GUIDE / MØN / NO FEAR OF HEIGHTS
Denmark is known for its flat landscape, which distinguishes it from its northern neighbours Norway and Sweden, where snow-covered mountains have attracted visitors for centuries. Perhaps this is part of the allure of Møn’s klint. The island Møn, with only 10,000 inhabitants, is approximately one hour southeast of Copenhagen, defined by its rural and laidback atmosphere. Clusters of houses form small villages. Møn’s klint is at the far end of the island, accessed by passing through dwindling road, through a forest of seven hectare. The eastern part of the forest is owned by the Danish state, while the western part belongs to Klintholm Manor. In the summer months, you will find orchids in full bloom, an example of the great biodiversity that characterizes this place.
In the early mornings the white cliffs, 140 metres high and almost seven kilometres long, will reflect the rising sun, making the white limestone appear almost luminous. Below the dramatic cliffs, the sun light transforms the sea into an unexpected emerald green. To reach the narrow beach, Denmark’s longest flight of stairs – with approximately 500 steps – leads you over small waterfalls and through the forest’s dramatic vertical slopes, as you glimpse the sea through the leaves on your way down.
70 million years ago, this was the site of a tropical sea. Remnants of this past is still visible in the many fossils you can find here. In this way, being here is an embodied experience that can transport you not only through space, as the cliffs elevate you over the sea level, but also through time: in the many fossil stones around you, you will find messages from animals and plants that lived here eons ago.
¨In the summer, you can go swimming in the sea, allowing the body of water that surrounds you to temporarily connect you with all of the other oceans and seas around the world. ¨
Standing on the tall cliffs, you are given a panoramic view of the world, including the distant horizon where the sea meets the sky, to the cliffs themselves, and that you for a brief moment in time have become an extension of. In the summer, you can go swimming in the sea, allowing the body of water that surrounds you to temporarily connect you with all of the other oceans and seas around the world.
Human experience is shaped by how bodily experiences are affected by the outside world. In his research, the French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty used several different examples to demonstrate how this works. Being onboard a large ship, for example, means that we can feel the power from the engines reverberating through our bodies, the rhythm from the machinery influencing how we feel as we sit by a table or go for a stroll on deck. During the time we spend onboard, our bodily experiences become expanded, so that the ship in a way becomes included in what we are able to sense. Another example is how a cane, when held in our hand, elongates the arm and changes how we walk and how we stand, changing our movements and motions for the period of time that we have attached ourselves to it. Once we leave the cane, our posture will change once again.
¨Walking through a forest, we can feel the earth beneath our feet, the same way the flow of water changes our bodily experience when going for a swim.¨
This line of thought, which connects our internal consciousness and sense of self with external objects, is called phenomenology. The name alludes to how different kinds of embodied phenomena affect and structure our understanding of the world. Phenomenology allows us to understand our bodily experiences in a different and more fluid way: garments becoming a kind of second skin, or cutlery regularly operating as an extension of our hands. However, this experience is not restricted to manmade objects – such as ships, canes and clothes – but occur also when meeting objects in nature. Walking through a forest, we can feel the earth beneath our feet, the same way the flow of water changes our bodily experience when going for a swim. This is particularly noticeable at the cliffs of Møn, where the mere volume of the mountains create an almost physical sensation of vertigo when looking down at the water from its highest peaks.
Møn is at the same time remote and accessible. There is a calm to life on the island, as it is not on the way to somewhere else. Beyond the white cliffs of Møn, there is only the blue waters of the Baltic Sea, nothing else. Most who come here are drawn by the dramatic nature, but there are also other places of interest. The neoclassical palace Liselund, built in 1792, has a romantic landscaped garden, close to the sea, perfect for picnics or slow walks through the park. Originally the country home for Antoine and Lisa de la Calmette, it was designed by architect Andreas Kirkerup and furnished by the leading interior architect of the time, court decorator Joseph Chr. Lillie. Today, is considered a unique “complete artwork”, as everything, from the position of the rose bushes to the selection of chairs in the drawing room, reflect the aesthetic ideals of the times.
The Fanejord kirke (Fanefjord Church in English) is the most beautiful church on the island, known for its many frescoe dating back to the 13th and 16th centuries. The site of the church has a long history, as only a few hundred metres to the south of the church is the supposed burial ground of queen Fane and her husband king Grøn Jæger (who, according to local folklore, lived some 4,000 years ago). For centuries, the church’s frescoes were hidden under a covering a plaster, a common way of adapting the interiors of churches in northern Europe to the new Lutheran teachings, where nothing should disturb or distract from the relationship between the worshipper and God. The earliest frescoes were painted around 1350, while the most famous one dates back to around the year 1500, covering the ceiling and presenting many of the most popular stories from the Old and new Testaments. The artist was the Elemlundmesteren (the Elmelunde Master), who together with his team painted these frescoes, as well as the ones in Keldby kirke (Keldby Church). Note in particular the expressionless faces of the sleepy-eyed people, turned to the left or right while their bodies face the front.
Møn also has a rich contemporary cultural life, including an art centre, local vineyards, organic pizzerias and a vibrant surf community. Stege, with 3,000 inhabitants, is the largest town on the island, but as Møn is rather small, it is equally convenient to stay in the countryside (if traveling by car).
To Stay
Family-owned, small hotel in Stege.
Storegade 13
4780 Stege
Denmark
+45 55 44 13
To Eat and Drink
Café Storebro
Nice café, by Stege harbour.
Støvvasen 1
4780 Stege
Denmark
+45 25 70 11 05
Traditional Danish meals, served in surroundings dating back to 1919.
Storegade 13
4780 Stege
Denmark
+45 55 44 13
Traditional Danish food with contemporary interpretations, served in the forest.
Fanefjord Skovvej 6
4792 Askeby
Denmark
To Visit
Contempoary art centre, with temporary exhibitions.
Fanefjordsgade 44
4792 Askeby
Danmark
+45 28 83 24 83
Locally produced ceramics.
Sømarkevej 2
4791 Borre
Denmark
+45 55 81 20 18
Art Gallery.
Søndersognsvej 101
4780 Stege
Denmark
+45 45 26 72 26 00
Locally produced wine, made in Råbylille on Møn.
Bundgarnet 121
4780 Stege
Denmark
+45 55 51 80