Rødby Havn - Walk with me 4

RØDBYHAVN

AND SURROUNDINGS

Generalstabens historical map of Rødbyhavn 1889

1 The silos at the industrial harbour

2 Scanline Ferry in the fare back coming into shore

3 Overlooking the sea from the dune beach landscape connected to the dike

RØDBYHAVN WALK WITH ME 4

Rødbyhavn is a connection point between Denmark and Germany. The highway E47 goes straight to the harbourfront where the Scanline ferry brings you back and forth between Rødby and Puttgarden. But the city is actually built on what used to be seabed between the historical barrier island Syltholm and the mainland of Rødby. While the reclamation of Rødby Fjord was not finished before 1966, Rødbyhavn was established between the years of 1909-1912 (danmarkshistorien.dk, 2012). Today, the towns of Rødby and Rødbyhavn are Lolland’ the fifth and sixth largest respectively, with populations between 1623 and 2094 people. Though the population has been declining for the past 30-40 years, the municipality expects an increase when the new Fehmarn Belt connection opens in 2029.

In Rødbyhavn, you find a residential area and a shopping centre, the industrial harbour, the ferry berth and a popular beach on the other side of the dike. The residential zone spreads out to the west of the highway E47 along the main street Havnevej. The industrial harbour is visible in the horizon from Havnevej, lying on the outside of the dike. West of the industrial harbour the cars are waiting at the ferry berth where the ferry sails out every 20 minutes. West of the industrial harbour, a big beach meadow stretches out behind the hills of a dune landscape. The dunes lie as an extension of the dike making the dike appear enormous. A shabby flag, the Lolland written across it, is blowing in the wind.

In Rødbyhavn I see how the vast and empty streets of the town transition into the industrial harbour that in turn transitions into the dune beach landscapes behind the dike. This highlights the experience of change embodied though movement. I experience for the first time how the dike and the dune landscapes manifest a sense of coherence and connectivity of Rødby Fjord. The dike, as a repeating element of every site visit, creates relations and connection between the villages and the recreational zones.

When heading back home I am filming from the passenger seat; windmills, straight roads, canals and naked black agricultural soils. My fingers are cold and numb.

In the fourth filmic notation, you get an impression of the change of atmosphere when moving from the industrial harbour towards the dike and the dune beaches.