Thy National Park

Coordinates: 56°56′49″N 8°25′19″E / 56.947°N 8.422°E / 56.947; 8.422
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Thy National Park
Nationalpark Thy
Coastline from Thy National Park
Map showing the location of Thy National Park
Map showing the location of Thy National Park
LocationThy, Denmark
Nearest cityKlitmøller
Coordinates56°56′49″N 8°25′19″E / 56.947°N 8.422°E / 56.947; 8.422
Area244 km2 (94 sq mi)
Established2007
Governing bodyDanish Ministry of the Environment
Thy National Park
Official nameNissum Bredning with Harboore and Agger Tange
Designated2 September 1977
Reference no.144[1]

Thy National Park (Danish: Nationalpark Thy) is a national park area in Thy, Denmark, opened to the public on 22 August 2008. It is located in Northwest Jutland, along the coast from Hanstholm to Agger Tange and it spans 55 km (34 mi) north to south and 5–12 km (3.1–7.5 mi) east to west. The total area of the national park is 244 km2 (94 square miles).[2]

The dune and heath landscape of Thy was officially selected on 29 June 2007 to be the first national park in Denmark proper (Northeast Greenland National Park was established in 1974). Other national parks have been established later.[3]

The governmental Forest and Nature Agency states:[2]

"A Danish national park contains the most unique and characteristic Danish nature.
...
The idea is about improving and strengthening the Danish nature, and giving both local and foreign visitors better possibilities to experience, use and get knowledge about nature, the landscape and the history of civilization."

Thy National Park is thus not just a simple tourist attraction.

Nature

The landscape comprise windy

cliffs along the coast or further inland.[4]

The drifting sands in Thy have plagued the locals for centuries, encroaching on their lands and buildings. But it was not until around the year 1800 that something was done about it and plantings of various grasses and trees was organized.

Marram grass and various conifers was the main solution and the dune plantations are here today as living witnesses to the hard struggles against the forces of Nature. The plantations provided not only protection against the unrelenting sand, but also jobs, timber and firewood and with them a whole new fauna could establish in Thy, with red deer and roe deer
as the largest animal.

Trees and grasses are not the only vegetation in the dunes though. The

sundew.[5][6]

In the northern parts of the park is the

Sachsen, Germany.[8] A few wolves might be living here today.[9]

Many of the plants in the park are edible or have edible fruits, including blackberries, cranberries,

seakale
often found on the beaches, but a few of them are rare and protected, like the scots loveage herb.

Parts of the park have been designated as a bird protection and international Ramsar area, as well as Natura 2000 and various other protections.

  • The globally near threatened (NT) black-tailed godwit is found in Thy National Park.
    The globally near threatened (NT) black-tailed godwit is found in Thy National Park.
  • The large Hercules ant (Camponotus herculeanus) has established in some of the plantations here. It is either rare or absent from the rest of Denmark.[10]
    The large Hercules ant (Camponotus herculeanus) has established in some of the plantations here. It is either rare or absent from the rest of Denmark.[10]
  • Black crowberries. Many of the plants in the national park are edible.
    Black crowberries. Many of the plants in the national park are edible.
  • View across the dune heaths of Hanstholm game preserve.
    View across the dune heaths of Hanstholm game preserve.
  • The slender water lobelias are indicator species of the very clean lakes and ponds in the national park.
    The slender water lobelias are
    indicator species
    of the very clean lakes and ponds in the national park.
  • The peculiar pillwort fern is near threatened (NT) on a global scale, but found growing in Thy.
    The peculiar
    pillwort
    fern is near threatened (NT) on a global scale, but found growing in Thy.

Cultural history

The cultural history found in Thy National Park is as old as the land itself. At the end of the

kitchen middens and organized flint
productions.

As the land continued to rise from the sea, human activity increased as well and Thy was a very active spot, with a thriving culture in the

pre-historic
remains have been covered by the drifting sands and dunes over the aeons though, so the fact that so many mounds are still visible is an indication of just how active the area was.

The human activity continued into the

iron Age, the Viking Age and the Middle Ages
, with their own individual traces in the national park, often with a strong tie to the harsh North Sea. It was at some point during these times that the formerly lush environment around Thy collapsed. For many years the land had been stressed and over-exploited by excessive grazing and tree cutting. Finally drifting sands got the upper hand and have formed the environment and culture here for several centuries. It was not until around the year 1800 that larger organized efforts to stop the destructive sand drifts was initiated and it took more than a hundred years for them to succeed.

From modern times, perhaps the most dramatic evidence of human activities are the German

Hanstholm Fortress, as a modern museum of the events that took place here in World War II. In total, five restored bunkers and batteries
are spread along the coastline in the national park.

  • Dyrhøj. One of the many Bronze Age burial mounds in Thy.
    Dyrhøj. One of the many Bronze Age burial mounds in Thy.
  • The plantations stopped the advance of the destructive sand drifts, but it took more than 100 years.
    The plantations stopped the advance of the destructive sand drifts, but it took more than 100 years.
  • An old fisherman's house in Agger.
    An old fisherman's house in Agger.
  • Some of the cannons at the Hanstholm Fortress, now a World War II museum.
    Some of the cannons at the Hanstholm Fortress, now a World War II museum.

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Nissum Bredning with Harboore and Agger Tange". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  2. ^ a b Welcome to the National Park of Thy, Danish Forest and Nature Agency
  3. ^ Danish National Parks, Danish Ministry of the Environment
  4. ^ The Nature in National Park Thy The Biological Association of Northwest Jutland. On p.11 is a map of the Littorina Sea coastline in Thy. (in Danish)
  5. ^ The dune plantations of Sydthy pdf-map and info. Danish Nature Agency.
  6. ^ Stenbjerg in Thy pdf-map and info. Danish Nature Agency.
  7. ^ Hanstholm Vildtreservat pdf-map and info. Danish Nature Agency (2010).
  8. ^ Yep, it was a wolf The Copenhagen Post (07.12.12)
  9. ^ New wolf sightings in Jutland The Copenhagen Post (02.01.2013).
  10. ^ The Nature in National Park Thy The Biological Association of Northwest Jutland. p.4
  11. ^ Thy has Denmark's highest concentration of Bronze Age barrows.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nationalpark Thy.
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