stayed in the area, and the parish kept active. The other parishes were hit hard, as well, and in 1690, there were dunes on the pastor's fields, more than 12 meters high.
Numerous attempts to stop the sand drift finally succeeded in the 19th century by planting trees and lyme grass. However, many low coastal areas between the former islands had already been covered with dunes. South of Hanstholm an area of ca 4000 hectars unique dune landscape has become a wildlife reservation, named Hansted Reservat.
In many places, where you have large areas with sand today, you find very good soil just beneath.
Hanstholm Lighthouse 1843
The lighthouse was initially built in 1842, but the construction was too weak, so it had to be torn down and rebuilt in 1843. It was the first lens-based lighthouse in Denmark. When it was electrified in 1889, it became the strongest lighthouse in Denmark, and still is today, even though the light intensity has been lowered today. In a period of its life, it was also the strongest lighthouse in the world. The lighthouse was automated in 1970, and in 1979 the buildings associated with the lighthouse were converted to a museum about the nature and history of the surrounding area.
From the top of the lighthouse, 65 meters above the ocean, you can see the entire area.
World War II
During the Second World War, the citizens of Hansted were removed and Europe's biggest fortress was built by the Germans in this area. Cannons were installed, that could shoot almost half the distance to Norway, in order to block allied entry into the Kattegat and thus the Baltic sea. Similar cannons were installed in Kristiansand in Norway. Thousands of bunkers were constructed in the area. After the war it was too dangerous to blow them away and the bunkers themselves were too solid to remove in other ways. Therefore, most bunkers are still remaining in the ground, and some can even be seen on beaches or in
