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2 minute read
Kramnitze Havn - Walk with Me 1
KRAMNITZE HAVN
AND SURROUNDINGS
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Generalstabens historical map of Kramnitze Gab 1889
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1 The dune beach
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2 The canal lock
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3 Kramnitze pumping station
KRAMNITZE HAVN
WALK WITH ME 1
Kramnitze Havn is located between the former barrier islands Hummingen and Tjørnebjerg. The harbour is historically known as Kramnitze Gab and has functioned as a port to Rødby Fjord since 1736 (HistoriskAtlas.dk, Kramnitse). Today the inlet at Kramitze Gab has turned into an outlet where Kramnitze pumping station consistently pumps tons of water out of the canals of Rødby Fjord.
Kramnitze pumping station, a characteristically looking red brick building with tall windows along the sides, lays in the foreground of planted forest that clusters around Lilleholm canal. The pumping station is placed about 300 meters behind a canal lock. The grey concrete construction of the canal lock is covered with black inscriptions highlighting the storm surge in 1872. From the canal lock you can see blue and white boats rocking in the water at the small harbour. In between the dike and the sea, a wetland-scape spreads out wide and open, transitioning into a dune and beach meadow about 400 meters from the canal lock. The sounds from the wind and the waves are loud and monotone.
To the east of the harbour Tjørnebjerg has turned into a village with small summerhouses. The village, Kramnitze, is visually cut off from the sea due to the tall dike protecting the houses from flooding. From the inner slope of the dike a vegetation of trees and scrubs grows on a 200 meter stretch along the dike. The top of the dike is astonishingly wide and provides a long view towards south. Sometimes the view to the sea is cut off by the hilly dunes with sea roses growing on top.
When comparing the orthophoto of Kramnitze Havn and the historical mappings of Kramnitze Gab you start getting a sense of the clear inherent structures from the past transmitted in the modern landscapes such as the outlet and canal lock of Kramnitze, the shape of Tjørnebjerg and Lilleholm islands and the small harbour on the outside of the dike.
As I visit Kramitze Havn the weather is cold, grey and windy. I spend the first few hours getting acquainted with the action of filming and the multiple choices that comes along with it. I am drawn towards the sea and the canal lock as elements in the landscapes though which the story of the storm surge could be told. I film the waves washing onto shore and I spent a few hours exploring the harbour, the wetland, the dike and the wilderness of the dune landscapes until I run out of battery. I am filming from the passenger seat on my way back home; windmills, straight roads, canals and naked black agricultural soils. My fingers are cold and numb.
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