Ærøskøbing Lystbådehavn

In the middle of the north coast of Ærø is Ærøskøbing - probably Denmark's best-preserved 18th-century city. The town dates from the early Middle Ages and has recently celebrated its 750th anniversary. Many of the town's houses are completely renovated and the city as a whole is subject to a conservation plan that sets out guidelines for the city's development and what can be built. The city's museums tell of the centuries as a market town, where shipping and commerce were the trades that one lived off of, besides farming in the hinterland. Ærøskøbing Church just off the square is the third on the site, and on the square itself are the old town pumps, which until 1952 supplied the city with water. The old harbor has been extended with a marina, and the beach Vesterstrand with its colorful little bath houses is only a few minutes walk from the town and the harbor. The campsite, hostel, guest houses and hotels offer good accommodation for the many guests in the city. Ærøskøbing appears with its topped cobblestones, hollyhocks and small, well-maintained houses with many quirky details like a pure idyll. In travel guides from home and abroad it is referred to as the Adventure City. However, it should not be forgotten that behind the idyllic facade of the city is a well-functioning city that has, for many centuries, solved the changing needs of generations. It happened rationally and financially, guided by the natural conditions - today we call it sustainable. In the same way as in all other cities of the country. Among them, only Ærøskøbing remains today. The Tourist Office sells a beautiful, informative booklet about the city - published as a result of the awarding of the prestigious Europa Nostra prize for the preservation of European cultural heritage in 2002 by Ærøskøbing. Here we describe the structure of the city and what makes the houses characteristic. The street courses and the construction and detailing of the houses are described, and the conservation efforts that for many years have made the city today appear so whole and unspoilt. It is worth noting that the Europa Nostra Award was given - not because of Ærøskøbing's state of preservation as such - but for the underlying popular effort for conservation. The town of Ærøskøbing demonstrates an exemplary initiative taken democratically by the city's inhabitants to keep the medieval urban whole intact, the jury's justification for the award reads. The city can be seen as a monument of the past, but at the same time it is an important model for contemporary housing - because it expresses the many generations' accumulated experience and knowledge of house and city building. Boiling house. Due to the great respect for fire danger and a regulation of 1787 prohibiting the use of open fire on board wooden ships, boilers were built on the docks. In 1810, "die Brückenkasse" paid for a boiler house at the port of Ærøskøbing for the end of the high bridge. To ensure maintenance, foreign ships had to pay for its use. The original function of the cookhouse ceased around 1860. The fishermen then used it to boil their yarn. In the 1850s, the house was given a twig where you lit a small harbor and guide lighthouse that was supposed to guide ships safely into the port of Ærøskøbing. Today, the cookhouse again fulfills some of its old function, being used as a barbecue hut.