Rebild National Park (Danish: ''Rebild Bakker'') is a protected area located in Rebild municipality in Region Nordjylland in Denmark. The park comprises a hilly

heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

south of the small town of Rebild, situated in the geographic region of the Himmerland on the peninsula of

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

. The forest of Rold Skov surrounds the hills on three sides, but the heathland is to be protected in its natural state. The Rebild Festival is held in the national park every 4 July. Rebild National Park is not included in the Danish National Park laws of 2007, but the heath is still to be protected and it can use the name National Park nonetheless. The park is one of two original national parks in Denmark, the other one being 'National Park Dybbøl Skanser' from 1924, now called 'Historiecenter Dybbøl Banke' (English: Dybbøl Banke Museum and History Centre). Rebild Bakker houses a number of museums.

History

The

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

s of Rebild Hills (Danish: ''Rebild Bakker'') was previously owned and used by the local peasants as

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Types of pasture Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...

s for their cattle, but it was bought up in the year 1911 and presented as a gift to the state of Denmark, to be administered on certain conditions (stipulations). The founder of the Rebild National Park was Dr. Max Henius, a Danish-American who emigrated to the United States in 1881 and settled in Chicago. In 1911, almost of the hilly countryside were bought with funds raised by Danish Americans. One of the Chicago-based Danish Americans included Jens Peder Poulsen Fuglsang, born in Virring Denmark in 1871. In 1912, Max Henius (accompanied by Fuglsang, whose name in Danish means "birdsong") presented the deed to the land to his Majesty King Christian X as a permanent memorial to Danish Americans. Sadly, Fuglsang died at sea aboard the ocean liner SS ''Oscar II'' on his return trip to America in August 1912. Later the Danish government added to the land, that now features a beautiful natural park. The first Rebild Festival took place in 1912, when King Christian X spoke to a crowd of 10,000. The day has been celebrated every year since then, with the exception of the periods during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. American sculptor Georg J. Lober created an emblem for the Danish National Park in Rebild in 1912 and also made a bronze relief of U.S. president

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

located in Rebild Park. In 1925, Mindeparken was inaugurated in the city of

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

by King Christian X and it was planned to celebrate the Danish-American gatherings as well as visiting Danish citizens living abroad there. As the Rebild Festival gained momentum, Mindeparken was dropped and used for other purposes.

Stipulations

The park was given to the Danish state, as a present with three conditions: *That the area should remain in a natural state *That it would be open to the public *That Danish-Americans could celebrate American holidays at the park.

Current activities

Rebild National Park is the site of what is commonly believed to be the largest annual

4th of July Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

celebration held outside the United States. Since 1912, The Rebild National Park Society Inc., a Danish-American friendship organization, has held a 4 July weekend festival that serves as a homecoming for Danish-Americans. This has helped make Rebild Park one of Denmark's major tourist attractions. The Rebild Festival traditionally features the hoisting of the U.S. and Danish flags while the two countries' national anthems echo in the surrounding hills. The annual

Fourth of July Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...

celebration was the subject of the television documentary ''Rebildfest 1990'', which featured actor Richard Chamberlain.''Rebildfest 1990'' (IMDb.com, Inc)
/ref> Rebild National Park also houses an annual

Christmas market A Christmas market is a street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of Advent. These markets originated in Germany, but are now held in many countries. Some in the U.S. have Phono-semantic matching, adapted ...

Advent Sunday Advent Sunday, also called the First Sunday of Advent or First Advent Sunday, is the first day of the liturgical year in the Western Christian Churches and the start of the Christian season of Advent; a time of preparation for the celebration of ...

with around 5,000 visitors.

References

Other Sources

Rebild Bakker Himmerland
Danish Nature Agency.

Naturturist Nordjylland
VisitRebild

History

Stipulations

Current activities

References

Other Sources

External links