Thagaards Plantation

The keeper's house

The sheep that grazed on the dune were also a threat to the tiny plants in the trial plantation, and therefore in 1817 a keeper was employed to look after the plantation. He lived in the Tvorup Skovhus house, which was built for this purpose. The house was located south of Thagaards Plantation.

When the plantation was abandoned, the house was sold. The house was demolished in the late 1800s, but not all building remnants were removed. The site was dug out in 2005, and today you can still see the foundation stones from the walls and remnants of the fireplace that show what the house was like.

Small restaurant

On the other side of the road Kystvejen lies a small brick building. The building, which is occasionally used as a hunting lodge, was a small restaurant in its heyday. The building is from the 1890s, and was the home of the plantation-keeper, who also served meals for visitors in the area. Kystvejen had not yet been laid out at that time, and trips to the sea went down long, winding roads through the relatively newly laid dune plantations. When visiting Bøgsted Rende, people welcomed a drink at the house of the keeper and his wife. This ended in the 1950s, and in 1957-1961 the house was the home of the painter, Gunnar Funck, who painted pictures of the dune landscapes.

The plantation

The plantation, which was named after the sand drift commissioner Lauritz Thagaard, was one of the seven trial plantations in Thy laid out in 1816 to »raise forest«. Here trials were carried out with sowing and planting small trees. Common spruce, birch, alder, Scotch pine, European aspen and willow were among the species used in the trials, and there were attempts to shield the plants against the harsh climate using dykes and ditches. This work was carried out by unpaid peasants from all over Thy. Despite persistent efforts, the plantations were not very successful. The small trees were exposed to wind, drying out and frost, and often it was necessary to supplement with new plantings. For around 20 years, none of the trees reached a height taller than the shielding dykes, and in a resolution in 1842, it was decided that it would be futile to continue the trials. The areas were abandoned, but some of the trees have been hardy enough to survive and today they stand as remnants from the pioneer period of sand-drift prevention.

As the almost 200-year-old trees are vulnerable, climbing the trees is not allowed.