Tour 3: Geology, antiquity, and coffee at the castle
Explore the geology of Klintholm Limestone Quarry. The lime pit provides a dizzying glimpse of the earth's past. A past where Denmark was covered by shark-infested seas, and volcanoes and earthquakes turned the tropical ocean into an icy polar sea.
About halfway between Svendborg and Nyborg lies Klintholm Kalkgrav, an international geosite where lime was extracted for agricultural use between 1935 and 1973. What makes the limestone quarries so remarkable in this area is that you can clearly see the transition between the Danian and Selandian time periods. This transition is only visible in a few places in the world. There are walking trails that lead you around the area to collect fossils, and on warm days in the early summer you might hear the beautiful croaking of the bell frog.
Then, head to the Broholm Estate for coffee and cake and an unusually large collection of artefacts, including some incredible examples of tools from Denmark’s different stone age periods.
We find another essential stop at The Lady Stone; Denmark's largest land stone. The stone was once part of the bedrock in present day Sweden, but it was dislodged by the inland ice and transported here by a glacier during the last ice age.
Time required
At least 3 hours
Recommended means of transport
Car or bike - the length of the tour is approximately 50 km round trip to Svendborg. Get directions with Google maps
Special notes
Visitors to Klintholm Kalkgrave are asked not to damage the geological profile by climbing, digging and hammering. You can collect fossils in the nearby limestone piles in the grassy area above the profile.