Tvorup Klitplantage

Tvorup Church was built in the late 12th century as a typical Romanesque village church, constructed from hewn granite ashlar stones and featuring an apse, choir, and nave. At that time, the parish's settlement likely consisted of farms and villages surrounded by fields. Around 1500, sand drift started affecting the area, making it increasingly difficult to cultivate the land and sustain an economic foundation for the parish. In the mid-18th century, sources report that the parish was almost depopulated, and one could drive across the sand-covered churchyard. The gate was blocked by sand. In 1794, it was decided to merge the parish with Vang Parish. The church was demolished, and permission was granted to reuse the building materials at Vang Church, which, among other things, received a new porch. The chandelier from Tvorup is now hanging in Vang Church.

The ruins of Tvorup Church are a peaceful place that is definitely worth a visit. Granite stones and remnants of the mortar-filled wall cores outline the church's shape, and the former churchyard is grassy and surrounded by the remnants of the old churchyard wall. The forest that encircles the ruins was planted to halt sand drift, making it the latest chapter in the story of landscape transformation.

Tvorup Hul (Tvorup Hole) is situated in a depression in the former dune landscape, on the edge of the plantation and just west of the church ruins. The lake, with its simple local name, is referred to as Tvorup Western Lake in the conservation declaration and on old maps. Originally, it was a fine, low-lying lake covering a vast 60 hectares, but due to plantation operations, the lake was drained. Today, it covers only 4 hectares, and the planted coniferous forests produce humus substances that have altered the lake from being clearwater to having brownish water, which shades away the lake's bottom plants. The very rare Syllad has thus completely disappeared from the lake.

In National Park Thy, we are working to restore Tvorup Hul to its original size and natural quality.

Concurrently with the efforts to combat sand drift and the establishment of dune heaths and dune plantations, another type of land reclamation took place in Thy. In 1858-1862, a large-scale and successful drainage of Lake Sjørring was initiated. Lake Sjørring covered an area of 850 hectares and stretched up to 8 kilometers in length, situated between the villages of Tvorup, Jannerup, Hundborg, and Sjørring.

Captain and Member of Parliament Chr. Jagd led the project. Jagd arrived in Thy in 1857, where he met the landowners around Lake Sjørring. They collaborated on the drainage project, which became the largest of its kind in Denmark. During the excavation work in 1859, at least a few hundred men were employed. In 1862, cultivation of the reclaimed lakebed began.

The fields on the drained lakebed still extend over the area just east of Tvorup Plantation, near Egebaksande Farm. When the corn and maize are harvested in August-September, you can witness thousands of geese foraging in the stubble fields. These birds stop here to refuel on their way from their breeding areas further north to their winter quarters. During the peak of the goose invasion, you can count 5,000-10,000 greylag geese, 5,000-10,000 barnacle geese, and up to 1,000 white-fronted geese. After their daily foraging, the geese form long wedges in the evening sky as they seek nighttime resting places in the Hanstholm Game Reserve and the Ålvand Dune Heath. In mild winters, the air around Egebaksande often resounds with the songs of several hundred whooper swans. You can also frequently spot migrating or overwintering cranes here.

Captain Chr. Jagd, who had entered the project for the drainage of Lake Sjørring as a contractor, did not have any interest in farming himself. However, when it proved difficult to sell the land, he had to take on the farming himself. Since it was new land, there were no existing farms, but this issue was resolved. In 1862, Jagd built Egebaksande Farm, where he moved in and managed the operation of the 850 hectares of drained farmland. In the following years, the large Rosvang Farm was also constructed and brought into operation. The milk from the cattle that grazed on the fertile pastures on the drained lakebed was processed at Rosvang's dairy.

This extensive complex of land, buildings, and canal systems was primarily established with borrowed capital. When Jagd could no longer secure financing for the project, the entire property was divided between Jagd and the creditors in 1865. In 1870, Egebaksande was sold to the later Minister of Culture, Jacob Scavenius, for 200,000 rigsdalers.

Rosvang and Egebaksande have since been among the largest farms in Thy. Modern agricultural structures have led to the acquisition of the land, and Egebaksande is currently uninhabited. The farm has a distinctive and grandiose appearance, clearly reflecting the ambitions and entrepreneurial spirit of the period around 1860. Egebaksande burned down in 2022, and there is no public access to the property.