Discover Harboøre

Harboøre offers two themes to explore when planning your trip: its maritime history and the surrounding nature. Harboøre Church and Flyvholm Lifeboat Station offer insights into local history, while lagoons, birdwatching, and hiking trails provide a different focus. If you’re looking for hotels in Harboøre, you can use these differences to decide which experiences to include in your plans.

Church and maritime history

Harboøre Church was first mentioned around 1330. Its first stone church may have been built as early as around 1200. These two dates distinguish a possible early start to construction from the first documented mention. Different periods also meet inside the church: it has a Renaissance altarpiece from 1605, and the present painting was created by Axel Hou in 1910.

The church and cemetery also tell of drownings that shaped the parish over time. The church’s decoration and some of the gravestones in the historic cemetery bear witness to them. One particular event in this maritime history was the wreck of the “Artic”: Eliza Butterworth, a two-year-old girl from Manchester, drowned on October 4, 1860. The dates and the specific tragedy offer different points of reference for the area’s history.

Flyvholm Lifeboat Station

Flyvholm Lifeboat Station was founded in 1847 and was one of Denmark’s first lifeboat stations. It is an unstaffed exhibition building run by Lemvig Museum. There you can see the large lifeboat that the crew had to row through rough surf. This takes the visit from general information about the station’s history to a specific object and how it was used at the time.

The station and the church offer different perspectives: the focus here is on the history of sea rescue, while at the church you’ll encounter religious art and reminders of tragedies that shaped the parish. If you’re interested in maritime history, you can include both in your plans without treating them as though they offer the same historical perspective.

Lagoons, birds, and hiking trails

The two brackish-water lagoons at Harboøre Tange, in the area around Harboøre, cover 500 hectares. They are important breeding grounds for various waterbirds. A birdwatching hide is located 600 meters south of Rønland Station, with views of the birds in the lagoon. This gives you two ways to get a sense of the landscape: the size of the lagoons and a specific spot for birdwatching.

Naturrum Thyborøn has marked two hiking trails in the area around Harboøre, measuring 4 and 11 kilometers respectively. The stated distances make it easy to compare the two routes and their relative lengths. Markings and trail conditions can change; check the latest information before setting out. Another option is the national Vestkyststien route, which runs along the coastal dike for the entire length of Harboøre Tange.

Bunker No. 55 offers a different kind of stop: you can take a break there, eat food you’ve brought along, or spend the night in a hammock you bring yourself. Overnight stays are therefore only possible if you bring your own hammock and should not be confused with a hotel stay.

Directions to Bedehuset

To reach Bedehuset, follow the gravel road Normarkvej from Skalvej for about 1.5 kilometers in a southwesterly direction. Parking is available at the pump house. As route and parking information may change, check the museum’s latest directions before setting out.

Discover more destinations: Fjaltring, Vemb, Thyborøn, Vrist, Nees, Trans, Ferring, Lemvig.

See the main travel overview: Lemvig Municipality.