Template:Wp-Skagen-History

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Early history

Skagen was mentioned as far back as the first century AD by Pliny the Elder:

"Promenturium Cimbrorum excurrens in maria longe paeninsulam efficit quae Tastris appellatur" (Book IV, 97)

"The promontory of the Cimbri running far out into the seas makes a peninsula, which is called Tastris."

This is the only time the name Tastris is mentioned but Skagen itself, first documented as Skaffuen in 1284, simply means narrow, high point of land^[1]

The first building in the area, dating from the 12th century, was in Højen on the west side of the peninsula. It belonged to Tronder, a shepherd who also became Skagen's first fisherman. Around 1340, Vesterby, on the east coast (to the south west of today's harbour), developed into the main village. Further to the south west, St Lawrence's Church was built at the end of the 14th century. In 1413, Erik of Pommern granted Skagen the status of market town with the result that for a time it became Vendsyssel's largest community with up to 2,000 inhabitants.

In 1549 a grammar school was opened (closing again in 1739), and in 1561 Skagen's first lighthouse was constructed. In 1568, some 350 fishing boats and merchant ships were wrecked off the coast of Skagen.^[2] In the 1590s, successive storms led not only to numerous drownings but to flooding, destroying many of the houses. In 1591, 22 died in a flood and in 1593, 14 houses were washed away.^[2] In 1595, 25 farms in the area were covered in drifting sand.^[2] As a result, new housing was built in Østerby to the north east, away from the rapidly accumulating sand.

17th–19th centuries

In the 17th century, fishing suffered from a decline in herring stocks. Shortly after the beginning of the Torstensson War, the Swedish army arrived in Skagen in January 1644, plundering the town.^[2] Skagen's White Lighthouse with adjoining accommodation for the keeper was built in 1747. In 1775, accumulations of drifting sand made it difficult to access St Lawrence's Church, finally leading to its closure and partial demolition in 1795. Its remaining artefacts were sold by auction in 1810. St Lawrence's was replaced by Skagen Church, completed in 1841 and redesigned in the local style by Ulrik Plesner in 1910.^[2]

On a single day in 1825, 23 ships were left stranded off the coast.^[2] In 1833, Martinus Rørbye became the first artist to paint the fishermen and landscapes of Skagen, almost half a century before the arrival of the Skagen Painters. Skagen Church was inaugurated in 1841, and the first guest house in the town opened in 1844.^[2] In 1858, the grey lighthouse was inaugurated. The same year, bye-laws were established specifying building requirements including the completion of tiled roofs within five years. Skagen was struck by the cholera epidemic of 1853.^[2]

Hans Christian Andersen visited the town in 1859. During his stay at Brøndums Hotel, the future painter Anna Ancher, daughter of the inn-keeper, was born. In 1871, the author Holger Drachmann and the painters Fritz Thaulow and Karl Madsen arrived in Skagen, the first of the colony of artists that became known as the Skagen Painters. They were followed by Carl Locher in 1872, Michael Ancher in 1874 and Peder Severin Krøyer in 1882.^[2]

In 1879, the Skagen Fisherman's Association was established with the purpose of facilitating the local fishing industry through the railway. In 1890, the Skagensbanen narrow-gauge railway from Frederikshavn finally arrived in Skagen, connecting the town to the rest of Denmark. The tracks were widened in 1916 to avoid the need to transfer cargoes of fish in Frederikshavn. Many of the town's typical yellow-plastered houses with red roofs that grew up along Sankt Laurentii Vej from 1890 to 1930 were designed by Ulrik Plesner. He was also the architect behind many other buildings in the town, including the railway station, Brøndums Hotel and Skagen Museum. Skagen Missionshus was opened in 1896.^[2]

20th century

In 1904–7, the fishing harbour was built with inner and outer sections under the patronage of hydraulic engineer Palle Bruun. It was inaugurated on 20 November 1907, and later additions were made for cold storage and the fish processing industry. The distinctive warehouses next to the harbour were designed by Thorvald Bindesbøll.

In the early 1910s, Christian X and Queen Alexandrine often visited Skagen in the royal yacht Kongeskibet Dannebrog. Occasionally they arrived by train and brought friends from other European monarchies and stayed at the Brøndums and Grenen hotels. They grew fond of the place, befriending many of the artists in Skagen. Christian X bought up land in the vicinity and built the summer residence Klitgaarden as a gift for his wife. Designed by Ulrik Plesner, with furniture provided by Marie Krøyer, the villa was inaugurated on 11 April 1914, with the town celebrating the royal opening with many flags. Klitgaarden was further embellished inside by local artists. It passed to Prince Knud and Princess Caroline Mathilde, and after Caroline's death in 1995, it was converted into a villa retreat for scholars in 2000. Composer Carl Nielsen also frequented Skagen in his youth, and he purchased a plot of land on Vestre Strandvej at Vesterby in 1918 with his sculptor wife Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen, using one of the two small half-timbered houses there as a residence and studio. They named it "Finis Terrae", meaning "end of the world". The Nielsen family owned the property until 1957 when they sold it to Frode Jensen, a machinery manufacturer.

In the 1930s, development of the town as a tourist attraction led to the opening of new hotels. In 1931, the residents of Skagen and their famous friends campaigned for a monument to be established on the square in the town, commemorating the fishermen and lifeboatmen of Jutland. Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen was commissioned to erect a bronze statue of a lifeboatman in garb, holding a lifeline. The monument was showcased at the Free Exhibition Hall in Copenhagen in the spring of 1931, before fundraising enabled it to be brought by sea to Skagen on 10 November 1932. In October 1938, lightning struck the Skagens Badehotel, affecting the wing with the salons and music rooms. During World War II, the hotel was taken over by the Germans, until it was demolished in 1943. Further facilities were developed in the 1950s. From the 1960s, housing estates were constructed to the north, forming a built-up area extending to Højen. Anna and Michael Ancher's house was opened as a museum (1967) and the new town hall was completed in 1969.^[1][2] The Skagen Festival was founded in 1971, making it the oldest music festival in the country. The primary genre is folk music. In 1977, Drachmanns House was broken into and four paintings were stolen, and then in 1980, a painting by Christian Krohg was stolen from Skagens Museum.^[2]

Several fires and industrial incidents occurred in the 1980s. In 1981, an oil slick affected the coastline of Skagen municipality, and in 1985 a pipe bomb exploded at Ankermedet School. Skagen ice factory was affected by a chemical incident in 1989.^[2] A new shrimp factory opened in the industrial area in 1991, while the local cinema was closed in 1993. There was a major fire on the Hulsig Heath dunes in 1996.^[2]