The island’s natural beauty is fascinating. It has bits and pieces of all the Scandinavian countries, as states its nickname, "Scandinavia in a nutshell". Rocky shores as it is natural from Sweden and Norway, sandy beaches from Denmark and deep dark forests from Sweden. It is also the region in Denmark with the most hours of sun.
Bornholm is a small island in the southern part of the Baltic sea, located to the east of Denmark, to the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland, with an area of 588 sq km and a population of 44,000.
The island also has the highest density of arts and craft workers in the whole of Denmark.
History
There has been people on Bornholm for many thousand years. Passage graves, monoliths and stone carvings from the Bronze and Iron ages are present all over the island. Two Viking forts can be found on the island center. Now consisting of several earth embankments, they were originally used as refuges for the population during attacks from marauding enemies.
It is believed that Bornholm became a part of the Danish kingdom during the Viking age and that it was a well-established trading point in the Baltic area.
The island has not always been Danish
Bornholm has been part of and/or occupied by Sweden, Lübeck (Germany) and Soviet union. Before the 13th century the island was part of Scania (southern part of Sweden). In 1525, Bornholm was pawned to Lübeck for 50 years. Sweden conquered the island in 1645, but returned the island to Denmark in a peace settlement. After a war in 1658, Denmark ceded the island to Sweden. A year later, in 1659, the people of Bornholm revolted and fought against the Swedish garrison, as they were suppressed with high taxes and forced work, and gave themselves back to the Danish king.
Bornholm was Danish until the second world war when it was then occupied by German forces. The Germans stayed on the island, even after the rest of was liberated on May 5,1945. This resulted in the Russians bombing Rønne and Nexø. The towns were rebuilt and you can still see the Swedish wood houses in some areas.
Main cities on Bornholm:
Rønne: the largest town on the island, with a population of 13.800. High school, shopping opportunities, ferry departures and airport, restaurants and night life can be found in the town.
Gudhjem: has the ferry to Christiansø and many arts-and crafts shops.
Svaneke: you can find the famous “Pernille Bülow” glassblower, “Svaneke Bolcher”, a popular place for locals and tourists, is a candy store, where you can see the colourful candy being made at the spot and the “Svaneke Bryghus”, the best known brewery in Bornholm .
Kids can also enjoy “Joboland”, an amusement park just outside Svaneke.
Allinge: tourist town on the northern tip of the island with many hotels and a population of 1800.
Nexø: fishing town on the east side of Bornholm with a population of 3700 . Most of the islands fishing industry is located there.
Åkirkeby: is the main town in the southern part of Bornholm, with a population of 2100.
The language
A dialect called Bornholmsk is spoken on Bornholm . The natives from the island are often referred to as "reserve Swedes" by other Danes and that is not without reason, as their dialect has a lot of similarities with Swedish, partly because the dialect being one of the old East Danish dialects, and also because of the heavy immigration in the 19th century by Swedes.
Bæll - barn - child Pugga - frø/padde - frog Horra - dreng - boy Bobba – spøgelse - ghost Ønte - ikke - not Rogåbone - fugleskræmsel - scarecrow Pibel - pige - girl Nagger - vred - upset Sawa - sove - to sleep
There are 15 medieval churches on the island, four of which display unique artwork and architecture. Many historians believe that these churches were not only intended for religious practices but also as defense, as Slavonic pirates continuously raided the island.
But there are controversial research that suggests that the 4 round churches located in Østerlars, Nylars, Olsker and Nyker are linked to the Templar knights. You can read more about it here
Hammershus, the historic fortress
Hammershus is the largest castle ruin in Northern Europe and it was owned by the archbishops of Lund . The castle protected Bornholm until the late 17th century.
Today the castle ruins are being restored and can be visited daily.
It has informational signs in Danish, English and German that explains in details what each area of the castle used to be and also cultural aspects, such as how many beers each soldier received and how the jails worked.
Biking
Bornholm has a network of biking paths all around the island and it is approximately 105 kilometers to bike around the entire island. You can bring your own on the ferry or rent one at the Rønne harbor, shops and at some hotels.
Here you can find a map with routes, destinations and distances for biking on the island.
What to see:
Familiebiletten: a discounted ticket to 10 different places at a very good price.
If you are on the island between 16th- 28th of July (closed on the 22th), don’t miss the Medieval Market on the Medieval center of Bornholm (a small rebuilt city from the medieval times), a festival that portraits how life was during the middle ages. You see knights fighting on horseback, battles with canon smoke, bowmen, tournaments, music and dance, monks singing ecclesiastical psalms, peasants and market people working and going about their everyday routines.
If taking public transportation, take Regional bus lines 3 and 9.
There are two departures from Zealand:
Copenhagen and Køge.
From Køge the ferry takes 5 hr 45 min or 6 hr 30 min.
From Copenhagen you need to take the Bornholmerbus or the train to Ystad, and from there take a ferry. There are two ferries. One takes 1 hr and 15 min and the other 2 hr and 30 min.
