; the current church was built next to a 13th century chapel. No archaeological excavations have been undertaken and the church has been rebuilt and modernized several times, lastly in 1881. My grandparents and several uncles and aunts are buried in the graveyard surrounding the church.
The church yard the resting place of members of my extended family members
Strolling around the streets of Svaneke.
In my nostalgic childhood memories from the 1970’s the harbor of Svaneke was then full of fishing boats but this is no longer so, as overfishing has endangered various species and the industrial fishing has collapsed and harbors are transformed into places of tourist yachts.
In my childhood in windy weather, we would go to the harbor at four o’clock to see the post-boat Peter returning with tourists from a day visit to Christiansø; the boat would have rolled people around, so they would be green, literarily, from being seasick. Today the post boat has moved to Godhjem, looks larger and I assume does not cause as much seasickness for tourists in-experienced with rolling waves. Interestingly, it is still called the post boat Peter, like it was in my childhood.
Today when it gets windy with an eastern wind , the inner harbor is closed and tourist sailing is cancelled:
2022 in Gudhjem, sailing cancelled due to wind from the east.
2016 the same company had a very funny advertisement: dogs and horses for free:
2016 the boat Thor with passengers near Helligdoms Klipperne, at least from far I do not see horses nor dogs! what a sight it would have been to see a horse in that boat!
When there is a harbor, a Lighthouse is needed and is still standing strong, built 1919 with an incredible fog horn that blew a deep bass when the fog was too dense and could be heard all over the village; since 2019 it no longer functions as a lighthouse and sold privately.
The lighthouse seen from the harbor
Fyret and Hullehavn
Svaneke harbor was established in 1815, but destroyed by a storm in 1872, when it was rebuilt and enlarged so that bigger ships could dock, like in my father’s childhood the ferry would sail them around Bornholm and to Svaneke and not just to Rønne as in my childhood and today.
The most famous building in Svaneke is probably the Water Tower designed by Jørn Utzon in 1952, designed as the shape of an old sea mark. In spite of resistance from the village council, the mayor got his will and it was built at the small river Vaseå.
Svaneke was the last market town in Denmark to get clean water from the waterworks and not depend on water from the underground wells.
More than once I heard that Svaneke is proud for having discovered Utzon and therefore they are also responsible for the Sidney Opera House, Australia.
The water tower is a beautiful building towering over Svaneke and can be seen from afar. It was providing water until 1988, since 1990 a listed building.
Private wells were the norm. Today no water in this well
So much vegetation there must be water ,but impossible to reach it!
Half the town burned down in 1610, but the building we see today including the big merchant farms around the town were erected in the beginning of the 19th century, they are merchants farms turned Bodega, hotels, restaurants to accommodate the increasing number of tourists.
Strolling the streets of Svaneke:
Bornholm is an island of rocks and granite
The Bodega at Søllings Gård burned down a couple of years ago, but has been restored to former glory by loving hands.
Tourists
Market day at the square
The walnut tree of my childhood was much bigger but it is growing and coming back!
In Bornholm you must eat at least once smoked herring
Over Svaneke the sunsets are beautiful
A ridiculous pass time in Svaneke is chicken shitting: to bet on which number a chicken will shit!
Bornholm has its own flag
In my childhood they had the best ice cream in the world at the Harbor Kiosk; that is not so any more, but at Ismejeriet they come very close, although they do not have soft ice.
'The small path is only for the walking. The Police.' What about my grandchild's stroller? or will the fish bite me?
In the past the Harbor Office was deep red; today it is white
End of tour of Svaneke.
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