Trail 3, Faaborg

This text is an excerpt from the book about the Archipelago Trail and describes a detour from the main route. Therefore, it contains extra details, background and inspiration.

This stage takes you along the parish boundary over Sundbakkerne and along Sundsøen, and on to the old market town of Faaborg.

Over the bog…

South of Ny Hesbjerggård, the Archipelago Trail heads towards Faaborg. The first stretch takes you along a boardwalk across a bog of the type known as an extreme poor fen, which is rare on Funen.

… and along the parish boundary

For the next two kilometres, the Archipelago Trail follows the parish boundary between Diernæs and Svanninge parishes. The boundary is a stone wall that winds through the landscape. The boundary and the trail follow the hilly terrain, reaching the paved road Svanninge Huse and continuing south. From here there is a fine view towards Faaborg and across Dyreborg and Bjørnø.

Sundbakkerne

The area you are walking down into is called Sundbakkerne, and along the way you will find a “coffee spot”. Sundbakkerne is owned by the Aage V. Jensen Foundations and is managed without pesticides or fertiliser so the area can develop into grassland and Sundsøen can remain clean and clear.

Sundet

Along Sundet you follow Sundstien west towards Faaborg.

In earlier times, Faaborg lay on a peninsula with Sundet on the northeast side and Faaborg Fjord on the southwest and south sides.

Until the 1400s, Sundet was used as Faaborg’s winter harbour. Later a watermill was built roughly where the town’s heating plant stands today; it was in operation until 1881. But then the people of Faaborg followed the trend of the time of draining shallow fjord arms to create grazing meadows, and in the 1940s Sundet was pumped dry and used for grazing and haymaking.

In 2000, Funen County, Faaborg Municipality and the Danish Nature Agency decided that Sundet should once again hold water. With the help of pumping and sluice systems, the water level in Sundet is now kept about a metre below the level of Faaborg Fjord. A path circles Sundet, and in summer cattle from the Faaborg Nature Management and Grazier Guild graze the meadows.

Many birds breed and rest at Sundet, and the people of Faaborg can enjoy a nature gem close to town.

Air crash

South of Faaborg Gymnasium stands a stone bearing the inscription: In memory of 5 Allied airmen who lost their lives on the soft meadows of Sundet on 15.2.1944.

That day, 898 Allied bombers were on their way to Berlin. One of the leading aircraft was hit and caught fire. The crew attempted to extinguish the flames, but soon the pilot had to give the order to abandon the aircraft.

However, they did not succeed. Over Faaborg the bomb load exploded and the crew were thrown out. In Faaborg, the blast shattered many windows in the town. Only the pilot and one crew member managed to deploy their parachutes. The two survived the war in German captivity.

The aircraft crashed over Faaborg and Sundet. Here the bodies of the remaining crew were also found and were buried in Faaborg.

Faaborg

Faaborg was mentioned for the first time in history in the year 1229, when King Valdemar II the Victorious gave the town as a morning gift to his daughter‑in‑law Princess Eleonora of Portugal upon her marriage to Prince Valdemar the Young.

Vesterport

In Vestergade you can still see the medieval town gate Vesterport. Although Vesterport has been altered and repaired several times, this is still the original location of the gate. Medieval town gates are rare in Denmark; besides Vesterport in Faaborg, only the gate in Stege on Møn remains.

Faaborg has always been a trading and seafaring town. All significant transport took place by water, right up into the 1900s. From Faaborg, ships sailed both locally in the archipelago and out across the world’s oceans: to Copenhagen with firewood and grain, to Lübeck for iron and salt, and to Holland for cloth.

Later, the wealthy merchants and shipowners of Faaborg began trading with the West Indies, South America and China, bringing home sugar, rum, rice, cinnamon, pepper, porcelain, mahogany and coffee. In the 1800s, Faaborg ranked among the top five Danish seafaring towns.

When you walk in the old quarter around the town gate in Vestergade and down towards the harbour, you can still see some of the grand merchant’s houses from Faaborg’s heyday as a major maritime town — from the early 1700s to around 1850.

At selected times during the year, you can visit Den Gamle Gård in Holkegade, which for many years housed the cultural‑historical collections of the Øhavsmuseet.

The Voigt House (Den Voigtske Gård) can be seen from the outside. You can enter from Vestergade through the gateway opposite Vesterport Bageri.

At Østergade 3 lies the warehouse Poul Kinafarer’s Gaard, dating from around the 1700s.

Faaborg Museum

In Grønnegade you will find the art museum Faaborg Museum. The museum sits right next to Konservesgården, which around 1900 was owned by the canning manufacturer Mads Rasmussen. He founded Faaborg Museum in 1910, and in 1915 the new museum building was inaugurated.

Mads Rasmussen bought a number of paintings by the Funen Painters — Fritz Syberg, Peter Hansen, Jens Birkholm and Johannes Larsen. The museum is not large, but it is beautiful and designed for the artworks that hang there.

The Bell Tower

The Bell Tower, located in the old part of town, is the landmark of Faaborg. The striking yellow‑washed building with the black roof rises prominently above the town.

In the mid‑1200s, St. Nicholas Church — Faaborg’s first church — was built.

In 1546, the king granted permission to move the interior furnishings from St. Nicholas Church to the newer Holy Spirit Church (Helligåndskirken).

Helligåndskirken

Faaborg’s church is Helligåndskirken, which lies to the north in the old town.

The church is a beautiful building with choir stalls from Catholic times and a medieval granite baptismal font.

The church’s original altarpiece from 1511 is now housed at the National Museum in Copenhagen.

Take a walk at the harbour

Take a walk along Havnegade and Christian IX’s Street. On the north side stands the old customs house, built in 1837 and functioning as a customs office until 1971. A little west of the customs house is Den Gamle Gård’s garden pavilion, from where there are fine views across the harbour.

The harbour front has been renovated in recent years. Old buildings related to industry and fishing have disappeared, and new buildings for housing, banks and estate agents have appeared.

A harbour canal and a harbour bath have been established, where you can jump directly into the archipelago waters.

The Archipelago Museum

The Archipelago Trail leads you to Faaborg’s new museum, the Archipelago Museum (Øhavsmuseet).

The exhibition “Feel the Magic” is based on the idea that nature has always been a central part of human life, but that industrialisation and urbanisation have distanced us more and more from it. The museum presents the exhibition like this:

“At the Archipelago Museum, we want to bring you back to your roots. Through sounds, light design, atmospheres and engaging stories, you are led through five eras, where you will experience how humans have always been influenced by nature. You will be tested and feel the power of nature on your own body. As you move through the exhibition at the Archipelago Museum, a magical world opens before you. You will rediscover yourself and realise that you are part of something greater, where everything is connected.”