Saltholm
Encyclopedia
Saltholm is a Danish island in the Øresund, the strait
that separates Denmark
and Sweden
. It is located to the east of the Danish island of Amager
in Tårnby
municipality and lies just to the west of the sea border between Denmark and Sweden. It is 7 km long and 3 km wide, covering an area of 16 km², making it Denmark's 21st largest island. Saltholm is very flat; its highest point stands only 2 m (6 ft) above sea level, rendering it vulnerable to flooding if persistent east winds cause a tidal surge in the Baltic Sea
. It is a relatively new landmass in geological terms, having risen from the sea about 4,000 years ago. Saltholm is surrounded by a large area of shallow water (of 2 m depth or less) covering an area of some 2,800 hectare
s. A series of islets, inlets and rock deposits from the last ice age
appear at the south end of the island.
Its neighbouring island to the south is the artificial island
Peberholm
(Pepper Islet), which is a part of the Øresund Bridge and was named to complement Saltholm.
(Leonurus cardiaca), henbane
(Hyoscyamus niger), blue iris (Iris spuria) and chickweed
.
Saltholm is a protected nature reserve for wild birds which nest in large numbers on the island. The southern part of the island, an extensive salt marsh
, is protected under the Ramsar Convention
and the island as a whole, along with the surrounding area of sea, has been designated a nature reserve by the European Union
. Mussel
beds, eel grass
, snails, crustaceans and fish in the shallow waters around the island provide an important food source for water birds. Because of its importance as a wildlife sanctuary, access to Saltholm and its surrounding waters is strictly controlled. Access to the island is via a small harbour at Barakkebro, at the north end of Saltholm.
The island is Denmark's largest grazing area for geese, some 7,000 of which visit during the summer. Around 3,500 juvenile swans also live on the island in the summer, with some 2,000 wintering there. 10,000–12,000 ducks breed and graze on Saltholm during autumn and late winter/spring. Saltholm is also home to Europe's largest breeding colony of eider
s; 15,000 live on the island during the spring and some 7,000–8,000 are hatched on the island each year.
Humans have lived in small numbers on Saltholm since the Middle Ages and probably before. The population has ranged from a peak of 298 people in 1916, when the island was fortified during World War I
, to only five people as of January 2008. The current inhabitants manage the farm Holmegård on a nature reserve in the northwest of the island to maintain the grass for nesting birds.
The existence of the island is first attested in 1230, when King Valdemar II of Denmark
is recorded as having given Saltholm to Bishop Niels Stigsen of the see of Roskilde
. For centuries, the island was used to quarry limestone
, which was used in nearby Copenhagen
and elsewhere; in 1289, the town lord of Copenhagen is recorded to have granted quarrying rights on Saltholm and quarrying continued until as late as 1935. The island was also traditionally used as pasture land for the cattle of the people of the nearby Danish island of Amager. The cows of Saltholm were commemorated in the late 19th century by the Danish painter Theodor Philipsen
, who travelled frequently to the island to paint its cattle and treeless landscapes.
Saltholm was used as a quarantine
station between 1709 and 1711 when Copenhagen suffered plague
and cholera
outbreaks. Travellers wishing to land in the city were required to stay in quarantine on the island for 40 days. In 1873, a private company, the Saltholmlaug, acquired the island from the state and still owns it today.
The island's position in the middle of the Øresund gave it some military significance during the two World Wars. In 1912, the Danish government constructed the "Flak Fort" on the Salthom Flak sands just north of the island proper, stationing a number of artillery pieces ranging in calibre from 47 mm to 290 mm. Most of the guns were mounted on barbette
carriages and protected by armoured shields and concrete and earthen ramparts. The fort was still active at the start of World War II
; although old, its guns were still seen as a strong deterrent.
Saltholm was the site of an incident resulting in the loss of the British submarine HMS E13
, which ran aground on the island on 17 August 1915 due to a faulty compass. Two days later, two German destroyers attacked the submarine while it was still stranded on the shoreline as the crew worked to refloat the vessel. Fifteen of the submariners were killed before Danish torpedo boats intervened to deter the attackers. The violation of the country's neutrality outraged the Danish government, prompting a diplomatic protest to the Germans, and the casualties were given high-profile official funerals by the Danish navy. The surviving crew were interned in Denmark until the end of the war in November 1918, and the wrecked submarine was scrapped. The commander of the E13, Lt Cdr Geoffrey Layton
, went on to have a distinguished career in the Royal Navy
and commanded the British Eastern Fleet during the Second World War.
The island was for many years considered as a possible location for a new international airport and fixed link between Denmark and Sweden. The nearby Copenhagen Airport
at Kastrup
has long been the busiest airport in Scandinavia but has suffered from an acute shortage of space and its proximity to built-up areas. In 1965, the Nordic Council
agreed in principle to build a new international airport on Saltholm, to replace the airport at Kastrup, and to construct a bridge-and-tunnel link across the island to connect Copenhagen and Malmö. The proposal was strongly supported by Scandinavian Airlines System
, the main user of Copenhagen Airport. The plan envisaged building two pairs of runways, which would be carrying up to 20 million passengers a year by 1990. A 9 km (5.6 mi) bridge would connect it to Malmo and a 5 km (3.1 mi) tunnel would link to Kastrup on the Danish side. The project was costed at the equivalent of £250 million in 1967 (£3.1 billion / € 3.4 billion at 2009 prices).
The plan was approved by the Danish parliament in 1969 with completion scheduled for 1985. However, it was repeatedly delayed; contributory factors included the 1973 oil crisis
and its economic fallout, a slump in air travel, and opposition from campaigners concerned about the impact on the fragile environment in the Øresund and around the island. The plan was abandoned in 1979 and further investment was made in Copenhagen Airport instead. When the Oresund fixed link was eventually built in the 1990s, it was routed 1 km south of Saltholm to avoid damaging the island and the surrounding shallow waters.
Strait
A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...
that separates 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...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. It is located to the east of the Danish island of Amager
Amager
Amager is a Danish island in the Øresund. The Danish capital, Copenhagen, is partly situated on Amager, which is connected to the much larger island of Zealand by five bridges.-History:...
in Tårnby
Tårnby
Tårnby Kommune is a municipality bordering Copenhagen on the island of Amager just south of Zealand in eastern Denmark. The municipality includes the islands of Saltholm and Peberholm, and covers an area of 65 km². It has a total population of 40,214...
municipality and lies just to the west of the sea border between Denmark and Sweden. It is 7 km long and 3 km wide, covering an area of 16 km², making it Denmark's 21st largest island. Saltholm is very flat; its highest point stands only 2 m (6 ft) above sea level, rendering it vulnerable to flooding if persistent east winds cause a tidal surge in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. It is a relatively new landmass in geological terms, having risen from the sea about 4,000 years ago. Saltholm is surrounded by a large area of shallow water (of 2 m depth or less) covering an area of some 2,800 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s. A series of islets, inlets and rock deposits from the last ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
appear at the south end of the island.
Its neighbouring island to the south is the artificial island
Artificial island
An artificial island or man-made island is an island or archipelago that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means...
Peberholm
Peberholm
Peberholm , Swedish Pepparholm, is a small artificial island located in the Danish part of the Øresund. It forms part of Tårnby municipality. It was created as part of the Øresund Bridge connecting Denmark with Sweden...
(Pepper Islet), which is a part of the Øresund Bridge and was named to complement Saltholm.
Flora and fauna
Saltholm's vegetation is dominated primarily by grasses, with its landscape consisting mainly of flat chalk meadowlands and coastal meadow. There are few trees on Saltholm, clustered mainly in two places in the north and south-west of the island. The island has a rich variety of flora, notably motherwortMotherwort
Motherwort is a herbaceous perennial plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. Other common names include Throw-wort, Lion's Ear, and Lion's Tail. The latter two are also common names for Leonotis leonurus. Originally from Central Asia it is now found worldwide, spread largely due to its use as a...
(Leonurus cardiaca), henbane
Henbane
Henbane , also known as stinking nightshade or black henbane, is a plant of the family Solanaceae that originated in Eurasia, though it is now globally distributed.-Toxicity and historical usage:...
(Hyoscyamus niger), blue iris (Iris spuria) and chickweed
Cerastium
Cerastium is a genus of annual, winter annual, or perennial plants belonging to the family Caryophyllaceae. The around 100 species are commonly called Mouse-ear chickweed; different species are found nearly worldwide but the greatest concentration is mainly from the northern temperate areas of the...
.
Saltholm is a protected nature reserve for wild birds which nest in large numbers on the island. The southern part of the island, an extensive salt marsh
Salt marsh
A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
, is protected under the Ramsar Convention
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...
and the island as a whole, along with the surrounding area of sea, has been designated a nature reserve by the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. Mussel
Mussel
The common name mussel is used for members of several families of clams or bivalvia mollusca, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.The...
beds, eel grass
Zostera
Zostera is a small genus of widely distributed seagrass, commonly called marine eelgrass or simply eelgrass . The genus Zostera contains sixteen species.-Ecology:Zostera is found on sandy substrates or in estuaries submerged or partially floating...
, snails, crustaceans and fish in the shallow waters around the island provide an important food source for water birds. Because of its importance as a wildlife sanctuary, access to Saltholm and its surrounding waters is strictly controlled. Access to the island is via a small harbour at Barakkebro, at the north end of Saltholm.
The island is Denmark's largest grazing area for geese, some 7,000 of which visit during the summer. Around 3,500 juvenile swans also live on the island in the summer, with some 2,000 wintering there. 10,000–12,000 ducks breed and graze on Saltholm during autumn and late winter/spring. Saltholm is also home to Europe's largest breeding colony of eider
Eider
Eiders are large seaducks in the genus Somateria. Steller's Eider, despite its name, is in a different genus.The three extant species all breed in the cooler latitudes of the Northern hemisphere....
s; 15,000 live on the island during the spring and some 7,000–8,000 are hatched on the island each year.
History
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, to only five people as of January 2008. The current inhabitants manage the farm Holmegård on a nature reserve in the northwest of the island to maintain the grass for nesting birds.
The existence of the island is first attested in 1230, when King Valdemar II of Denmark
Valdemar II of Denmark
Valdemar II , called Valdemar the Victorious or Valdemar the Conqueror , was the King of Denmark from 1202 until his death in 1241. The nickname Sejr is a later invention and was not used during the King's own lifetime...
is recorded as having given Saltholm to Bishop Niels Stigsen of the see of Roskilde
Roskilde (titular see)
Roskilde is a Catholic titular see. The former see, suppressed in the sixteenth century, was Roskilde in Denmark....
. For centuries, the island was used to quarry limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, which was used in nearby Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
and elsewhere; in 1289, the town lord of Copenhagen is recorded to have granted quarrying rights on Saltholm and quarrying continued until as late as 1935. The island was also traditionally used as pasture land for the cattle of the people of the nearby Danish island of Amager. The cows of Saltholm were commemorated in the late 19th century by the Danish painter Theodor Philipsen
Theodor Philipsen
Theodor Philipsen was a Danish painter.Philipsen has been considered an innovator of 19th century Danish art. He took Danish art into a new level of impressionism and naturalism. He was influenced by French art, this influence beginning in his first time in Paris from 1874–1876...
, who travelled frequently to the island to paint its cattle and treeless landscapes.
Saltholm was used as a quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
station between 1709 and 1711 when Copenhagen suffered plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
and cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
outbreaks. Travellers wishing to land in the city were required to stay in quarantine on the island for 40 days. In 1873, a private company, the Saltholmlaug, acquired the island from the state and still owns it today.
The island's position in the middle of the Øresund gave it some military significance during the two World Wars. In 1912, the Danish government constructed the "Flak Fort" on the Salthom Flak sands just north of the island proper, stationing a number of artillery pieces ranging in calibre from 47 mm to 290 mm. Most of the guns were mounted on barbette
Barbette
A barbette is a protective circular armour feature around a cannon or heavy artillery gun. The name comes from the French phrase en barbette referring to the practice of firing a field gun over a parapet rather than through an opening . The former gives better angles of fire but less protection...
carriages and protected by armoured shields and concrete and earthen ramparts. The fort was still active at the start of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
; although old, its guns were still seen as a strong deterrent.
Saltholm was the site of an incident resulting in the loss of the British submarine HMS E13
HMS E13
HMS E13 was a British E class submarine built by HM Dockyard, Chatham. E13 was laid down on 16 December 1912 and was commissioned on 9 December 1914. The hull cost £101,900.-Service history:...
, which ran aground on the island on 17 August 1915 due to a faulty compass. Two days later, two German destroyers attacked the submarine while it was still stranded on the shoreline as the crew worked to refloat the vessel. Fifteen of the submariners were killed before Danish torpedo boats intervened to deter the attackers. The violation of the country's neutrality outraged the Danish government, prompting a diplomatic protest to the Germans, and the casualties were given high-profile official funerals by the Danish navy. The surviving crew were interned in Denmark until the end of the war in November 1918, and the wrecked submarine was scrapped. The commander of the E13, Lt Cdr Geoffrey Layton
Geoffrey Layton
Admiral Sir Geoffrey Layton GBE, KCB, KCMG, DSO , was a British Royal Navy officer.-Early life and career:...
, went on to have a distinguished career in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and commanded the British Eastern Fleet during the Second World War.
The island was for many years considered as a possible location for a new international airport and fixed link between Denmark and Sweden. The nearby Copenhagen Airport
Copenhagen Airport
Copenhagen Airport is the main international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark and the Oresund Region. It is located on the island of Amager, south of Copenhagen city centre, and west of Malmö city centre on the other side of the Oresund Bridge. The airport lies mainly in the municipality...
at Kastrup
Kastrup
Kastrup is a suburb of Copenhagen, on the east coast of Amager in the Tårnby Municipality.Kastrup is best known as the site of Copenhagen Airport. In Danish, the airport is often called Kastrup Lufthavn or Københavns Lufthavn, Kastrup .Scandinavian Airlines System has its Denmark offices in Kastrup...
has long been the busiest airport in Scandinavia but has suffered from an acute shortage of space and its proximity to built-up areas. In 1965, the Nordic Council
Nordic Council
The Nordic Council is a geo-political, inter-parliamentary forum for co-operation between the Nordic countries. It was established following World War II and its first concrete result was the introduction in 1952 of a common labour market and free movement across borders without passports for the...
agreed in principle to build a new international airport on Saltholm, to replace the airport at Kastrup, and to construct a bridge-and-tunnel link across the island to connect Copenhagen and Malmö. The proposal was strongly supported by Scandinavian Airlines System
Scandinavian Airlines System
Scandinavian Airlines or SAS, previously Scandinavian Airlines System, is the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and the largest airline in Scandinavia....
, the main user of Copenhagen Airport. The plan envisaged building two pairs of runways, which would be carrying up to 20 million passengers a year by 1990. A 9 km (5.6 mi) bridge would connect it to Malmo and a 5 km (3.1 mi) tunnel would link to Kastrup on the Danish side. The project was costed at the equivalent of £250 million in 1967 (£3.1 billion / € 3.4 billion at 2009 prices).
The plan was approved by the Danish parliament in 1969 with completion scheduled for 1985. However, it was repeatedly delayed; contributory factors included the 1973 oil crisis
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
and its economic fallout, a slump in air travel, and opposition from campaigners concerned about the impact on the fragile environment in the Øresund and around the island. The plan was abandoned in 1979 and further investment was made in Copenhagen Airport instead. When the Oresund fixed link was eventually built in the 1990s, it was routed 1 km south of Saltholm to avoid damaging the island and the surrounding shallow waters.