Helligdomsklipperne

Helligdomsklipperne ( Holy cliffs ) are a group of cliffs on the island of Bornholm. They are located about 16 km from Gudhjem and about 5 km from Tejn away. They are characterized by about 22 meters high cliffs of sharp granite from. The name of the cliffs originated in the Middle Ages, when it close to the coast was a sacred spring, which attracted pilgrims, especially to St. Hans Aften ( Midsummer Festival ). During the last ice age, much of the present-day coast was below sea level, since the ice it is about 20 meters above the sea level. Cliffs with deep caves and towering granite pillars are typical for this area of the coast. In the southeast of Kyststi (coastal path) runs to the well preserved Døndalen. Helligdomsklipperne are a popular tourist attraction, which is approached in the summer months of tourist boats from Gudhjem.

History

The " sacred " character of the area originated in the Middle Ages when a chapel called Trefoldighedskapellet ( Trinity Chapel ) standing on the field right in front of the cliffs. At the foot of the cliffs there was a source of holy water, which was brought to the chapel and should heal a legend, people from all diseases, especially when drunk on Midsummer Night. According to a report from 1806 describes that as little water in the spring was that a woman was asked to fill them with sea water.

In 1906, when developed, the tourism on the island, the hotel Helligdommen was purchased together with a strip of land along the coast by a German. The resentment of the population quickly led to the founding of the Foreningen Bornholm, which demanded public access to the coastal path along the cliffs. In 1911 the club built the nearby Bornholmerpladsen to accommodate the increasing number of visitors can.

The Helligdomsklipperne have long been an attraction for both visitors as well as for artists such as documented Anders Christian Lunde's paintings of King Frederik VII 's arrival by boat in 1851.

Geology and rock formations

The origins of the rocks are 1.7 billion years back. Made from striped gneiss, they are traversed by an abundance of small Diabaskanäle. This produced cracks which were filled in later with additional magma and diabase. Some parts of the ground proved to be environmentally resistant than others, so that the visible today jagged effects emerged. Since the last ice age, the sea level was at times much higher, so that the rocks were repeatedly completely covered by water. The different deep channels and " furnaces " in the cliffs are a result of erosion by water.

The variety Gryde (black pot), Vade Ovn ( Nasser oven ) and Torre Ovn ( oven dry ) go deep into the cliffs hinen. At the northwestern end of the formation are the Libertsklippen, named after the landscape painter Georg Emil Libert (1820-1908), of this rock devoted himself with special interest. Called the name of the Lyseklippen (candles cliffs ), first Lysene ( candles) or Alterlysene ( altar candles), goes back to the time when there were two cliffs that rose candles in shape in the sky. One of them, however, was washed away in a storm in the early 19th century. The names of the other rock formations Kærlighedsbænken (Love Bank), Mågetårnet ( gulls tower) and Måneskinsklipperne ( Moonlight cliffs ) appear to date from the period of the late 19th century, when tourists discovered the area. The black pot is a special tourist attraction, because it is possible to about 60 meters to penetrate deep into the rock.

Flora

Different kinds of rowan trees stand on the cliffs. Rowan trees stand next to the rock flour berry. This has led to the spread of the Finnish Whitebeam (Sorbus hybrida group) and the Swedish Whitebeam. In addition, there are growing heather, Fringed Pink and oak, birch and juniper. The small-leaved lime begins to replace the diseased elms to the Helligdomsklipperne. Also maple trees grow there.