mon — LOHI

GUIDE / MØN / NO FEAR OF HEIGHTS

FAST GUIDE TO SLOW MØN

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 located 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 a dwindling road, through a forest of seven hectares.

The eastern part of the forest is owned by the Danish state, while the western part belongs to Klintholm Manor.

During summer, you will find wild 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 rays from the rising sun, making the white limestone appear almost luminous.

Below the dramatic cliffs, the sun light transforms the sea into a dark emerald green. To reach the narrow beach, Denmark’s longest flight of stairs – with approximately 500 steps – leads you over small waterfalls and down through the forest’s dramatic vertical slopes, allowing brief glimpses of the sea through the leaves on the way down.

“70 million years ago, this was the site of a tropical sea.”

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. 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 have a panoramic view of the world, including the distant horizon where the sea meets the sky.

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.

“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 philosophical perspective, connecting one’s 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.

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.

It 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.

The island Møn both 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, by the sea. 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 Christian Lillie.

Today, it 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 God and his worshippers.

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.”

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).