Beaches and sights on Bornholm
Bornholm, the island kingdom’s easternmost island and municipality, is a unique piece of Denmark and the country’s only rocky island. There are wide, white beaches with the finest sand, rocky coasts, deep quarries, forests and Denmark’s largest waterfalls. 587 square kilometers where the sun shines more than in the rest of Denmark, where it rains less and where summer is longer thanks to the warm Baltic Sea.
The island is far from the rest of Denmark – it is about 150 kilometers to Copenhagen, but only 80 kilometers to Rügen and just 40 kilometers to the south coast of Sweden.
All Scandinavian landscapes in one spot
The uniqueness of this small Baltic Sea island is that it combines all the landscapes of Scandinavia in a very small space: In the north the island is rocky and rugged and offers a spectacular view with cliffs and skerries; in the gentle south the endless, white sandy beaches prevail, and in between you will find deep valleys with lush forests and in the heart of the island “Almindingen”, one of Denmark’s largest forest areas.
Island capital Rønne, gateway to Bornholm
If you come by ship from northern Germany, southern Sweden or Copenhagen, disembark in Rønne, the largest port on Bornholm. One in three of the nearly 43,000 people on Bornholm lives here, there is an airport, albeit a tiny one, and the island’s only theater and high school.
The lively center of the town is the market place Store Torv, where locals and tourists sit around the fountain and in the many outdoor cafes and enjoy the sun. There are also plenty of shops with a wide range of goods around Store Torv.
There is a special atmosphere at Store Torv on market days, when Bornholm artists and traders present their own products. They come from all over the island early in the morning and sell handmade art objects, granite jewelry, candles, clothes, vegetables and much more in stalls.
The sun shines more often here than in the rest of Denmark
Due to the island’s privileged location, the sun shines more often here than in other regions of Denmark. Once summer has really started, the clear waters of the Baltic Sea warm up quickly. And when the water is really warm, it and the rocks help keep the temperature high here for a long time. Bornholm is known for good swimming well into September, weather permitting.
The most beautiful beaches on Bornholm
Beaches come in many forms: from the child-friendly beach of Balka to the endless sandy beaches of Dueodde and the cliff-lined coasts at Sandkås and Sandvig.
- Balka, Bornholm’s most popular and child-friendly bathing beach, is a long, wide stretch of beach that slopes very gently into the sea. It is very popular with families because of its lukewarm water, where children can spend hours throwing themselves in the gently rolling waves. However, you have to go very far to be able to swim properly.
- The several kilometers long sandy beach of Dueodde, the southernmost tip of Bornholm, is the most famous beach on the island. Because of the many sandbanks, you will find both shallow and deep places very close to the shore on the coast. On the beach is also the landmark Dueoddes, the 47 meter high lighthouse, from whose platform you have a magnificent view over the southern tip of Bornholm. In good weather, visibility is 35 kilometers.
- Cliff-rich coasts can be found at Sandkås and Sandvig – and, as the name suggests, there is sand in abundance. The beaches are beautifully situated between rock formations. Sandkås lies between Tejn and Allinge, while Sandvig lies at the foot of Hammerknude at the northern tip and is North Bornholm’s most popular bathing beach.
Bornholm’s sights: Hammerhus, round churches, rune stones
One of Bornholm’s most visited attractions is the ruined Hammerhus Castle, which lies on the northern tip of the island on a 74-metre-high cliff that rises vertically out of the sea. The 12th-century castle, one of the largest connected castle ruin complexes in northern Europe, is surrounded by a 750 meter long circular wall. From here you have a unique view that extends to Sweden on a clear day.
Another attraction of the island are the four round churches in Østerlars, Ols, Nilars and Nyker, of which Saint Lawrence Church in Østerlars is the largest, oldest and best known and is one of the most popular tourist attractions on the island with 120,000 visitors a year. The church, which was built around 1150, served as a fortress like the other round churches in times of military conflicts.
There are also three of the forty rune stones known on Bornholm in the church. The largest rune stone on Bornholm is the Brogård stone, almost three meters high, south of Hasle.