Introduction

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CONTEXT AND HISTORY INTRODUCTION

Unfolding the structures of the historical and Unfolding thesis background, modern landscapes og Rødby Fjord methods and structure

INTRODUCTION

The Danish island of Lolland, south of Zealand, has undergone comprehensive human modulation of the coastal landscapes over the past three centuries. A little over 200 years ago, Lolland’s coastal zones counted a number of bay and inlet areas with numerous islands. But being one of the most low-lying islands of Denmark it was prone to recurring floods, and already in the late 18th century, independent investors, farmers and villagers started thinking in terms of land reclamation and coastal protection. Dams and dikes were built in the transitional zone between land and sea.

Due to a forceful storm surge that flooded big parts of Lolland and Falster, the establishment of det lollandske dige – the dike protecting the entire south coast of Lolland – began in 1872. Within few years the new dike created a wall between the low-lying glacial till and the sea, while also forming new coastal borders, with the reclamation of both Nakskov Fjord and Rødby Fjord initiated bit by bit. Around 1966, almost 100 years after the storm surge, Rødby Fjord was pumped dry, and the former seabed had turned into agricultural land.

Today, landscapes of reclamation are considered to be important cultural environments (Stenark, 2005). The dikes, the canals, the canal locks and the pumping stations bring a historical insight