The Expropriation of The Land of Fairy Tale
Experience the special exhibition “The Expropriation of The Land of Fairy Tale” about how the idyllic landscape at Vejers, Grærup, Børsmose and Kærgård became a military training ground.
If you’ve travelled through the otherwise idyllic landscape of Vejers, Grærup, Børsmose and Kærgård before, you’ve probably seen what many people find astonishing: old, abandoned country houses with shuttered doors and windows, as if time itself has fled from them. Mysterious buildings reminiscent of haunted houses or abandoned film sets – but their history is even more fascinating and has its origins in the Cold War (1946-89).
Photo: Niels A. Hansen
During the 1960s, no fewer than 71 country houses and a few more detached houses and holiday homes in the area became victims of the Danish Defence’s growing need for larger areas for increasingly bulky military equipment: The Land of Fairytales was turned into a training ground and the houses were left as silent witnesses.
In the exhibition ‘The Expropriation of the Land of Fairy Tales’ you will experience this story in its shortest possible form through images from the past and present. Niels A. Hansen’s colour photographs and Sylvest Jensen’s historical aerial photos tell the story of how the land of adventure became the military landscape that has characterised the area ever since.
