The Second World War heritage

During the Second World War, Thy was a military hot spot, and along the coast of the National Park you can still see many testimonies from the time of Denmark's occupation. The bunkers stand as large, grey sugar lumps in the dunes from Agger to Hanstholm. The bunkers were part of the Germans' huge project called "Atlantvolden" (the Atlantic Embankment), stretching from the Pyrenees at the Spanish border to the North Cape in Norway. The first German shore battery was already laid out in April 1940, and construction work affected the everyday life of the locals. Mostly local workers erected the bunkers, and the Germans would block the beaches and check the fishermen when they sailed to and from the sea. In the North lay the Hanstholm fortress which was to prevent seaward approach to Skagerrak for Allied ships. The 19 bunkers were armed with four naval guns, and the battery could send its grenades to a distance of 55 kilometres. Together with a similar battery at Kristiansand in Norway they blocked the around 120 kilometres of waters between Denmark and Norway. You can still explore the bunkers of the battery as many of them are open today, and at the Museum centre in Hanstholm you can visit one of the largest bunkers built by the Germans during the occupation of Denmark. Today, the nearly 3,000 m2 large bunker has been restored to its original appearance, with original equipment.

Interesting things to see:

• The Museum Centre in Hanstholm
• The coastal battery "Hanstholm I" south of Hanstholm
• The coastal battery south of Klitmøller
• The observation bunker at Stenbjerg
• The coastal battery North of Lyngby
• The manned bunker at the town of Agger