Trail 21, Ærø

This text is an excerpt from the book about the Archipelago Trail, and therefore includes more background, detail and inspiration than the shorter trail leaflets.

This trail leads you through farmland, past the manor Søbygaard and the medieval fortification Søby Volde, through Vitsø Nor, and onward to the town of Søby.

Bregninge Church

If you are interested in churches, it is worth making a short detour to Bregninge, about a kilometre south of Ulveholm. The church is known for its 16th‑century frescoes and its beautifully carved altarpiece from around 1530, created at the workshop of the renowned sculptor Claus Berg.

The Archipelago Trail crosses the northern part of Vester Bregninge Mark, a gently hilly landscape. At the viewpoint Svendemosetippen, you will find a small “coffee spot.”

Along Old Roads and Parish Boundaries

Between Eskemosgård and Snorløkke, the trail follows an old sunken road, worn deep into the landscape over centuries.

The road appears on land‑division maps from 1775 but is likely older. It runs between steep fields sloping toward the coast and the flatter land rising toward Skovby. At Stærmose, notice the fine stone wall marking the old parish boundary between Bregninge and Søby.

The mill visible to the northwest is Vester Mølle.

Søbygaard Manor

The many grand manor estates found on Funen and Langeland are absent on Ærø, partly because Ærø lay far from the main political centres and was, until 1864, part of the Duchy of Schleswig.

The owners of Ærø lived in Schleswig and built administrative estates on Ærø to assert ownership, while their grand residences were located elsewhere, such as Augustenborg Castle on Als.

Søbygaard and Søby Volde are must‑see sites along the Archipelago Trail. You approach Søbygaard from the west, toward the ramparts. Tickets are sold in a small kiosk at the site.

Søbygaard was built by Duke Hans the Younger (1545–1622). He received Ærø and Als as a life tenancy from his brother, King Frederik II, in 1579, giving him rights to all the land—while the island’s farmers became his tenants.

The main building stood on a stone‑reinforced mound in a lake, connected by a drawbridge. Farm buildings lay to the north.

A local tale claims Søbygaard is haunted by the White Lady, who becomes displeased if not greeted politely. One story tells of a mason pushed down the cellar stairs for forgetting to say “Good morning, Madam!”

Duke Hans was energetic: he founded Gråsten Estate in 1570, Gudsgave Manor near Marstal in 1600, and modernised farming on Ærø.
He introduced Holstein field rotation (kobbelbrug), dividing land into fenced blocks cultivated in rotation. Farmers had to perform labour service at Søbygaard to keep their tenancies.

After the duke’s death in 1622, 11 dukes and one king owned Søbygaard until 1771, when Ærø’s farms were redistributed and Søbygaard’s land divided.

The lake surrounding the manor was drained in the late 1700s to create farmland, and the current main building dates from that period. Only the original vaulted cellars remain from Duke Hans’ time.

After 25 years of restoration, Søbygaard’s former grandeur is visible again. The restored farm buildings now host summer art exhibitions, lectures, and classical concerts in the Havsteen‑Mikkelsen Hall, named after the Ærø artist Sven Havsteen‑Mikkelsen.

A new lake and moat have been re‑established, and since 2014 the manor has been heated by a lake‑source heat pump.

The main building houses rotating exhibitions, and a footpath circles the lake.

Kys Frøen

At Søbygaard you’ll find the Kys Frøen nature activity centre—an excellent place for families wishing to explore the outdoors with inspiration and equipment.

Søby Volde

Adjacent to Søbygaard lies Søby Volde, the remains of a large early‑medieval fortification built in the early 1100s. The ramparts rise 38 metres high—built entirely by hand.

The location atop a steep hill made it a strong defensive site against the Wends, who occasionally raided these coasts.

Below the fortress lay a harbour area with dwellings, ship carpenters, blacksmiths and bone workers. At that time, Vitsø Nor was a navigable inlet, allowing ships to sail far inland.

The harbour area was protected from wind and waves by the Vorbjerg peninsula to the south.

Around 1250, the settlement was moved—houses and belongings included—to Wisby, the forerunner of today’s Ærøskøbing.

Vitsø Nor

The trail continues through Vitsø Nor. On the descent from Søby Volde you pass a memorial stone marked 1964, commemorating the final drainage of the area—an eventful process.

Originally a shallow inlet, Vitsø Nor was first targeted for drainage in 1773. A post mill powered an Archimedes screw to pump water out. A perimeter channel was dug to capture runoff.
By 1788, one‑tenth of the area was dry.
A new Dutch windmill replaced the post mill in 1838, and by 1847 a third was dry. Local farmers then built a sea dike in 1868–69, drying even more land.

The catastrophic 1872 storm surge flooded the nor again. Repairs came in 1875, and in 1964 an electric pump station finally drained Vitsø Nor completely.

Vitsø Nor Under Water Again

In 2009, Aage V. Jensen Nature Foundation acquired the area and restored it as a wetland in collaboration with the Nature Agency.

The lake (52 ha) and surrounding meadows (60 ha) act as a natural nitrogen filter, reducing outflow to the Little Belt by 15 tonnes annually.
Three bird islands support several breeding species, and connections to the nature areas Søby Måe and Gydemade improve the spread of rare plants.

A leaflet on Vitsø Nor and Søbygaard is available from Ærøskøbing Tourist Office.

The Windmill at Vitsø Nor

A detour leads to the old Dutch windmill by the coast. The area is marked by raised beach ridges used for gravel extraction, creating a landscape of ponds, reed islands and scrub—excellent habitat for birds.

The mill is protected but decaying. Nearby lie remains of one wooden sail and two of the Archimedes screws once used to pump water. They operated until 1937.

Låddenbjerg Plantation

South of Søby, two small distinctive houses mark the entrance to Låddenbjerg Plantation, likely the oldest forest on Ærø.

Søby

Søby is a pleasant town with winding streets. The small, bright church has two ship models hanging from the ceiling.
A stroll through the harbour reveals Søby Shipyard, the island’s largest workplace.

The town offers several options for provisions and also has a primitive campsite.

A recommended detour is the 6‑km walk west to Skjoldnæs Lighthouse, past one of Denmark’s most scenic golf courses.

Ferries connect Søby to Fynshav on Als and Faaborg on Funen.
From the ferry you have views toward Avernakø, Bjørnø, Lyø, Knolden and Dyreborg.

The electric ferry Ellen, launched in 2019, was the world’s first 100% electric ferry replacing a diesel vessel on a regional route.