Randbøl Hede
1. Nature base Kirstinelyst
Start here! Although you are eager to spend time outside, the new 6-million-kroner Nature Base is an excellent starting point for adventures at Randbøl Hede. The exhibitions will open your eyes to the lives of the moorland peasants, the flora and fauna of the moor and exciting stories which you would not automatically learn of by taking what is usually a lonely walk on the moor in silence, wide expanses and high skies.
The new Kirstinelyst Nature Base is of modern design, but the material used for the flat roof and the sloping outer walls is heath turf; the building thus becomes a whole moorland in itself and will blossom together with the heather of Randbøl Hede.
Kirstinelyst is also the perfect place to share a picnic. Tables and benches are available on the porch just outside the exhibition area.
The fields around Kirstinelyst were part of the moorland which was cultivated in the late 1800s. The area was farmed for approximately 100 years until the state bought the area in 1984, when the hedgerows were removed, and cattle were put out to graze the fields. You may still see small banks of shifting sand where the hedgerows were removed. The house and the stables were demolished when Kirstinelyst Nature Base was built. Only the gable with its two chimneys used as a German field kitchen during World War II was preserved.
Kirstinelyst Nature Base opened its doors for the first time at Easter 2013.
When walking along the yellow hiking trail to Stoltenbjerg, to the north of the trail (to the right) you will see an area that was burnt in 1984 and again in 2002 to restore the moorland. To the south of the trail, the heather has been left untouched since 1920, and crowberries have gradually taken over from heather.
2. Stoltenbjerg
The 17-metre-tall Stoltenbjerg is the largest dune gathered by the wind on the otherwise flat Randbøl Hede. Note the black stripe which runs through the sand of the dune. This stripe was the surface of the landscape for millennia. Here, in one step, you can journey back 7,400 years in Denmark’s history. The explanation is that the sand below the stripe was deposited about 5800 BC, while the sand above the black stripe was deposited in the late 16th century, when ruthless exploitation of the landscape which included the felling of trees, overgrazing, heath fires, etc, created new sandstorms that became a disaster for the local people. A man-made disaster, which led to fields and villages becoming buried in sand.
Stoltenbjerg is the highest peak of what is known as Staldbakkerne. It is a one-kilometre-long dune ridge shaped by the westerly wind and therefore running in a west-northwest direction. Legend has it that Staldbakkerne got their name during the Dano-Swedish wars, when the locals hid their horses from the Swedes in the deserted hills.
To the south of the blue and red hiking trail to Vorbasse Studevej, you can see an area retaining traces of cultivation from a plantation which was removed on the area being designated an area of outstanding beauty in 1936.
På blå og rød vandresti til Vorbasse Studevej kan man syd for stien se et område med spor af dyrkning fra en plantage, der blev fjernet i 1936, da området blev fredet.
3. Vorbasse Studevej
When the heather blossoms, Vorbasse Studevej looks like a painting by the late 19th century Danish painters, the painters of “the golden age”. The old drovers’ road still winds between heather and tussocks across Randbøl Hede. An old folk song tells the story of King Valdemar II Sejr's death ride across Randbøl Hede in 1212. He set out with 100 men from Skanderborg, 15 accompanied him across Randbøl Hede but only he reached Ribe, where Queen Dagmar died during childbirth.
Vorbasse Studevej was used from the 1400s to the 1800s for driving oxen to Vorbasse Marked or even further south. Also, horses, pigs, goats and sheep have travelled the road to market. Studevej is also part of the network of roads, which is today known as Hærvejen (“the Military Road”). The journey along Hærvejen followed many different routes depending on the season and the mode of transport. If one track became impassable - perhaps due to rain - you drove around it, creating either wider roads or new, alternative roads.
Read more on Hærvejen at haervej.dk (in Danish)
Frederikshåb Plantage
4. Syvårssøerne
The mysterious lakes, Syvårssøerne, were given their name because they are not always there. From ancient times, it was noted that the lakes appeared approximately every seventh year, or maybe the magical number seven was simply used to explain the inexplicable. The fact is that the lakes rise and disappear with the varying heights of the water table. And even if large amounts of rainfall cause the water table to rise, it does not necessarily lead to the lakes swelling. The water table has its own "peaks and valleys" and, therefore, Syvårssøerne are very unpredictable.
Syvårssøerne were filled with water from 2007 to 2010 and when they turn up again, you may experience an incredibly beautiful open landscape of lakes at the heart of Frederikshåb Plantage. Even including as odd a phenomenon as a sandy beach in the Jutland inland moorland. The sandy beaches arise when the lakes rise in the open dunes that are always visible here and there.
Even when the lakes are gone, visiting here is special. There is a bit of a savannah atmosphere when the former lake surfaces form a deserted landscape with scattered trees.
5. The smoky mountains
Lille and Store Rygbjerg (“Small and Large Smoky Mountain”) are the names of two large dunes which, during the shifting of sands, looked like smoky mountains. There was also a village called Rygbjerg. Records mention eight farms; however, in 1662, they were all decommissioned and there is no trace of them today. The village of Bindeballe was moved twice due to sand shifting and is now located some 3 km east of Frederikshåb Plantage.
6. Langs Egene
Troll-like oaks line the forest road called Langs Engene ("Along the Meadows"). The oak trees grow along a dike that was used to demarcate the forest and provide shelter for the new, sapling trees when the planting of Randbøl Hede started in 1804. It is therefore tempting to assume that the oaks are more than 200 years old; however, they are not. Only when the conifers provided sufficient shelter, could deciduous trees like oaks and beech be planted and survive.
7. Denmark's largest area of "røser" ("mounds of stones")
The Iron Age began 2500 years ago, but it feels more recent when you enter the vast area of “røser” in the south-eastern part of Frederikshåb Plantage. Here, you may find more than 200 small and large mounds of stones, which have avoided the mechanization of agriculture and have almost become preserved for posterity by the planting of Randbøl Hede.
8. Picnic basket and coffee in Kighøj
"Welcome to Kighøj" a green sign reads in the old gamekeeper’s house, where a forestry employee used to live. Now, you are permitted to go inside where there are tables and benches where you can eat your picnic and enjoy your coffee by the light of the kerosene lamp. There is even firewood in the woodshed, so you can light up the wood-burning stove on cold days. When the weather is nice, you can sit outside on tree trunks around a fire.
9. Forest TREC course
The Forest TREC course is inspired by TREC, trail, western riding, dressage and horsemanship. The course has 21 obstacles constructed from materials found in the forest.
Frederikshåb Forest TREC course offers a lot of opportunities for those who wish to train their horse in nature. In popular vernacular, the course could be described as agility for horses.
The TREC course was created through a collaboration with the Nature Agency and the Iceland pony club Landi-Askja. Read more about the course here.
Read more about the course here
10. The log cabin at Vestre Rullebanne
The bonfire hut is an ideal place to enjoy your picnic. As it is located close to the Forest TREC course, there are good opportunities to enjoy the horses and their riders being challenged through the 21 obstacles of the course.
There is the space and opportunity to enjoy a good dinner over campfire, even if you are a large group. The movable tables and benches and the composting toilet established at the nearby shelter, there is room for everyone.
In the footsteps of the Germans
11. German field kitchen
Note the two tall chimneys on the gable at the porch area of Kirstenlyst Nature Base. Originally, the moorland farmer at Kirstinelyst had only one chimney, but the Germans rented space on the farm and built a large German field kitchen that could prepare meals for 150 men. Here, the German fighter pilots and airfield staff were served meals during the last months of the war. One chimney is now used for the grill in the open-air kitchen, which may be used by visitors to Kirstinelyst.
12. Machinegun-nests
At the top of the 17-metre-tall Stoltenbjerg, the Germans built an observation tower, where they could monitor the entire moorland, which was filled with hidden fighter planes and bombers. Today, you can still see the machinegun-nests which were dug at the top of the dune. Look for the ferns, which often grow in the shelter of the machinegun-nests and the trenches connecting them.
13. Concealed aircraft covers
Aerial photos reveal 24 horseshoe-shaped structures on Randbøl Hede, south of Stoltenbjerg. From land, they look like small earthen structures which are up to one meter tall, but with a slightly deeper depression in the middle. The horseshoe-shaped structure is approximately 16 metres wide and 33 metres long.
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Here the German fighters were parked under a cover of pine supports and camouflage nets, and the openings were placed in different directions so that they could not all be attacked at once by the fighters of the allied forces.
Some of the aircraft covers look like craters because they were used to blow up the German ammunition after the end of World War II in 1945. 150 tons of explosives and ammunition were blown up on Randbøl Hede in a safe distance from any homes. However, the last moorland farmer on Kirstinelyst, Ancher Hansen, had a window blown through his house due to the blast.
14. The troop bunker Liegeplatz 10
It is cold and damp, the rust is running off the columns, but it is the only preserved troop bunker connected to the WWII aircraft covers: Liegeplatz 10. In Frederikshåb Plantage, there were a total of 18 aircraft covers and Liegeplatz 10 had space for 6-9 aircraft, depending on whether they were bombers or fighter planes. The openings of the aircraft covers were turned in different directions to make it impossible for allied aircraft to attack all covers at once.
The bunker was covered in 2003 to avoid further dilapidation.
15. Fuel lines
All that is left of a long fuel line are these two-meter-tall brick columns. Gasoline was to be pumped from the airfield to the aircraft covers. The fuel line was located both above and below ground for it to lie horizontally.
16. Fuel pump bunker
The small bunker is almost hidden in the grass. Here, the pump that made the fuel line work was previously located.