Okseøerne

Description

NV Cruising Guide

Navigation

Since there is no buoyage or lighting here and the waters around the islands are very shallow, an approach should only be made by those who know the area or with appropriate caution and echo sounder on sight. The islands are approached from the northeast or southwest. From the northeast you steer with about 217° to the northern headland of the western island (in cover with the big chimney of the Flensburg power station). Approximately 200-300 m before the tip of the island, the course is changed to 245° and the narrow passage is passed. The anchorages are located north of this passage. Passage between the islands is not advisable, as the bottom is unclean.

Berths

Good anchorage ground can be found north of the islands. Ensure sufficient distance (min. 200m) from the designated cable routes. The jetty of the big island has been dismantled. (As well as the buildings and the beacons that marked the cable).

Surroundings

There are no utilities available at this scenic site.

NV Land Guide

The two islands on the northern shore of the Flensburg Fjord are a frequent destination for sailors from the surrounding area. Mostly they are "targeted" on Sundays for coffee'. The smaller of the two islands (Lille Okseø) is densely overgrown and houses a school hostel. It is not allowed to enter. The larger one (Store Okseø) has bushes and trees as well as open meadows.

Until 2002, the Isaack family of boat builders ran a shipyard here for several generations. Afterwards, the Danish Nature Agency leased the island to a German tenant community. Until 2016, there was a colourful mix of gastronomy, cultural events and crafts here, open to the public. A small ferry connected the island with the mainland, so that visitors could also cross without their own boat.

After the termination of the lease agreements and cessation of ferry operations, Store Okseø lay dormant. In 2019, however, funds were then made available on the part of the nature authority to shape the future of the island. After a comprehensive clean-up operation, the island is to remain accessible to visitors with their own boat.

According to tradition, the Danish Queen Margarethe I died of the plague in 1411 on her way home from Flensburg at the height of the Ox Islands. Throughout her life she was known for her particularly cunning politics. With her own ingenuity she had managed to expand the Danish empire and to create more and more bases along the southern border of the Schlei.

It was probably Queen Margarethe who challenged one of her male adversaries to a duel and even won the fight in a not very subtle way: she wanted to test her strength to the death with the count himself, she had a messenger tell her, when her soldiers retreated before the enemy. The latter, amused, accepted the offer, which promised him easy booty.

Immediately after the battle began, however, the queen asked for a halt, as she must first adjust her visor. The count should put his sword into the ground so that she could straighten her helmet. That the nobleman did not trust his opponent with an unexpected attack cost him head and neck - in the most literal sense.

No sooner had he stuck his sword in the ground than the queen cut off his head. To Magarethe I's credit, the count wasn't exactly acting like a nobleman when he went up against her, and the fight would have certainly gone to her disadvantage had it not been for her deviousness. The applause of her retinue was at any rate assured to the queen.

Marina Information

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