Skip to content
Archive of posts filed under the Culture category.

Cities of Denmark: Skanderborg

Posted by Daniela Lot on 21 July 2009, 6:00 am

Situated 30 km south-west of Århus, Skanderborg, with its 13.864 inhabitants*, is a city with nice spots for a cultural and active holiday.

Skanderup Church

Skanderup Church

Near the train station the visitor can find one of Denmark´s oldest churches. Build of chalkstone around the year 1050, Skanderup Church has a horseshoe shaped apse,

Apse, Skanderup Church

Apse, Skanderup Church

which has an unique architecture in Danish church building because of its chamfered edges and round arch friezes, as shown in the picture.

The church remained as the only building on a slope until the beginning of the 20th century, when the city of Skanderborg grew to its direction. In the 1960ies, its restoration uncovered some Romanesque wall paintings from de 13th century – to read more about medieval churches in Denmark and Romanesque and Gothic wall paintings, click here.

Going down the slope, in the direction of the old part of the town, the visitor finds Skanderborg Museum, which is located in a house from 1888 that once was the local judge’s residence. Some parts of the house date back to the old bailiff’s house from 1750.

The permanent exhibition is small, but rich. It shows the history of the town and the region, including finds from the Early Stone Age, with its highly specialised hunter population; the weapons and spoils of war of the Roman Iron Age; the fortification and neighbouring monasteries from the Middle Ages; and the history of Skanderborg Castle, erected during the Renaissance and, unfortunately, sold in an auction and demolished in 1767 when the need for a Skanderborg army unit was not necessary anymore.

Skanderborg Chapel, entrance

Skanderborg Castle Chapel, entrance

The castle remains can be found at the end of the shopping street, a few hundred meters past the Skanderborg Museum. On the castle mound, the only building remaining is its Chapel, which has gone through several restorations, but preserves, for example, the wooden benches from the 16th century.

Located at the margin of Skanderborg Lake, the region is also attractive for its open-air activities, which include canoeing, golf, Denmark’s highest climbing point, cycling and boat tours. For more information, click here.

Skanderborg Lake

Skanderborg Lake

* January 2008, Statistics Denmark.

Filed under Culture, Entertainment, History, Tourism.
2 Comments

Store Bededag – a Danish holiday

Posted by Bart Westgeest on 8 May 2009, 6:00 am

Today, the 8th. of May 2009, is a national holiday in Denmark. It is called Stor Bededag, which literally can be translated into “Great Prayer Day”.

hans_bagger

Hans Bagger_source Wikipedia

It was Bishop Hans Bagger who decided in 1686 to declare the fourth Friday after Easter a national Prayer Day. This was to be a day where the whole country had to pray, fast and go to church. It was created to gather many minor “prayer days” into one general national day so that there would be more time for people to work. The celebration of the day survived a major clean-up of holidays in 1770 by the influential doctor and prime-minister J.F. von Struensee who abolished about half of the number of holidays in the country.

Since the tradition of fasting and other religious practices are not widespread in Denmark anymore, the day is for most people not too much more than another day off in Spring. But the consuming of Varme Hvede (white wheat), a light type of bread that is to be eaten warm, is still popular. The tradition originates from the time when the bakers made large quantities of this type of bread the day before the Stor Bededag, so that they could have a day off from work and participate in the tradition.

Here is a link (in Danish) to the recipe of Varme Hvede.

Filed under Culture, Religion, Tradition.
1 Comment

Painters of Skagen: Anna and Michael Ancher

Posted by Daniela Lot on 21 March 2009, 6:00 am

The Danish painters who worked in Skagen at the end of the 19th century and beginning of 20th century formed an important and unique group. They worked with local motives and painted on the spot, creating a recognizable and, for the time, modern way of painting. Two of the most prominent of them are Anna and Michael Ancher.


Anna and Michael met each other in 1874 in the village of Skagen, where Michael was one of the first of the group that gathered and became known as “the Skagen painters”. Anna, who was born  in the region, was also part of the group. Their marriage was in 1880.


Artists of Skagen. From left to right: Martha Johansen, painter Viggo Johansen, Norwegian painter Christian Krohg, P.S. Krøyer, Degn Brøndum (Anna Ancher's brother), Michael Ancher, Swedish painter Oscar Björck, Danish painter Thorvald Niss, teacher Helene Christensen, Danish painter Anna Ancher and Helga Ancher.

P.S. Krøyer, Hip Hip Hurra. In the painting you can see some of the artists of Skagen. From left to right: Martha Johansen, painter Viggo Johansen, Norwegian painter Christian Krohg, P.S. Krøyer, Degn Brøndum (Anna Ancher's brother), Michael Ancher, Swedish painter Oscar Björck, Danish painter Thorvald Niss, teacher Helene Christensen, Danish painter Anna Ancher and Helga Ancher.

Michael Ancher

Michael Ancher was born on Bornholm, the easternmost island of Denmark, in 1847, and died in Skagen, the northernmost area of Denmark, in 1927, where he lived since 1874.

Michael Ancher_Vil han klare pynten_1885

Michael Ancher. Vil han klare pynten. 1885.

Michael has painted many scenes with Skagen’s fishermen. In 1879 he became famous with the painting “Will he round the point” (Vil han klare pynten). In this painting we can see some fishermen looking at the sea, wondering whether another fisherman would be able to arrive safely at the harbor.

Other of his famous paintings are, for example, “The lifeboat is carried through the dunes” (Redningsbåden føres gennem klitterne) (1883), “The crew is saved” (Mandskabet reddet) (1894) and “The drowned man” (Den druknede) (1896).

He has studied at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi), where he was taught the classical way of painting, which was quite different from the way he and his colleagues painted in Skagen. Their paintings were on the walls of the Hotel Brøndum, and in 1946 they became part of Skagen’s Museum. In 1967 the house where Michael and Anna Ancher lived with their daughter Helga (who preserved the house as it was after Anna died) became a part of that too.


Anna Ancher (1859-1935)


Anna Ancher. Girl in the kitchen. 1883

Anna Ancher. Sunshine in the blue room. 1891

Anna Ancher’s father was Erik Brøndum, the owner of the Hotel where “the Skagen painters” gathered and lived while they were in the city.

She is one of the best known female painters in Denmark. Anna studied three years with Vilhelm Kyhn, who kept a private painting school for women in Copenhagen. She also studied at the atelier of Pierre Puvis de Chavannes together with Marie Triepcke, who later married Peder Krøyer.

Unlike Marie Triepcke, Anna Ancher continued painting after she got married. Anna painted interiors and everyday situations of the locals in Skagen, such as fishermen, children and women.

Some of her paintings are “Girl in the kitchen” (Pigen i køkkenet) (1883) and “Sunshine in the blue room” (Solskin i den blå stue) (1891).


Filed under Culture.
Comment