Halskov Odde

When people travel between Copenhagen and the rest of Denmark they usually just race straight to the Great Belt Bridge and cross over the Great Belt to reach the island of Fyn. We have done the trip several times and we have never stopped at the water when passing the bridge. The last time I stopped at the water at the Great Belt was as a kid when we had to wait for the ferry to take us across.

We are actually about to cross the bridge one more time but this time around we decide to go and have a look at the bridge from the shore. We head out to the area called Halskov Odde. It is actually the western most point in the local municipality and it has a long history as a fairly important crossing point of the Great Belt. There is an old house called Christian IV house. The building was constructed by Christian IV when he started a postal service. This was the station used before the letters would have to be sent by boat across the water.

The area has also been fortified since it was of military importance to control this crossing point between the Danish islands. There isn’t a lot left from the old fortifications so you can’t really get a good idea of what it used to look like.

There is another building at the end of the land. It used to be a museum for the iceboats. Unfortunately the museum is closed down – I am not sure if it is closed down permanently or if it is only temporarily due to the pandemic.

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The iceboats were special boats which were used during harsh winters. When the winter was particularly harsh the old ferries would be unable to navigate the waters between Zealand and Fyn and the traffic came to a halt. This was unacceptable since this route was the only route between the capital and the rest of Denmark – hence it was necessary to have an alternative transport during winter. To keep the travel going they used small boats which were pushed across the waters by hard working men so the passengers could get across the Great Belt even during a cold winter when the waters froze. It is a pretty fascinating story how people pushed the boats for almost 20 kilometers or 12 miles to get across – it most have been incredible hard work under harsh conditions.

We enjoy the little stop out here at the area which has been transformed into a little nature reserve. Apparently it is a great place to go for fishing since there are a lot of people trying their luck at the waters around here. There is a little stone reef close to the shore which is a great place for fish and for diving if you don’t find the waters too cold.