Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Atthe endofthe lane stands the former firehouse (with the tall brick tower,
now a place for the high school garage band to practice). Twenty yards before
the firehouse, a trail cuts left about 100 yards along the shore to a place the
town provides for fishermen to launch and store their boats and tidy up their
nets. A bench is strategically placed to enjoy the view.
• Follow the rutted lane inland, back past the firehouse. Turn right and walk
a block toward town. At the first intersection, take a right onto...
Østergade:
This was Ærøskøbing's east gate. In the days of German con-
trol, all island trade was legal only within the town. All who passed this point
would pay various duties and taxes at a tollbooth that once stood here.
As you walk past the traditional houses, peer into living rooms. Catch
snatches of Danish life. (After the bend, you can see right through the win-
dows to the sea.) Ponder the beauty of a society with such a keen sense of
civic responsibility that fishing permits entrust you “to catch only what you
need.” You're welcome to pick berries where you like...but “no more than
what would fit in your hat.”
The wood on these old houses prefers organic coverings to modern paint.
Tar painted on beams as a preservative blisters in the sun. An old-fashioned
paint of chalk, lime, and clay lets old houses breathe and feel more alive. (It
gets darker with the rain and leaves a little color on your fingers.) Modern
chemical paint has much less personality.
The first square (actually a triangle, at #55) was the old goose market.
Ærøskøbing—born in the 13th century, burned in the 17th, and rebuilt in the
18th—claims (believably) to be the best-preserved town from that era in Den-
mark. The original plan, with 12 streets laid out by its founder, survives.
• Leaving the square, stay left on...
Søndergade:
Lookforwrought-iron girders onthe walls, added toholdto-
getherbulginghouses.(Onthefirstcorner,at#55,noticethenutsthatcouldbe
tightened like a corset to keep the house from sagging.) Ærøskøbing's oldest
houses (check out the dates)—the only ones that survived a fire during a war
with Sweden—are #36 and #32. At #32, the hatch upstairs was where masts
and sails were stored for the winter. These houses also have some of the finest
doors in town (and in Ærøskøbing, that's really saying something). The red on
