Ringkøbing Fjord

a period of drastic change. The breakwaters on both sides
of the approach have been extended and the approach
widened. In 2013, the south beach will be a bay, and the
approach will again be across the artwork “Vestled”, which
was created for the town’s seventy-fifth anniversary, and
where you can walk over the red bricks. There are numerous
local initiatives for the town’s continuing development,
and everybody is working to make the town and the area
even more attractive to residents and guests.
Anglers from near and far flock to Hvide Sande in the
hunt for freshly caught fish for dinner, standing along the
breakwaters on both the fjord side and the sea side in
all weather, and there’s delight when the rays of the sun
shine on a herring on the way up in the bucket. The famous
herring festival is held every year in the last weekend
in April, when the town is filled with herring fishermen
competing to catch the most herrings in terms of time or
weight, the biggest herring, or to be “Mr Herring”, chosen
by a panel of women judges, or to take part in the competition
for the best herring recipe.
A lively business life with lots of shops, restaurants, a
shopkeeper’s market, and sailing tours for both dedicated
anglers and people who merely want to experience the
sea and see the town from the North Sea. The town now
has about 3,100 residents, but this number increases
several times over the summer, when the holiday cottages
are inhabited and all the visitors flock into the area.
Activities
Nature has endowed the area with fine surfing spots, and
visitors can enjoy cable waterskiing and wakeboarding on
the fjord, while the sea and the beaches provide space
for all kinds of exertion: there’s swimming, games, and
beach volleyball on the courts at the south beach. Others
prefer to go to the beach very early and preferably after a
few days with an on-shore wind to find amber among the
seaweed, shells and fragments of wood. The topgallant sail
schooner at Hvide Sande offers tours on the sea, where
tourists can enjoy a view of the coast from the sea side.
There are several trips a day in the season. The nature
path along the dunes is very popular, including the 5-6
kilometre cycling trip, or the walk to Lyngvig lighthouse
with its almost 40 metre height, with a fantastic view over
sea, fjord and dunes. The old lighthouse keeper’s home
Fyrmestergården has functioning workshops and a little
shop as well as many other activities. Several places in
the area offer horse riding to the beach or simply seeing
horses at close quarters, and tennis courts and orienteering
paths are other options.
Attractions and sights
The museum Fiskeriets Hus just north of the floodgates
relates the history of how the town arose, how fishing has
developed, and the life-saving service’s duties, and it also
has an aquarium with many of the fish found in the area.
Outside the building is the artwork “Cyklus”, which was
erected for the town’s seventy-fifth anniversary in 2006,
and symbolises the cycle of life, and opposite is Troldbjerg,
the town’s highest point, from where there is a good view
of the harbour, the drainage floodgate and the lock, for
there are two different floodgates here: the one locking
water out of and into the fjord, and the one where ships
can pass from the sea to the fjord and vice versa. There is
an old signal mast at Troldbjerg which indicated the water
depth in the approach to ships. It is no longer in service –
electronic equipment has taken over its job. Another of the
town’s artworks, Vestled, is at the south beach, connecting
the town to the beach/sea with the aid of red bricks. South
of Hvide Sande is Abelines Gård – a dune farm from 1870
(worthy of preservation and awarded the Europa Nostra
prize). Abeline’s history and how people lived on a farm
belonging to a receiver of wrecks many years ago are
related here.
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o m r å D et s by e r & ko rt · Di e stä Dt e Der reg i o n & kart e n · th e tow n s of th e r eg i o n & map s