The great wild bog

Spread across the Danish landscape there used to be a lot of bogs – they had a special place in myth and stories of the people and in the old days the locals sacrificed people in the bogs which have been found well preserved millenniums later.

During the last couple of centuries the mystic of the bogs has disappeared since most of the bogs has been drained and turned into productive farmland. But a few places you can still find some remains of the old bogs. One of these places is Store Vildmose which translates into great wild bog. The bog is located about half way between Aalborg which is the biggest city in the area and the beaches around Blokhus which is one of the biggest beach destinations of Northern Jutland.

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We head to the bog and drive around the area which is mixed between farmland and the old bog. There are a few different sights in the area. There is a small view tower – you walk to the tower through the bog landscape and then get to the tower from where there is a view of a couple of lakes. The lakes probably have some birdlife from time to time – but this afternoon there is only a few birds present. The view is still worth the short walk out along the boardwalk.

Another little spot to visit is a memorial stone for a British plane which were shot down in the beginning of the Second World War. The entire crew lost their life except for one who survived and got refuge at a local farm for a while. Unfortunately there was no organized resistance movement this early in the war and the smugglers who took people across the sea to Sweden hadn’t started up yet. So the pilot ended up having to turn himself in to the Germans.

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From this memorial stone we continue to some older stones. The stones are called the stepping stones and they form a path through the bog which made it possible to walk across the bog without getting wet. The stones are huge and they are actually an ancient historical artefact. The stones has been put there at least a couple of thousand years ago by the ancient people living in the area. When you look at the long path and the size of the stones you can’t help being impressed with the work the ancient people has put into making this path.

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We leave the stones behind and go to an area where the bog is pretty dry and you can walk on the special vegetation of the bog. I guess there will be a lot of special flowers later in the year – but right now there are no flowers so this part of the bog isn’t all that interesting this time of the year.

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A final stop is at a farm in the bog. The farm is actually farming the dirt of the bog. The top soil of the bog is perfect for pot plants so the farmer is taking the top of the soil a few centimeters every year and sells the soil to the producers of flowers. When they get almost to the bottom of the top soil layer they have to stop farming the dirt and stop draining the bog. This way the bog will return to its wild stage and recreate the soil layer during the following centuries.