Sønderborg altes Holzbollwerk

Marina near Sønderborg

Last edited 11.03.2024 at 12:38 by NV Charts Team

Latitude

54° 54’ 33” N

Longitude

9° 47’ 4.8” E

Description

An old trading town at the southern exit of Alsen Sund, which, although very touristy, is still very attractive.

NV Cruising Guide

Navigation

The approach is unproblematic day and night. Coming from the south, the buoyed and lighted fairway leads from the west buoy Q(9)15s into Alsen Sund and to the quays of Sonderborg.

Berths

The popular berth on the old wooden bulwark on the east bank of the southern harbor unfortunately has the disadvantage that the waterfront road causes a lot of traffic noise.

Surroundings

Sønderborg is a popular harbor with very good shopping and other amenities (including a gas station, customs office and boat repairs).



NV Land Guide

The long shopping street above the harbor is the right place for visitors who appreciate a shopping spree in a bustling atmosphere. On the other hand, history buffs will be drawn to Sønderborg Castle and those seeking peace and quiet to the South Forest. The forest cannot be missed if you leave the town in a southerly direction along the beach promenade. If you don't moor at the wooden bridges near the town center, but at the marina on the outskirts, you won't have far to go to the south forest anyway, but you will have to reckon with a 20-minute walk into town.

The massive castle, which was initially built as a fortress around 1170 to protect against the Wendish pirates, houses a museum with an extensive collection from the history of North Schleswig, with a particular focus on the Schleswig Wars. Exhibits ranging from knights' armor to medieval cradles give visitors an idea of what castle life was like in the past. Remains of the original castle can also be seen on the castle grounds. A roof protects the ruins from further decay.

Sønderborg Castle is known to many people for a painting depicting King Christian II as a prisoner. He is standing at a table with a "finger groove", caused by the fact that he constantly moved his thumb along the edge of the table during his 17 years of imprisonment. However, the table and groove are an invention of the painter Carl Bloch.

Even during the imprisoned king's lifetime, rumors arose about his strict guarding in the castle, where he is said to have been walled up in a tiny tower room. This legend of his miserable life as a prisoner lived on in Bloch's picture and in the history books. In reality, he was able to move around relatively freely. A copy of the painting with the "finger groove" hangs in Sønderborg Castle next to the remaining parts of the tower that Christian II inhabited.

The king reigned for only ten years and was expelled in 1523 due to "disagreements" with the nobility (see also Nyborg). In 1532, he came to Sønderborg in the hope that he would be negotiated with again. Instead, he was taken prisoner, but otherwise treated like a king. Beer from Lübeck, wine from France and cloth from Flanders were bought for him. In the opinion of some contemporaries, Christian II did not deserve this royal treatment, as he was the initiator of the "Stockholm bloodbath", a massacre of Swedish nobles. The king defeated a Swedish army outside Stockholm in 1520, but had difficulty breaking his opponent's resistance in Stockholm. However, the Stockholmers laid down their arms after Christian II. had promised them amnesty. He broke his promise in a devious manner by inviting the leaders of the Swedish nobility to a festive banquet in his castle and having them (including the bishops) murdered there. Disappointed by such a dishonorable ruler, so many Danish nobles turned against their king that Christian II eventually had to abdicate.

Over the centuries, Sønderborg, initially a fortress, was increasingly converted into a castle. King Christian III and his wife turned it into a Renaissance castle. The church in the north wing is Denmark's first Protestant princely church. It is called the chapel of Queen Dorothea, the widow of King Christian III. The gallery of the oldest Renaissance room in the north contains quotations from Luther's translation of the Bible.

During the most recent restoration work, the dance hall where the 23 (twenty-three!) children of Christian III's son were baptized was restored.

The building with its thick walls survived the heavy bombardment by the Prussians in 1864 almost unscathed. The hail of gunfire was only made possible by the conquest of the Düppeler Schanzen about three kilometers from the city. On April 18, 1864, the Prussian soldiers, who clearly outnumbered the Danes, stormed the redoubts and thus decided the German-Danish War. After their victory, the Prussians moved into Sønderborg and the town remained under German administration until 1920.

Today, the windmill at Düppeler Schanzen is regarded as a national symbol of the Danish will to defend. It houses a museum. The old cannons in front of the mill are a reminder of the heavy fighting, but also of the fact that the Prussians ruthlessly invaded the country. Danish was no longer taught at school in Southern Jutland, which of course gave pupils all the more reason to speak their mother tongue outside of school hours. After the Prussians moved in, only German was spoken in offices, although many Danes did not speak a syllable of German.

It was not until the Germans lost the First World War and the Treaty of Versailles that a referendum was held in 1920. The people of the border region could now decide for themselves where they wanted to belong. However, the vote is said to have been played with "marked cards". All Germans born in the area were generously granted free passes, an advantage that the Danes, some of whom lived overseas, did not have. Nevertheless, the vote clearly showed that the people north of Flensburg had remained Danes.

Another chapter in the eventful history of Sønderborg is seafaring. Around 1670, the city was granted privileges by the Crown as a shipping point for Als, but a series of unlawful pirate harbors hindered its development into a major port city. The city lost many a ship in the Great Northern War around 1700. Around 1830, it was one of the largest port cities in Denmark. However, the merchant fleet of around 140 ships was decimated again during the Napoleonic Wars.

A very special atmosphere prevails in Sønderborg every year on the second weekend in July, when around 400 riders and thousands of spectators gather for the Ring Riding Festival. The game is still played according to medieval rules. The rider must impale as many rings as possible hanging from a rope on a lance at a stretched gallop. It is said that King Christian Vl. won the tournament in the summer of 1596, which was organized to celebrate his coronation. To show his magnanimity as ruler, he ceded the victory to the second-placed Margrave of Brandenburg. Today, it is mostly young farmers who keep the once royal game alive.

The town on the Sound, which has a population of around 30,000, combines opposites: on the one hand, industry, trade and tourism make for a particularly lively street scene and, on the other, the picturesque location on the Sound creates a cozy atmosphere. Large sections of the historic cityscape were destroyed in the German-Danish War of 1864. Remnants of the old buildings can still be found at the harbor.

Marina Information

Max Depth 4 m

Contact

Phone +45 74422765
Email Please enable Javascript to read
Website https://www.visitsonderborg.de

Surroundings

Electricity

Water

Toilet

Shower

Restaurant

Imbiss

Atm

Internet

Grocery

Public Transport

Garbage

Comments

Bodo Piening
Eigentlich ein schöner Liegeplatz, sehr innenstadtnah! ABER: Auch bei wenig Wind sehr unruhig und laut, durch Wellen, die an der Kaimauer unter der Uferpromenade zurückschlagen; zudem Verkehrslärm durch die Uferstrasse (Kopfsteinpflaster) ausserhalb der Zeiten, in denen hier eine Fußgängezone eingerichetet ist (Jun. - Aug.). UND: Die Sanitäranlagen gehen gar nicht, in einem Container unter der Brücke untergeracht, ohne Strom und total verschimmelt; so etwas sollte sich Sonderborg nicht leisten!
10.09.2022 16:04
Till Sandtner, Kia Ora
Zum Eis: das kann nicht sein, das gibt es in Kerteminde ;)
09.09.2020 12:18
Gerhard Joachim Frhr. von Plotho , Grautvornix
Man sagt, dass es hier das Beste Eis Dänemarks geben soll❗️
25.07.2020 10:41

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Places nearby

Related Regions

This location is included in the following regions of the BoatView harbour guide: