Lundbye Landmarks – 18 places in the footsteps of J.Th. Lundbye

Johan Thomas Lundbye is one of the great painters of the Danish Golden Age, and his pictures of dolmens, coasts, cattle and beech woods helped shape the image of Denmark that many still carry today. He was born in Kalundborg in 1818, and although his family moved to Copenhagen when he was eight, he returned to the town and its surroundings again and again. That is the background for Lundbye Landmarks: 18 marked sites in Kalundborg, on Røsnæs and on Asnæs, where you can stand where the painter stood and see the landscape through his eyes.

Why landmarks?

Lundbye lived for only 29 years, but he drew and painted the area around his birthplace over and over. The Golden Age painters searched for what was distinctly Danish at a time when the country had lost much, and nature, ancient monuments and rural life became symbols of a country to be proud of. Lundbye found many of those motifs right here. In 2018 Kalundborg celebrated the 200th anniversary of his birth with the first Lundbye Art Festival. Together with a bronze sculpture of the painter and several books, the landmarks became one of the lasting results of the festivals in 2018 and 2021. Behind them is the Lundbye Committee, a volunteer group that works with the municipality, the museum and local associations, among others.

Paintings, diaries and sound

At each landmark, QR codes lead to more than 70 of Lundbye's paintings and drawings, along with texts and quotations from his diaries and letters. More than 50 audio files can be heard out in the landscape. This lets you hold the painting up against reality and discover for yourself what has stayed the same and what has changed. Because the landscape has changed over almost 200 years. Trees have grown, houses have been built and the sea has eaten into the coasts. Lundbye also took liberties and often painted in the studio from sketches and memory. The differences are part of the experience.

Start at the Church of Our Lady

The church with five towers is a natural starting point. Lundbye painted it in 1837, when it had only four towers because the central one had collapsed. On the church square stands a bust of the painter, and close by are his childhood home on Skibbrogade and the bronze sculpture on Klostertorvet. From here you can follow Lundbye out into the landscape.

Three tours

The 18 sites can be divided into three tours. The town tour covers Kalundborg and Raklev, with the childhood home, the church, the sculpture and the dolmens at Raklev. The Røsnæs tour runs along the peninsula's coasts to Elverdam, Ulstrup, Hellede Klint, Vindekilde and the tip of Røsnæs. The Asnæs tour leads from Møllebakken across the fjord to the brickworks in the forest, Sortestenen by the water and Havnemarken at the far tip of the peninsula. Some sites require a longer walk, so allow plenty of time and wear sturdy shoes.

Who is it for?

Lundbye Landmarks is for anyone who loves art, nature and history, and for families who want a goal for their outing. You can visit a single site in an afternoon or spend several days following the whole trail. Find more experiences in Kalundborg and the region at destinationsjaelland.dk.