Ven

Ven is about seven and a half square kilometres of flat farmland with clay cliffs round the edges, sitting in the Oresund with Denmark on one side and Sweden on the other. Frederik II of Denmark gave it to Tycho Brahe in 1576 and Brahe built Uraniborg, a combined house and observatory, and then Stjarneborg, sunk into the ground to steady the instruments - he worked here for two decades producing the positional data Kepler later used. Both were demolished after he left; the foundations and a reconstructed Stjarneborg are visible with a museum alongside. The rest of the island is fields, four villages, a whisky distillery and a coastal path.

Highlights

• Uraniborg's foundations - Brahe's house and observatory of 1576.
• Stjarneborg reconstructed - the sunken instrument chamber.
• A museum on his work - the twenty years of observation.
• Farmland, clay cliffs and villages - the rest of the island.

When to go

May to September, when ferries and services run fully. A full day.

Practical notes

Only foundations survive of Uraniborg - the buildings were destroyed. Ferries reduce sharply out of season. Bicycle hire queues on summer weekends. The island is exposed with little shade.

Nearby

Landskrona is on the Swedish side; Denmark is visible west.

Key facts