If you want to get a good view of Frederikshavn, go to Pikkerbakken – the town’s famous observation platform:
The large rock resting on top of the hill overlooking the town is a 10-tonne monument which is called The King Stone (or Kongestenen in Danish). During the last Ice Age, this rock moved from Larvik, Norway, to this hill. The rock is called Kongestenen, because King Frederik VIII and King Frederik IX scratched their names on the rock. In 2018, Crown Prince Frederik also put his signature on Kongestenen on the occasion of the town’s 200th anniversary as a borough and the inauguration of the new vantage point.
The history of Pikkerbakken began with the English Wars of 1807-1814. In April 1809, an English frigate attacked 12 merchant ships that were anchored by the town, and captured 10 of them. Immediately after that, an observation post was built on a hill above the town, in order to be able to warn of enemy movements in the Danish waters.
A major, who had this surveillance task, had lost his leg in a combat, and therefore had a wooden leg. He walked badly, and asked the King for a horse, so that he could quickly warn of possible attacks. The King was a generous person, and granted his wish.
A path was also constructed up to the observation post, and a chip stone staircase was built to the top. In Danish, chip stone is piksten and hill is bakken. Hence, the name became Pikkerbakken.
From Pikkerbakken, we drove (literally) down to the town. Frederikshavn Church:
Krudttårnet (the gunpowder tower) on the photo below is a former gunpowder magazine and fortification in Frederikshavn. The tower was built in 1687, as a central component of Frederikshavn’s fortress. The fortress was built to secure the northernmost anchorage on the eastern coast of Jutland that was a strategically important site.
The tower is no longer in the original location: in 1974 it was moved by 270 meters to make room for an expansion of Frederikshavn’s shipyard, a move that took 13 months to carry out. The 4,500 ton tower was moved in one piece, braced with concrete rings and by means of jacks it was pulled to its current location.
We drove in and around the enormous port of Frederikshavn:
Jens and I were looking for a fish shop, but couldn’t find any and gave up. Instead, we saw many offshore drilling rigs. An oil rig platform weighs around 17,000 tons, is about 111 metres high, and has a storage capacity for 1.3 million barrels of crude oil. Up to 200 people can live on an oil rig platform:
Denmark is currently the largest oil producer in the European Union, although it produces much less than non-EU members Norway or the UK. There are 55 drilling platforms on Danish territory, across 20 oil and gas fields. But Denmark has decided to end all new oil and gas exploration in the North Sea, as part of a wider plan to stop extracting fossil fuels by 2050.
The marina seemed to be much smaller than in Sæby, and mostly it was empty. There were dramatic clouds in the sky though, and we took many pictures of them:
Walking through the pedestrian area of Frederikshavn, we saw a statue of a brave man – it was Peter Tordenskjold. Tordenskjold was a Danish-Norwegian nobleman who spent his career in the service of the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy. Born in the Norwegian city of Trondheim, Peter Wessel travelled to Copenhagen in 1704, and eventually enlisted in the navy. He won a name for himself through audacity and courage, and was ennobled as Peter Tordenskiold by King Frederick IV in 1716. He rose to the rank of Vice-Admiral for his services in the Great Northern War.
Tordenskiold was stationed in Frederikshavn, and wrote 67 letters from there between 1717 and 1719. Since 1998, Frederikshavn has hosted an annual summer festival in his memory that attracts around 30,000 visitors yearly.
Tordenskjold died when he was only 30 years old – he was killed in a duel in Germany, because he offended another man by saying he was a cheat. His corpse was brought to Copenhagen to the Holmen Church without much ceremony, as duelling was not allowed according to Danish law of the time.
In both Denmark and Norway he ranks among the most famous naval captains. The most popular brand of matches in Denmark is called Tordenskjold and has a portrait of him on the matchboxes. The Tordenskjold brand was bought by a Swedish company in 1972.
We walked through the empty streets of Frederikshavn (it was a normal working day, and the country was still in a COVID lockdown).
When we got back home to our B&B, Jens went to the small lake on the property, and had a nap there in the afternoon sun:
I played with the Little Prince:
Jens and I knew the owners wouldn’t approve it, but we bought some fish for the Little Prince. Sometimes he would visit us by himself, other times I would open the door and shout “Little Prince, Little Prince!” and he would come running – love and food are always attractive, also for the cats!
It was our last night at the Lille Degnbøl B&B. Next day we were going to continue our travel to a new place.