 | HOLIDAY HOMES & PRICES |
ACTIVITIES | WELLNESS |
FOOD & DRINKS | TOURIST GUIDE |
CONFERENCE | FAQ |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Handicap access
Skriv en anmeldelse af Skallerup Klit
 Skriv en anmeldelse af Skallerup Klit |
|
 |
The Holiday Village Concept
|
|
The Holiday Village Concept The history of the holiday centre began in 1938, when Danish Prime Minister Stauning passed the first Danish Holidays Act, which granted wage earners 12 days of holiday per year. At that same time, tourist associations and municipal councils were also being asked to identify recreation areas near the coast that could potentially be suitable for use as holiday villages in the long term. The local initiative committee worked out a basic plan at the end of 1944. The plan received full backing after numerous negotiations with local and state authorities, but shortages of materials prevented the establishment of a holiday village at that time. A stream of refugees from Germany The necessary help arrived under unfortunate circumstances. During the final months of the war, 240,000 German refugees arrived in Denmark from East Prussia, Pomerania and Danzig. The stream of refugees arose because the Russian forces had surrounded those parts of Germany in January of 1945. The Russian soldiers terrified the Germans, and Hitler initiated rescue plans to save the 10 million Germans living there. 2.4 million were evacuated by sea, with 240,000 arriving in the free port of Copenhagen. The German occupational forces seized some 1,050 residences throughout Denmark. After the Germany capitulation on 5 May, 1945, the fate of the refugees suddenly became the responsibility of the Danish government. The Danish government intended that the refugees´ stay in Denmark would be of short duration, but they ultimately spent four years here. To free up the seized buildings, which included schools, a decision was made in consultation with the allied forces to house the refugees in a number of camps throughout Denmark. Setting up the camp  The combination refugee/holiday camp idea was well received, and the refugee camp was set up in record time during the summer of 1946. The Danish Refugee Administration purchased 2,000 sturdy but partly uninsulated Swedish forester´s cabins in Sweden.150 of the cabins were brought to the now defunct Sønderlev station by ship and train, and then shipped by lorry to Skallerup, where they were set up.
Roads, sewage treatment facilities, a central kitchen, mess hall and sanitary facilities were established, including a delousing centre (currently part of the carpentry shop). The camp was surrounded by a high barbed wire fence, which was intended to limit the refugees´ freedom while at the same time protecting them against attack by the civilian population, which was not kindly disposed toward the Germans in the wake of the occupation. There were guard barracks outside the wire fence, and armed guards patrolled the periphery of the camp. In 1946 the allied forces required that, in addition to the 125 camps already established, a reserve capacity of 10% be created to cope with any epidemics at the existing camps. This requirement came to the attention of the local initiative committee, which proposed that the Refugee Admnistration establish a holiday village at Skallerup, but in such a way that it could initially serve as a backup camp for refugees, and later be converted into a holiday village. The barracks and the camp Each barracks consisted of one large room containing 20-25 beds with seaweed mattresses. In the centre of the room stood a stove, which was fueled with peat. The other furniture consisted of a few stools. There was no indoor plumbing, and no toilet. There was very little privacy. The centres outdoor athletic field is a relic from the camp times – the shady trees surrounding the facility were planted by the refugees. The camp was placed into service in October 1946, and could house 2,400 refugees. It was shut down in October 1947, and the remaining refugees were transferred to larger camps in Denmark, or sent home to Germany. The holiday centre was contacted in 1995 by the three daughters of the Preibe family, who had stayed at the camp as children, along with their mother. The Priebe familys keepsakes and letters – descriptions of their refugee experiences and daily life at the camp – are on display in the museum. Conversion into a holiday village – dedication  After the refugee camp was shut down in October 1947 the initiative committee in Hjørring took over half of the barracks. The capital was raised via financial institutions and large companies. The contributions gave the ownership circle preferential rights to prime locations for the employees of the enterprises in question.
The Skallerup Klit Holiday Village Corporation was founded on 29 September 1948. The huts were renovated, restored and furnished so that they could be used as holiday cottages. The homes were provided with toilets, kitchens with electrical hot plates, bedrooms with beds, and a living room. Common facilities such as a restaurant for 200 guests were set up (renovated central kitchen from the refugee facility in Hanstholm) and a number of shopes. A guest wing (renovated "hospital" from the refugee period) was also set up to house the front desk and offices. The holiday village was inaugurated on 15 May 1949. The holiday village's development  Happy holidaymakers streamed into the holiday village during the summer months right from the start. It became known throughout Denmark. Demand for greater comfort and a longer season gradually grew. The original cottages lacked bathing facilities and were uninsulated. A gradual process of modernisation took place in the ensuing years, and today we have 262 modern, year-round cottages standing on some 218 acres of land.
The holiday villages first director was Niels Peter Nielsen, who had formerly been employed as supervisor at the refugee camp. The well-known Nielsen lived in the holiday village, as did Louis Blichfeldt, who served as director for 30 years and lived in the "Command Bridge". Subsequent directors were Edvard Kjeldsen and Ejnar Nielsen, who also left their mark on life at the holiday village, working together in positive fashion with the villages guests. Ownership, loans and contributions In 1978 essentially all of the original shareholders transferred their shareholdings to a proprietary non-profit institution, Skallerup Fondet. The former shareholders retained rights of disposal of a number of the houses. These houses are marked with asterisks on the area overview map. A number of loans and contributions from the Danish Labour Market Holiday Fund must also be noted in this regard. The Funds benevolence has been all-important to the development of the holiday centre over the years. |
