Daytrip to Stevns

The area of Stevns is about an hour drive out of Copenhagen just south of the village of Køge. It is a nice area to go and explore for a while since there are several nice natural attractions along with some man made attractions.

The area has many deposits of chalk from ancient seabed which has moved to the surface – these white cliffs are one of the main attractions of the area. The chalk is also a natural resource which is mined several places around Stevns. The most famous of these quarries is the large Faxe Kalkbrud which has been operating for 900 years leaving a giant hole in the ground. This is a great place to go for a little wonder and possible go to the geological museum at the top of the quarry or enjoy a coffee with a view of the quarry.

• 

• 

From Faxe Kalkbrud it is only a few kilometers drive until you reach the coast line at the small town of Faxe Ladeplads – the last part of the name translates to loading place – which is the harbor of Faxe and I guess the chalk has been sent here to sail to other parts of Denmark over the centuries.

Heading north along the coast you can reach Stevns Fortet which is one of the two main fortresses in Denmark dating back to the cold war era. The fortress had large guns and was designed to help stop the Soviet Navy from breaking through the narrow straights of Denmark. Stevns Fortet protected the southern access to Øresund while the Langelands Fortress protected the southern access to the Great Belt. The Soviet Navy would have to go through one of these two straights if they were to break out from the Baltic Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. If they managed to go through here there was no more natural obstacles before they would reach the Atlantic Ocean.

You can visit the fortress – I have never been to the bunkers here but I have visited Langelands Fortet and this fortress is probably similar in design since it was built around the same time.

The main attractions of the area are the white cliffs are Stevns Klint which is the second biggest collections of white cliffs in Denmark. It is actually a UNESCO world heritage area – not because of the natural beauty of the white cliffs – which is very nice – but because of the fact this is the best place on earth to study the sediments left by the giant meteor which collided with earth 65 million years ago at the Yucatan Peninsula and led to the mass extinction of life including most of the dinosaurs which dominated the earth during this period.

At the end of the Stenvs area just outside Køge you find a little castle of Vallø Slot which is a pretty castle with a large park surrounding the castle. There is no public access to the castle but it is free to go and enjoy the park. Next to the park is a restaurant which has received some great reviews.

To explore this area in a day you will need your own car since the transport between the attractions at this area is a bit tricky – but if you have a car and a day to spare you can find a lot of stuff to see and do at this area.