Hanstholm town and harbour

Facts

Fishing come rain or shine

By Steffen Elmer Jørgensen, Arkivar, seniorforsker, Ph.D. (18 stories)

The present Hanstholm Harbour was built in 1960-67 together with a well-planned urban community. By 1917, Parliament had passed a law for two harbours to be built at Hirtshals and Hanstholm, as there was a shortage of traffic and fishing harbours between Skagen and Esbjerg. But Hanstholm had only two jetties when the German occupying forces evacuated the population to build a stronghold on the site in 1943. In 1951, a state commission concluded that the geographical position was not conducive for a harbour area and in 1959 a new commission recommended building the new harbour.

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Locals net a new harbour

Story written by Steffen Elmer Jørgensen

Time / Periode 1917

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Is it possible to build a harbour on the wind-swept point near Hanstholm on the west coast of Jutland? Hanstholm could be excavated into the lee of a limestone point instead of being located on one of the typical flat beaches of the west coast. But the sea currents and wind made building the harbour at Hanstholm difficult. At a meeting in 1955, the locals convinced the Minister of Public Works, Kai Lindberg, to put together a committee. On the committee's recommendation, the Danish Parliament passed a construction law for the town in 1960. During the 1960s, two large outer jetties were built to protect the large inner harbour. Hanstholm Harbour was opened in 1967. The cutters catch so many fish that the harbour is one of the largest in Denmark.