Lønstrup is a small town in northern Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, in Vendsyssel

Vendsyssel

Vendsyssel is the northernmost traditional district of Denmark and of Jutland. Being divided from mainland Jutland by the Limfjord, it is technically a part of the North Jutlandic Island. Vendsyssel is part of the North Denmark Region....

 on the coast of Skagerrak

Skagerrak

The Skagerrak is a strait running between Norway and the southwest coast of Sweden and the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area, which leads to the Baltic Sea.-Name:...

. It is located in north Jutland

Jutland

Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...

, Hjørring Municipality and is an old fishing village, with a population of 545 (as of January 1, 2011). The area is known for its constantly changing coastline, caused by shifting sands and erosion.

Description

On August 11, 1877 a violent storm that started at noon and lasted 1.5 hours turned the Lønstrup brook into a ravine that was 360 meters long, 15 meters wide and 4.5 meters deep (1180 ft wide, 49 ft wide and 15 ft deep). Fishermen who were at sea during the storm knew nothing about the disaster at home until they say parts of the destroyed houses, furniture and household items floating in the water. Six houses were torn from their foundations, four were demolished and two others were inhabitable and had to be razed. The ravine, now known as Bækslugten, still cuts through town.

Lønstrup consists mainly of one long road, Strandvejen (Beach Way), which meanders a few kilometers through the steep cliffs. The hills around the north of Lønstrup are dotted with summer cottages built around 1920. The area in and around Lønstrup attracts some 10,000 tourists a week during the summer season.

Previously, many families in Lønstrup lived from fishing, but now there are only a few. Lønstrup is now better known for its many crafts studios and art galleries. There are glass blowers, potteries, jewelers, amber crafts, painters and sculptors who live and work in Lønstrup.

A violent storm in 1981 prompted the establishment of better coastal protection, which is working as intended, but the beach nonetheless requires fresh sand to be spread out on the beach every year.

Places of interest

Just south of Lønstrup is the site of the former Mårup Church

Mårup Church

Mårup Church was a Romanesque church located in Vendsyssel in Denmark's northern Jutland. The church was built on Lønstrup Klint, a cliff on the North Sea near the town of Lønstrup in the Hjørring municipality. The area is noted for its windswept landscape, constantly shifting sands and eroding...

, a medieval church that was partially dismantled in 2008 after hundreds of years of coastal erosion had endangered the church. Built around 1250, it was originally 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi) from the coast, but erosion had put the sea just meters away. South of that is another abandoned structure, the Rubjerg Knude lighthouse

Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse

Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse is located on the coast of the North Sea in Rubjerg, in the Jutland municipality of Hjørring in northern Denmark. It was first lit on December 27, 1900. Construction of the lighthouse began in 1899....

. Partially buried in sand, the lighthouse was built at the turn of the 20th century.

External links

• Lønstrup Tourist bureau Lønstrup.dk. Retrieved September 8, 2011