Skarø () is a Danish

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

south of

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

. The island covers an area of and has 26 inhabitants. It is one of the smallest islands in the

South Funen Archipelago The South Funen Archipelago () is the popular name for the part of the Baltic Sea south of the ports of Faaborg and Svendborg on the Danish island of Funen. The depth of the sea is typically between 20 and 30 meters. The archipelago includes s ...

. Skarø was historically located within the Parish of Drejø. Today it is part of

Svendborg Municipality Svendborg Municipality () is a ''Municipalities of Denmark, kommune'' in the Region of Southern Denmark on the southeast coast of the island of Funen, as well as on the islands of Drejø, Hjortø, Skarø, Thurø, and Tåsinge off Funen's southeast ...

within the

Region of Southern Denmark The Region of Southern Denmark (, ; , ; ) is an administrative region of Denmark established on Monday 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which abolished the traditional counties ("amter") and set up five larger regions ...

. The island can be reached by

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

from

Svendborg Svendborg () is a town on the island of Funen in south-central Denmark, and the seat of Svendborg Municipality. With a population of 27,616 (1 January 2025), Svendborg is Funen's second largest city.Drejø Drejø () is a Danish island south of Funen with 65 inhabitants, located in Svendborg municipality. The island covers an area of , and is long and wide at its widest. A ferry travels between Svendborg, Skarø Skarø () is a Denmark, Danish ...

. It is a popular tourist destination and its largest business, ''Skarø Is'', sells

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

globally.

History

The first known reference to the island in historical records was made during the 13th century in

Valdemar II Valdemar II Valdemarsen (28 June 1170 – 28 March 1241), later remembered as Valdemar the Victorious () and Valdemar the Conqueror, was King of Denmark from 1202 until his death in 1241. In 1207, Valdemar invaded and conquered Lybeck and Hol ...

Danish Census Book The Danish Census Book or the Danish book of land taxation (, ) dates from the 13th century and consists of a number of separate manuscripts. The original manuscripts are now housed in the Danish National Archives (''Rigsarkivet'') in Copenhage ...

. Although there is evidence of human presence on the island from the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

, the book describes it as uninhabited and wild at the time. Initially spelled ''Skaarø'', the island's name likely originates from the word ''skar'', meaning edge, referring to the jagged shapes of the island's coast. In 1555, the island was made part of Drejø Parish (Danish: ''Drejø Sogn'') along with

Hjortø Hjortø is a Danish island south of Funen. The island covers an area of 0.9 km2 and has 7 inhabitants as of 2020. The island can be reached by ferry from Svendborg Svendborg () is a town on the island of Funen in south-central Denmark, ...

and Birkholm. In 1570, there were just six farms on Skarø. In 1893, residents of the island put forth a proposal to the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...

requesting a funding for the construction of a church and cemetery. At that point in time, they had to sail to

Drejø Drejø () is a Danish island south of Funen with 65 inhabitants, located in Svendborg municipality. The island covers an area of , and is long and wide at its widest. A ferry travels between Svendborg, Skarø Skarø () is a Denmark, Danish ...

to attend church services. The ministry initially approved the request in 1894, but it was not until 1898 that construction began following designs by architect

Niels Jacobsen Niels Jacobsen (14 September 1865 - 31 January 1935) was a Danish architect and politician who worked primarily in Odense. Biography Born in Aabenraa, Jacobsen was the son of shipbuilder Niels Jacobsen and Marie Kjaer. Jacobsen initially trained ...

. Skarø church was completed in the spring of 1900. It lies on the southwestern part of the island, less than a kilometer from the village, from which it has uninterrupted views of the sea on three sides. As its pastor does not live on the island, church services are held only once a month. In 1908, a

harbor A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be moored. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...

was constructed on the island and regular

service began shortly thereafter. The island reached is greatest population at the turn of the 20th century, before declining. The population is now considered to be stable. In 1944, during the

German occupation of Denmark At the outset of World War II in September 1939, Denmark declared itself neutral, but that neutrality did not prevent Nazi Germany from occupying the country soon after the outbreak of war; the occupation lasted until Germany's defeat. The ...

, a British

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

plane crash landed on Skarø while on route to Berlin. Because the island is relatively remote, the residents were able to hide the eight survivors from occupying forces. The two fatalities of the crash were buried by the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

at the island's cemetery. After the war, residents of the island funded and dedicated a memorial to the two airmen who had died in the crash.

Geography

The landscape of the island was formed by the last ice age and is the result of a glacial

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...

. Around 6000

BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the o ...

, the level of the

Littorina Sea Littorina Sea (also Litorina Sea) is a geological brackish water stage of the Baltic Sea, which existed around 8500–4000 Before Present, BP and followed the Mastogloia Sea (initial Littorina Sea), a transitional stage from the Ancylus Lake. ...

rose, separating the land from Drejø and

Tåsinge Tåsinge () is a Danish island immediately south of Funen, opposite and facing Svendborg, divided from Funen by Svendborgsund.See detailed Denmark roadmap in References section. The island covers an area of circa . It is part of the South Funen ...

and turning Skarø into an independent island. Today, the majority of the island's landscape is flat and consists of nutrient-rich clay soil which creates ideal agricultural conditions. There are smaller

salt marshes A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open Seawater, saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the ti ...

and

headlands A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, John ...

, particularly on the western coast which is lined with low cliffs. The islands most distinctive geographic feature, Skarø Odde, is a narrow headland that extends 900 meters to form the northern tip of the island. Skarø Odde has been part of the South Funen Wildlife Reserve since 1996, as it is an important breeding ground for

migratory birds Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and mortality. The ...

. The highest point on the island, "Vesterbjerg", lies approximately 9 meters above sea level and is composed of glacial meltwater sand. The island's village is located near its geographic center, from which agricultural plots radiate outwards. It is approximately 3 meters

AMSL Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level v ...

. Because of the island's low elevation, it is vulnerable to

storm surges A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...

and

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant concern in agriculture, civi ...

. It has been particularly devastated in the past by the

1872 Baltic Sea flood The 1872 Baltic Sea flood (), often referred to as a storm flood, ravaged the Baltic Sea coast from Denmark to Pomerania, also affecting Sweden, during the night between 12 and 13 November 1872 and was, until then, the worst storm surge in the Ba ...

and

Storm Babet Storm Babet (known as Storm Viktor in Germany) was an intense extratropical cyclone which affected large parts of northern and western Europe. The second named storm of the 2023–24 European windstorm season, Babet was named by the UK's Met Of ...

Tourism

Skarø is a popular tourist destination and many of its businesses are seasonal to accommodate summer visitors. The largest company on the island, ''Skarø Is'', is known for supplying ice cream to

Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines (abbreviation: SIA or SQ) is the flag carrier of Singapore with its Airline hub, hub located at Changi Airport. Considered to be one of the world's best carriers, the airline is ranked as a 5-star airline as well as ranked ...

since 2011. The ''SkarøFestival'' is held annually during the first weekend of August, and presents a line up of music performances. It has drawn from 1000 to 1500 visitors to the island since 1994.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skaro Islands of Denmark Geography of Funen Geography of Svendborg Municipality