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10 Danish Mountains You Should Climb Posted by on Jan 20, 2013 in Uncategorized

Himmelbjerget taarnet

On top of Himmelbjerget

One of the first things you’ll notice when going by train or bus in Denmark, is how extremely flat the country is. There are no mountains, only a few hills. The only klipper (rocks) are located on the island of Bornholm, between Sweden and Poland. The rest of Denmark is fladt som en pandekage (flat as a pancake). (Admitted, the Netherlands are even flatter – and even more liberal when it comes to the pleasures of life!)

Wait – no mountains? In 2005, the Norwegian Roger Pihl proved us all wrong. With a dash of irony and a lot of love for Denmark, he published a book which in Danish got the name Guide til Danmarks bjerge – Guide to the Mountains of Denmark.

”Denmark is a fjeld-land (mountain-country)”, Pihl writes. ”Even if the peaks protrude no more than 100 meters, the view can be just as impressive as from the Norwegian mountains, where you can add a zero to the height.”

Denmark has an average height of 31 meters, and Pihl argues that in that perspective, every hill with a height above 100 meters should be considered a Danish bjerg [b-yaᵒᵒ] (mountain)! 🙂

Here, then, are the

10 highest peaks in Denmark

  1. Ejer Bavnehøj/Møllehøj in Ejer, Jylland. 170.86 meters (above sea level).
  2. Yding Skovhøj in Yding, Jylland. 170.77 m.
  3. Rytterknægten in Almindingen, Bornholm. 162 m.
  4. Rye Sønderskov in Gammel Rye, Jylland. 157 m.
  5. Them Bavnehøj in Them, Jylland. 153 m.
  6. Sorring Loddenhøj in Sorring, Jyland. 148 m.
  7. Himmelbjerget in Gammel Rye, Jylland. 147 m.
  8. Ottehøje in Bryrup, Jylland. 145 m.
  9. Aborrebjerg on Møn. 143 m.
  10. Alvildas Høj in Gammel Rye, Jylland. 142 m.

Notice how mountains in Gammel Rye dominate the chart! Of these, the most famous is Himmelbjerget. It has a tower, a souvenir shop and a restaurant on its top! The view is as breathtaking as it gets in Denmark, so there’s no reason to laugh about the name, which means … Sky Mountain!

Happy trekking! 😉

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About the Author: Bjørn A. Bojesen

I was born in Denmark, but spent large parts of my childhood and study years in Norway. I later returned to Denmark, where I finished my MA in Scandinavian Studies. Having relatives in Sweden as well, I feel very Scandinavian! I enjoy reading and travelling, and sharing stories with you! You’re always welcome to share your thoughts with me and the other readers.

Comments:

  1. Ana:

    Nice post. I “climbed” Himmelbjerget once, very nice view from there 🙂

    • Bjørn A. Bojesen:

      @Ana Glad you liked Himmelbjerget! It’s a lovely place! 🙂

  2. Armanda Sierra:

    have you got any news regarding this?

  3. Trine Cederlöf:

    I grew up in the Danish highlands, in the area called “Søhøjlandet” – meaning Lake Highlands. Rye, Gammel Rye, Bryrup and Them, riding my bike up and down the hills and mountains. 😉

  4. Nischal:

    Hi,

    I am moving in from India to Denmark in July. First time to any Scandinavian country. Excited at the prospect of a completely new environment….

    • Bjørn A. Bojesen:

      @Nischal Hi Nischal,
      wow, that must be quite an exciting journey! 🙂 Hope you’ll find Denmark a likeable place. People here are a bit shy, and so is the sun… Hope you won’t let that put you down, though! Good luck!

  5. Paul Darwent:

    Last year I cycled from Hjerting to Roskilde a total of 316km and during the total trip only climbed 1497m. Shows how flat DK is. Funny enough the peak in front of my bar here in Spain is 1400m high.

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    • Bjørn A. Bojesen:

      @yahoo Thank you very much for the compliment. 🙂

  7. Lou:

    I don’t think anything below 170 meters qualifies as a mountain…:-)

    • Bjørn A. Bojesen:

      @Lou @Lou
      What – only one mountain in Denmark?? 😉

  8. Violet Hay:

    I have been to denmark a couple of times now I am moving there to live hopefully in the spring time, I have joked so many times with my danish partner about there being no mountains he said there are mountains so he has to take me to see them for real, I am from Scotland and we have a few pretty mountains and hills, we are living in gran canaria at the moment but I am so looking forward to denmark.
    I enjoyed reading your information on danish mountains.

    • Bjørn A. Bojesen:

      @Violet Hay @Violet
      Yes, there are mountains here – they are just really low, you have to be on the lookout for them! 😉
      Good luck with moving to Denmark! Hope you’ll enjoy it here.

  9. LEONATOR:

    Please don’t call this climbing, it is walking uphill. It’s less than 200 meters.

    Thanks,

    • Bjørn A. Bojesen:

      @LEONATOR @Leonator – Haha, you’re right! 🙂 The word ”climbing” was used in an ironic way, just like the word ”mountain”… I guess it’s Danish humour.