CALIFORNIA'S DENMARK
SOLVANG "Top-rated Vacation Destination in North America" Expedia.com
VISIT SOLVANG AND EXPERIENCE AN AUTHENTIC TASTE OF Denmark - literally and figuratively. This Danish-inspired village, the largest of the Santa Ynez Valley towns, known for its old-world European charm, hospitality, and history, also boasts a very au courant food, wine, craft beer, shopping and art gallery scene. Solvang, which means "sunny fields" in Danish, was founded in 1911 by three Danish-American educators who were in search of a place on California's central coast where land was plentiful, and their culture 30
2020 SANTA YNEZ VALLEY DESTINATION GUIDE
could prosper. Situated on 9,000 acres of land just adjacent to the historic 1804 Old Mission Santa InĂŠs, settlers came and continued to carry on Denmark's traditions of language, folk dancing, music, and cuisine. In January of 1947, the Saturday Evening Post proclaimed Solvang a "spotless Danish village that blooms like a rose in California's charming Santa Ynez Valley," and put Solvang on the map as the "Danish Capital of America." In the following years, Danish provincial style ruled new downtown