Lyø (island

Lyø

Infoboks

Distance 10 km On Lyø you do not cycle around the coast. You cannot do that. You drive as if in a star, where the village is the centre from which the roads originate. They bring you out both to the famous dolmen, The Bell Stone, the bird sanctuaries, tunnel valleys, fantastic fishing grounds, Lyø Mill - and a very rich animal and plant life.

Difficulty: There are no dangerous roads. The trip is very varied with a few short gravel / dirt roads on the east side of the island, but these can easily be tackled with ordinary bicycles. There are plenty of good opportunities for bathing and swimming.

Suitability for children:

Bird Breeding Reserve On the northwestern side of the island is a large area represented by shading. Access is prohibited in this area and on the beach during the period 01/3 - 15/7, but there are towers from which you can experience the many seabirds.

6 Klokkestenen (The Bell Stone) From the ferry and the harbour there is only one road leading up to the village and to a memorial stone for the Reunification in 1920. Lyø has always had great trade and a connection with Als.

Turn east along Østensvej, which runs along one of the tunnel valleys in the small Ice Age landscape found on the eastern part of Lyø. Soon the road goes along the coast, from which there is a good view of Avernakø and Skjoldnæs lighthouse on Ærø. Østensvej ends at a farm - but don’t be fooled - the road goes through the courtyard further along to Smedegyden. Follow Smedegyden up to the village. Turn right onto Lyø Bygade, and continue on Søndenvej and further west on Vestensvej to the several thousand-year-old dolmen, the Bell Stone. Lyø village is centrally placed and situated higher on the island, and with its five ponds and several hundred year old farmhouses you are taken back to a time when everything went a little slower.

In the 16th century, the entire population of Lyø died out after epidemics and looting and the island was repopulated in the 1540s by 24 peasant families who, after a failed uprising against their estate owner, were forced to relocate to the island. Lyø’s current population is descended from these 24 families, with many generations having owned the same farm for 450 years. The village’s farms were fortifications under the Holstenshuus estate northeast of Faaborg during the period from 1693 up to 1900.

This is an old chamber from the Stone Age. It gives out a clear tone when you strike it.

Continue along Vestensvej to Revvej. From here you can take a detour towards Revet and the bird observation tower, which gives a good view over the nature area on Lyø Trille.

The Revvej road leads east to Roestoftesvej and back to Lyø village.

Back in the village, you should pay a visit to the circular churchyard (the only one in Denmark), which is said to be built according to traditions dating back to Renaissance ornamental gardens. The church itself was built right after the Reformation, and on Lyø, men and women attending a service still sit on their respective sides of the church. Take a trip round the village and enjoy the almost Morten Korchske idyll. Lyø Strandvej takes you back to the harbour and ferry and maybe on to Avernakø.

Originally, Lyø belonged to the crown and was a favourite place to go hunting. King Valdemar the Victorious (1170- 1241) liked to go hunting on the island, and it was just during such a hunt on May 6-7, 1223, that he, along with his 14-year-old son Valdemar the Young, was captured by the German Count Henrik of Schwerin. The king was imprisoned for three years and had to buy himself free by relinquishing several of his North German possessions.

Place names on Lyø such as Kongens Made and Grevens Dyvelstykker refer to the King’s capture by the Count.