BORNHOLM - Geography and history
The island of Bornholm occupies an area of 588 km2, representing 1.4% of the total area of Denmark, and has 141 kilometres of coastline.
Bornholm is only 100 km away from Poland. The island is situated almost in the centre of the Baltic Sea at 15 degrees east and 55 degrees north.
Bornholm is the smallest county in Denmark in terms of population, and is divided into five municipalities.
Unlike the rest of Denmark, Bornholm has a very varied configuration. The middle and north part are highest with the dominant "Rytterkngten" mountain (163 metres over sea level), the third highest in the country. The south is peaceful and flat. The coastline is very similar - steep, rocky in the north and sandy, even in the south.
A geological feature on a European scale is the fault line that divides the island of Bornholm into the ancient granite of the north, which was formed around 1.7 billion years ago, and the sandstone layer of the south, which is only around 500 million years old.
All rivers and streams are very short. Some of them are even seasonal as well as the "Dondale" waterfall, and appear only after rainfalls. There are few lakes on Bornholm: the biggest is Hammers (650 m long, 150 m wide and 13 m deep).
Archaeological excavations show that Bornholm was inhabited since prehistoric times: stones used for striking fire dating back to 7500 - 5500 BC were found on the eastern coast. But the first time Bornholm is mentioned in written sources, the island is referred already to as an independent kingdom. Gamleborg castle in Almindingen was built as the island's main fortification in the Viking period. Bornholm experienced major upheavals in the Middle Age. Until the mid-15th century, Crown and Church fought for control of Bornholm. But it was not until 1522 that King Christian II exercised this right and asked for the Hammershus Castle to be handed back by the Church. The castle retained its role of defending Bornholm right up until the end of the 17th century, and nowadays is Northern Europe's largest castle ruin. Bornholm was disputed by Denmark and Sweden during the wars in 1643 and 1657, but at the end of 1658 the island was given back to the Danish king as his personal property.
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