Nakskov

Description

NV Cruising Guide

Navigation

The approach is via the very narrow, buoyed and lighted fairway of the Nakskov Fjord. At night, a searchlight is required due to the many unlit buoys.

Berths

Guests will find central berths in the commercial harbor, southeast of the harbor office at 4.5m, which is developed as a mooring for pleasure craft. The private jetties in the outer harbor are occupied by local boats.

Surroundings

There are good supply options in the village at the harbor, including a small boatyard and fuel (diesel only). Sanitary facilities are located next to the payment machine and can be accessed with a code for guests. There is also a supermarket right by the harbor. There are several restaurants, cafés and a bakery around the central market square by the church.

NV Land Guide

There are few Danish towns that have been so badly affected by fires and wars over the centuries as Nakskov. Almost the entire town was ravaged by fire in 1420. Just 90 years later, when the town had only just recovered from this catastrophe, the people of Lübeck set fire to the harbor town. The citizens thought they were safe from the attacks of the Hanseatic League because King Hans had built the Castel Sant'Angelo and a fortified shipyard for warships on the offshore island of Slotø to protect the city. But according to the story, something happened that nobody had expected: the Hanseatic League fleet approached the fortress from the south in a hitherto unknown shipping lane. However, the heavy cannons of Castel Sant'Angelo pointed north, where the enemy was actually expected. The fleet calmly took the castle under fire (the ruins of Castel Sant'Angelo can still be seen today) and then sailed unchallenged to Nakskov to plunder. Paradoxically, however, it was the pirate Hanseatic League that had previously brought the town its prosperity. The North Germans obtained cheap supplies of agricultural produce here and bought up the herring catches (see also Albuen). The Hanseatic League viewed attempts by Danish sailors to sell their goods on the German markets on their own initiative with suspicion. They saw their position of power threatened: piracy and pillaging of the Lübeckers were the result. Nakskov was slow to recover from these raids, especially as another fire caused serious damage to the town in 1528.

Although the popular trading town was expanded into one of Denmark's strongest fortresses after the Hanseatic League raids, it surrendered to the Swedes who came over the ice without a fight in 1658. When the Swedes returned the following year, they believed they were better prepared and risked the battle. After several months of siege, the victorious Swedes completely plundered the town and partially destroyed it.

With 17,000 inhabitants, Nakskov is now the largest town on Lolland. Considering that it was razed to the ground several times, its old town center still has a surprising amount of atmosphere. However, this really only applies to the old town and its outskirts, as the rest of the town is dominated by industry. One of the largest sugar factories in Northern Europe can be recognized by the huge white silos in the east of the city. The area around the port is largely dominated by shipyards, loading cranes, factory halls and dry dock facilities. Nevertheless, you are right in the middle of it all, on the long northern quay due to its close proximity to the city center.

The almost semi-circular course of the streets in the center reveals the location of the long-disappeared rampart system. On your tour of the city, you should visit the market square (Axeltorv). You can get there from the harbor via Farveren Stræde or Badstuenstræde. The towering church serves as a landmark on the way through the narrow alleyways and pretty backyard passages.

The market is lined with buildings, each of which is more than 100 years old. This includes the town hall, last rebuilt in 1875, an eye-catcher on Axeltorv. The equestrian statue of King Christian X stands in the middle of the market square. You can experience a cozy pub atmosphere in the Vinkælderen on the market square, a pub that has been in existence for 100 years. When the sun is shining, the restaurant's garden in the inner courtyard is a particularly cozy spot.

St. Nicholas Church, dedicated to the saints of the sailors, dates back to the 13th century, but was last rebuilt in 1653. Worth seeing inside are the altarpiece made by Anders Mortensen in 1656, the pulpit made by Jörgen Ringius in 1630 and the baptismal font drawn by Lorentz Frölich in 1857. Incidentally, Lorentz Frölich illustrated several of Hans Christian Andersen's adventures. Whoever was responsible for the church's unusual money chest was not allowed to lose the bunch of keys, because then there were five locks to overcome on the chest, which was made in 1573. The cannonball that can be seen in the choir vault hit the vault during a church service in 1659. The projectile was fired by the Swedish besiegers. The fact that no one was harmed was seen as a sign of a higher place.

The Löwenapotheke on Axeltorv was given its baroque façade in 1777. It is the oldest store in the city. Leeches and medicinal herbs were already being sold here in 1645.

Theisens Gård, one of Nakskov's oldest merchants' warehouses, stretches from the market almost to the harbor. The old warehouses are the real gems of the town. Many of the elongated half-timbered buildings have been converted into homes or cozy pubs.

One of the well-known warehouses is the carefully restored Dronningens pakhus from 1589. The half-timbered building in Dronningenstræde was used by the widow queen Sophie to ship grain. As the widow of Frederik II, she had received the royal estates on Lolland and Falster to secure her pension. The royal granary is also Nakskov's oldest secular building. It is a reminder of a time when Nakskov was one of the most important towns in the kingdom. In terms of population, it was the seventh largest town in Denmark until the Swedes put an end to its heyday. Trade only revived after 1667, when Nakskov was declared the staple town for the whole of Lolland. But the island metropolis was unable to maintain this position for long, as the farmers and many a nobleman preferred to export via the cheap "pirate ports". As early as 1682, Nakskov was stripped of its title of monopoly port.

With around 1800 employees, the shipyards are Nakskov's most important employers today, resulting in high unemployment figures during shipyard crises.

If you would like to visit the Jewish cemetery, you can obtain the key from the tourist office. It dates back to around 1700, when Jews were allowed to settle in Denmark. The cemetery is no longer in use.

The inner fjord is praised as a national security area. The species-rich bird life can be observed from observation stands at the edge of the footpaths. "Svingelen" is the name of the city's park-like woodland area.

The old smithy at Tilegade 21 is a working museum. Here, retired blacksmiths demonstrate the work associated with their trade in the past, such as how tools were made and used.

Nakskov's contemporary history is the theme of changing exhibitions at Jernbanegade 8. Pictures and texts depict life in the fjord town from 1900 to 1949.

Until 2011, the 76-metre-long Russian submarine U359 from 1953 could be viewed here. Unfortunately, it had to be scrapped in 2011.

A similar boat of the 'Whiskey-V' class also ran aground in Swedish waters in 1981.

Sport boaters who want to put their feet up for a day and still learn more about the Nakskov Fjord should go to the jetty of the post boat in Hafenstraße at 9.15 am on a weekday. The boat usually stops at Slotø, Vejlø, Enehøje and Albuen. Instead of returning on the mail boat, you can also walk inland on the Albuen headland and then take the bus back to Nakskov. This excursion is particularly recommended for those whose yacht has too much draught to sail to Albuen. When planning the excursion, bear in mind that the mail boats do not sail on Sundays.

If you want to visit the islands of the Småland fairway from Nakskov, you have another opportunity to stock up on provisions in the small town. There are plenty of shopping opportunities in the pedestrian zone.

The Halstedt Monastery, located five kilometers to the east, is a great destination for an excursion in the area. The old monastery garden is open to the public. Sølvbjerghøj, located around seven kilometers south of Nakskov in Munkeby, was the site of the last public execution in Denmark in 1882. Anders Sjællænder was executed here with an axe for the murder of the egg merchant Svenkeren.

Marina Information

Contact

Surroundings

Electricity

Water

Toilet

Shower

Restaurant

Imbiss

Crane

Atm

Internet

Fuel

Diesel

Grocery

Boatyard

Ramp

Public Transport

Bikerental

Garbage