Point of Interest 5: The Rowing Ferry Harbour – where it all began (Panorama Route)

Close your eyes and imagine a November evening in 1829. The wind bites, darkness falls early, and down by the little harbour, two impatient travellers are waiting in the straw of the ferry farm’s barn – a priest on his way to a church convention in Vejrum and a merchant carrying goods that need to reach Holstebro in time for the Christmas trade.

This is where the story of Oddesund truly begins to unfold.

The rowing ferry harbour where you are standing today was built between 1861 and 1864, but the crossing itself is much older – people were crossing the fjord at this very spot as far back as the Viking Age. After the North Sea broke through the Agger Tange isthmus in 1825, Oddesund was transformed from a remote fjord crossing into one of West Jutland’s most important transport hubs. Suddenly, everyone and everything had to pass through here: farmers, priests, travelling merchants, grain collected as tax, livestock and smoked delicacies on their way to market.

Look around you. The mooring rings along the shore and the old slipways are more than just stone and iron – they are traces of thousands of journeys, including those made by ferryman Peder Hansen. One November day, he returned from collecting taxes on Thyholm, his cart filled with the year’s payment in kind: grain, bread, legs of mutton and milk. But chaos was waiting for him at home. The oarsmen were late – they had enjoyed “one drink too many” in Hardsyssel – and by the time they finally returned, it was too dark and windy to make the crossing. The priest and the merchant had to spend the night hungry in the straw, while Peder’s hard-earned provisions were discreetly tucked away for safekeeping.

The following morning, the situation escalated into a full-blown argument over who had the right to board first – the farmer with his pigs and smoked eels, or the two travellers who had been waiting since the previous evening. The ferryman’s dilemma was one of rules versus practice, patience versus urgency – and the dispute became so heated that threats were made to take the matter all the way to the district governor.

Such was life at the rowing ferry harbour: rough, unpredictable and filled with delays, with the smell of smoked eel and freshly baked bread in the air – and with people who, just like you standing here today, had to wait before they could continue their journey.

About the Panorama Route at Oddesund – a journey through 1,000 years of history by the Limfjord

Oddesund lies where Thyholm and South Thy are connected across the Limfjord – a place where fjord, heathland and forest meet in a landscape shaped by wind and water over thousands of years. Sweeping views across the calm waters of the fjord, the distinctive light of West Jutland and the wide-open landscape give this place an atmosphere that changes throughout the day.

Nature here is rich and diverse. Along the coast, gulls, cormorants and grey herons breed and forage, and if you’re lucky, you may even spot a white-tailed eagle gliding silently above the open water.

Oddesund is more than just a strait. It is a passage – between regions, between eras, between the familiar and the forgotten. Vikings rowed these waters. Ferrymen worked here. German soldiers stood guard here. Today, trains and cars cross the bridge, while few of those passing by have any idea of the stories hidden along the shoreline.

The Panorama Route takes you through them all. From the hidden lagoon at Høllet to the old rowing ferry harbour with roots stretching back to the Viking Age. From the DSB railway houses, with their quiet stories of the social order of the railway era, to the bunker where a young man from Flensburg once stood guard with a stiff leg and an inherited letter opener.

The route can be enjoyed as a walk or a run. It’s ideal for an afternoon, an early morning or a full day with plenty of time for breaks and exploration. Along the way, you’ll find trail markers with QR codes – scan them and immerse yourself in the stories and atmosphere of each place.

The Panorama Route was created in collaboration with Struer Municipality, Destination Limfjorden and local landowners.