Helligdomsklipperne

The Sanctuary Cliffs are a stretch of the Bornholm north coast where the granite has been split along vertical joints into a run of narrow rifts, pinnacles and small caves standing straight out of the water, unlike anything else on the Danish coast, which is otherwise sand and chalk. A coast path runs along the top with steps and viewing points down into the clefts, and a set of steps leads to the water. The best known feature is the Vaade Ovn, the wet oven, a sea cave that can be entered by small boat when conditions are calm, and boats from Gudhjem run out to it in summer. The Bornholm art museum stands on the clifftop above, and the Dondalen ravine with its waterfall is inland behind.

History

The name, the Sanctuary Rocks, goes back to the Middle Ages, when a chapel of the Trinity stood in the field above the cliffs and a holy spring at their foot drew pilgrims hoping for cures, especially on Midsummer Night; an account of 1806 says the spring gave so little water that a woman was paid each Midsummer to fill it from the sea. As tourism grew on Bornholm, the Hotel Helligdommen and its stretch of coast were sold to a German buyer in 1906, and local resentment led to the founding of the Bornholm Association, which secured public access along a coastal path by the cliffs and in 1911 created the nearby Bornholmerpladsen for the growing number of visitors (Wikipedia, Helligdomsklipperne).

The landscape

• Granite rifts and pinnacles - the coast split along vertical joints.
• The Vaade Ovn sea cave - entered by small boat in calm conditions.
• The clifftop coast path - steps and viewpoints along the rifts.
• Dondalen ravine - a wooded gorge and waterfall behind the coast.

When to go

May to September for boat access and the coast path; the cave trips need calm weather and are cancelled often. Half a day. Mornings are calmest for the boats. The path is walkable year round.

Good to know

Boat trips to the cave depend entirely on sea state and cancel frequently. The coast path has steep steps and drops with limited railing. Parking near the museum fills in summer. The rifts are impressive but the whole stretch is short.

Nearby

Gudhjem is east along the coast; Almindingen forest lies inland.

Key facts