Prehistoric
Several excavations have shown, that Hanstholm area was inhabited by farmers 1000 B.C.
Teutons
In the year 120 B.C., teutons inhabited the area, but left in a big exodus, together with the Cimbri, towards the south, where they encountered the Romans.
Age of the Vikings
In the years 800 to 1050, Hanstholm and the area around it were islands, and nearby was the gathering point for the Vikings for their invasions of England and France.
First Christianity
According to the legend, the first Christian church in the Thy area was built in 1040 in Vestervig, where Christian priests coming from England entered Denmark. A big monastery was later built here and this was the beginning to the end of the Viking era.
The churches in Ræhr, Hansted and Vigsø were built in the 12th century i Roman style, and on Hansted church, one of the stones shows the picture of a trading vessel. This trading vessel has been used as model for the arms of the former Hanstholm municipality.
Norwegian trade
From approximately 1600 to approximately 1850, people from the area of Hanstholm traded a lot with Norway, which was a part of Denmark at that time, with special boats across Skagerrak. They exported food, mostly grain, and imported logs. There were no trees in the whole area, so wood was hard needed. The primary harbors for this trade were Vigsø and Klitmøller, the latter because they had water mills to produce flour.
For this trade, special ships were designed, named "sandskuder", meaning sand boats. They were able to sail directly onto the beach and were designed for transport of grain, flour and logs.
Sand drift
A lot of sand began to drift from the west coast towards east in the 14th century. In 1555, the sand drift had damaged a large area of Vigsø parish, and the local pastor suggested to abandon the parish and the church. However, people
