Havnemarken on Asnæs

Asnæs stretches westwards south of Kalundborg Fjord, and right out where the road ends lies Havnemarken. Here the landscape opens towards a bay, and right next to it the forest of Asnæs Dyrehave begins, running all the way down to the water. The site is the last point on Lundbye Landmarks, and also one of the most picturesque. Here by the bay, the Golden Age painter J.Th. Lundbye found the motif for one of his early masterpieces.

The bay in Lundbye's painting

In December 1839, aged only 21, Lundbye completed his large oil painting of a bay on Kalundborg Fjord by the woods of Asnæs. The picture shows tall beech trees, a white deer at the water's edge and dark storm clouds with light breaking through in beams. It is an atmospheric example of how the Golden Age saw the Danish landscape. Lundbye had prepared it with drawings on site during the summer, and he returned to the motif several times. In a drawing from 1848, made for the children of his friend, the sculptor H.E. Freund, he even placed a dolmen on the hill by the water, although there is no dolmen there. The painting thus shows an idealised Denmark, but the bay, the forest and the fjord are still recognisable.

Herring for the West Indies

Havnemarken was far from as deserted as the painting suggests. In 1839 Count Lerche of Lerchenborg had a herring-salting house built here, because the waters were unusually rich in herring. A landing pier with tipping wagons was built so that herring and timber could be processed on site, and around 20 workers were attached to the business. The salted herring was shipped to the Danish West Indies as food for the enslaved workers on the plantations, and the ships returned with sugar. When slavery was abolished in the colonies, demand disappeared and the salting works closed. The house by the water was licensed as an inn and served day-trippers for many years. The house still stands today.

What you can experience

From Havnemarken there are views across the bay and the fjord, and it is a short walk to the beach and the forest. It is a fine place for a stroll along the water, a picnic or simply to enjoy the peace at the tip of the peninsula. The spot is also known among anglers, and there is parking close to the water at the end of the road.

How to find it

Drive out along Asnæs until the road ends at Havnemarken. On the way you pass several of the other places Lundbye painted, including Sortestenen on the fjord coast and the remains of the brickworks in Asnæs Forskov. The whole trip combines easily with a hike in the woods of Asnæs. Find more nature areas and experiences on Asnæs and across the region at destinationsjaelland.dk.

Who is it for?

Havnemarken is for nature lovers, art enthusiasts and anyone looking for a quiet place by the water. It is a natural end point for a trip in Lundbye's footsteps on Asnæs. Bring a picture of the painting on your phone and see if you can find the spot by the bay where the white deer stood.