Egebaksande and Sjørring Lake

Egebaksande and Rosvang farms

In the northern part of Thy National Park you will pass the two large lakes Nors Lake (23) and Vandet Lake (22). South of these lakes was once another lake: Sjørring Lake. The 850-hectare and 8-kilometre-long lake stretched between the villages of Tvorup, Jannerup, Hundborg and Sjørring. Today, the lake has been transformed into green fields, but the Egebaksande farm on the outskirts of Tvorup dune plantation is a clear relic from the enormous excavation work that led to the drainage.

Originally, Captain Christian Jagd entered the project as a contractor and he had no interest in farming. However, the land proved to be difficult to sell, so he had to farm the land himself. As this was new land, there were no farms, but he found a remedy for this too. In 1862, Captain Jagd built the Egebaksande farm and moved into the house. From here he farmed the 850-hectares of agricultural land. In the following years, the large Rosvang farm was also built and included in the main farm. The milk from the cattle which grazed on the fertile grazing land on the dry lake bed was processed at Rosvang's dairy.

This large complex of land, buildings and canal systems was primarily established for borrowed capital, and when Captain Jagd could no longer finance the project, the property was divided between Captain Jagd and his creditors in 1865, after which Captain Jagd left the area.

Rosvang and Egebaksande have since been among the largest farms in Thy. However, modern agriculture has led to the land being taken over, and today Egebaksande is uninhabited. The farm has a characteristic and grandiose expression that bears witness to the ambition and the industry that marked the period around 1860.

Birds in the dried up Sjørring Lake

When the crops have been harvested in August - September, you can see thousands of geese searching for food in the stubble fields. These are birds that have left their breeding area further north, and are stopping over to fill up before they begin their onwards journey to their winter quarters. When the invasion of geese peaks, they can count 5-10,000 greylag geese, 5-10,000 pink-footed geese and up to 1,000 bean geese. After foraging, the geese make beautiful patterns on the evening sky as they search for a place to stay for the night in Hanstholm Nature Reserve and in Ålvand dune heath. In mild winters, the air around Egebaksande farm echoes from the songs of the many whooper swans.

Land reclamation

Parallel to sand drift prevention and the establishment of dune heaths and dune plantations, another type of land reclamation was going on in Thy. In 1858-1862, comprehensive and successful draining of Sjørring Lake was initiated. Captain Christian Jagd, MP was the man behind this work. Captain Jagd came to Thy in 1857. Here he met the landowners around Sjørring Lake, and they began to collaborate on the draining process. The earthworks were the largest ever in connection with draining a lake. While the digging went on in 1859, at least a couple of hundred men had permanent employment. In 1862, cultivation of the lake area could begin.