THE PEOPLE OF THE ISLES
One of the most storm-swept and barren of Denmark's many islands is the
island of Fanö. Lying, as it does, exposed to the full force of the
North Sea gales, it yet serves to protect the harbour of Esbjerg from
these storms. It is eight miles long, and three miles at its broadest
part. A trim little steamer will carry you across from Esbjerg to
Nordby--the fishing town on the east coast of Fanö--in twenty minutes.
Nordby is both quaint and picturesque. The low thatched houses, with
rough-cast, whitewashed walls, nestle close to each other for shelter
from the winds.
The Fanö women have a practical but peculiar costume; the
thickly-pleated skirt has a bright-coloured border, while the
close-fitting bodice is adorned with embroidery, and pretty antique
buttons. A folded cotton kerchief and accordion-pleated apron give a
daintiness to the whole dress. The head-dress, however, gives the most
singular finish to the costume. A dark, checked-bordered handkerchief
tied over a stiff, cambric frame, entirely envelops the head. The four
ends of this handkerchief are tied in an odd way, two being left
upstanding like rabbits' ears! This striking head-dress gives the Fanö
wife a fantastic appearance. When the good-natured, smiling faces of
these women are hidden behind a mask, the combination of dress and mask
makes them awesome-looking folk. The men of the island are nearly all
fishermen; the women are the farmers, and it is to protect their faces
from the blinding sand-storms, while working on the land, that these
masks are worn. This mask obliterates all comeliness, for only the eyes
peep out from the weird face-protector.
This island of heath, dune, and quicksand is wild and romantic. The
cultivated fields are protected by sand-hills, and belts of stunted,
wind-swept trees that afford some slight protection to the crops. The
island belongs to the people, who cultivate it assiduously. The courage
and perseverance of these women agriculturalists is rewarded by fair
crops, notwithstanding an adverse climate.
At the south end of the island, far away from any dwelling, is the
interesting "Fugleköjerne,"[9] where three or four hundred wild-duck are
taken in a day during the season. Decoy-ducks are used for this purpose.
The west side of the island is the most fashionable watering-place in
Denmark. Large hotels and pretty villas line the shore, and here the
well-to-do Danes inhale bracing sea-breezes.
On a windy day this western shore is not amusing. Clouds of blinding
sand whirl high in the air, while the booming surf rolls and plunges on
the beach with deafening roar, and makes rank and fashion fly to shelter
in hotel or villa till the storm is over. Visitors in summer and storms
in winter have it all their own way on this west coast--the people of
Fanö trouble it not.
Bornholm, situated in the middle of the Baltic, is both beautiful and
fertile. Its products are very valuable to Denmark. From here comes the
clay of which the exquisite Copenhagen porcelain is made. Here, too, the
granite for building the country's defences and docks is quarried. I
fancy if you were to ask a young Dane what Bornholm is most famed for he
would say, "Turkeys," for the island supplies the Copenhagen market with
these birds.
The chief town, Rönne, is charming, with its many low-roofed houses,
which overlook the Baltic. It is noted for its terra-cotta ware, clocks,
and Museum of Antiquities.
Most of the towns are upon the coast. Four singular round churches,
built of granite, were formerly used as places of refuge for the people
when beset by pirates. These "Rundkirker" are peculiar to Bornholm.
A high festival is celebrated every year on the anniversary of the day
when the inhabitants succeeded in throwing off the Swedish yoke, which
they had borne for a short time in the seventeenth century with
resentment.
Hammershus Castle, on the northern extremity of Bornholm, was built in
the thirteenth century. There is a sad tale connected with this romantic
castle, about a Danish noble and his wife. This noble, Corfitz Ulfeldt,
was imprisoned there for treason. His beautiful wife, Eleonora, the
favourite daughter of Christian IV., accompanied him, preferring
imprisonment with him to liberty without him. After the Count died,
Eleonora, who had a mortal enemy in Queen Caroline Amalia, was sent by
the latter to the "Blaataarn"[10] of Slotsholmen, Copenhagen, and there
incarcerated for twenty-two years. The illustrious Eleonora was only
liberated on the death of the vindictive Queen, but the long years of
captivity--without reason--had wrecked her life.
Læsö is a small island in the Cattegat, the inhabitants of which are
mainly farmers and fishermen, and the old women wear a particular
costume for Sunday, which is called the "church costume."
The people of Amager are great market-gardeners. They are of Dutch
extraction. Christian II., after flying from his country, took refuge in
Holland, and some of the Dutch helped him in trying to regain his
throne. For this service he gave his Dutch followers the island of
Amager. The descendants of these Dutch people still retain their old
customs and characteristics. Clattering about in wooden shoes, the old
women, in quaint costume, may be seen driving their geese down the
picturesque streets to the meadows. Besides being market-gardeners and
florists, these Amager folk rear and fatten the geese for the Christmas
market.
The natural beauty of the island of Möen is striking, and unlike the
rest of Denmark. "Möen's Klint" are great, jagged white cliffs rising
abruptly from the sea. Enchanting beech-woods thickly crown the summit,
giving distinctive and unusual beauty to it. From Sommerspiret, the
highest point, we have an extensive view over the Østersöen and Köjge
Bay, where the famous victory over the Swedes was won by Niels Juel in
1677.
In Denmark the town-crier beats a drum to draw attention to the notice
he is about to give.
Danish postmen present a gorgeous appearance, in red coats, with smart
cloaks of the same brilliant hue for winter wear. These and the bright
yellow mail-vans, which they drive sometimes, arrest attention, and give
importance to the carriers of His Majesty's mails.
In many of the houses the "Forhöjning" is still used. This is a raised
platform close to the window, on which the lady of the house sits to do
her embroidery. While she is here she can follow all that goes on in the
street below by an ingenious arrangement of oblique convex mirrors fixed
to the outside of the window, and reflecting the life in the streets
both ways.
The numerous pretty articles made of amber, which adorn the ladies'
dressing-tables, and of which beads and ornaments for the girls are
composed, are of local manufacture, amber being found in quantities on
the west coast of Jutland.
In the islands of Funen and Seeland there are many grand old
manor-houses belonging to the nobility, whose fine estates give
employment to many peasants. A story is told of a certain noble,
Christian Barnekow by name, who saved his King, Christian IV., by his
heroic self-sacrifice. The King had lost his horse, and was on the point
of being killed or made prisoner when Barnekow came to his rescue.
Giving the King his own horse, he said, "I give my horse to my King, my
life to the enemy, and my soul to God." A street in Copenhagen is called
after this brave nobleman "Kristenbernikovstrade."
It is characteristic of the Danes to run words into each other, and
streets in Denmark often have prodigiously long names.