Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Visit Denmark
Summer fun for the family In Northern Zealand, just an hour’s drive from Copenhagen and a 75-minute ferry ride from Aarhus, is an amusement park that was established and is run by a family, for families. Sommerland Sjælland provides a full day out where the whole family – whether or not they are all there in person – can join in. By Josefine Older Steffensen | Photos: Sommerland Sjælland
Sommerland Sjælland is home to over 70 activities, including an outdoor waterpark, a jungle gym, rollercoasters and fishing. “Our park is built for families and for kids up to the age of 13. With lots of things to do, we often have people who come back because they haven’t managed to fit it all in in a day,” says Kåre Dyvkær, owner of Sommerland Sjælland.
Via their app, parents and grandparents both near and far are able to play along, as they can control water cannons and surprise those in attendance with air, water, smoke and fire, on rollercoasters. “It can be used in the park, but if someone in your family is unable to go, they can play along from the comfort of their home,” Dyvkær explains.
Sommerland Sjælland is a safe and easy place to simply enjoy being together. There is a wide variety of food outlets, serving local produce and high-quality food, cabins to stay the night in and lots of staff on hand to help. “We invite people home to us, and we want them to have a good time. There’s a fantastic atmosphere in the park, as people are able to relax and create wonderful memories with their families,” Dyvkær concludes.
Web: www.sommerlandsj.dk Facebook: sommerlandsj Instagram: @sommerlandsj
A deep connection to the sea A museum on the west coast of Jutland exploring the lives and fates of the hardy coastal dwellers and the sailors who were wrecked on their shores might sound a bit niche. However, it is anything but: the Strandingsmuseum St. George tells universal human tales of loss and gain, greed and selflessness, tragedy and euphoria. The Jutes on the west coast may have been far from Copenhagen, but through the sea, they were given access to objects, news and people that floated in from across the world.
ing and close engagement with the local community. The recovered ship’s enormous rudder takes pride of place, covering the height of the museum’s tower, at the top of which visitors can look out across the lethal and life-giving North Sea, like generations of Jutes before them.
By Louise Older Steffensen | Photo: Jacob Due
The museum is named after the British ship HMS St George, which was wrecked alongside the HMS Defence on the treacherous seas just beyond the deceptively gentle sand dunes outside of the museum in 1811. Of the more than 1,300 sailors on board the two ships, only 17 survived, nursed back to health by the local Jutlanders despite their opposing sides in the ongoing Napoleonic wars. “Of course, shipwrecks like St George were tragic occasions, and that was felt by the local people who helped recover and bury the sailors in these sandy dunes – they’re still called the ‘Dead Men’s 78 | Issue 127 | August 2019
Dunes’ today,” says curator Helle Henningsen. The wrecking itself, however, was just the beginning of the story for the Jutlanders. “Each wreck brought with it many opportunities, too. Every encounter with survivors brought in a new bit of knowledge about the world, and the objects from each wreck were vital resources and told their own stories, as they still do at the museum.” This year, Strandingsmuseum St. George was nominated for Museum of the Year and awarded the prestigious Stiletto museum prize at the European Museum of the Year Awards for its excellent storytell-
Web: www.strandingsmuseet.dk Facebook: Strandingsmuseum Instagram: @strandingsmuseumstgeorge