Thy (district)

Thy (IPA2|tʰy:ʔ, locally IPA| [tʰyʲkʲʰ] ) is a traditional district in northwestern Jutland, Denmark. It is situated north of the Limfjord, facing the North Sea and Skagerrak, and has a population of around 50,000. The main towns of Thy are Thisted, Hanstholm and Hurup.

Since the Danish municipal reform of 1 January 2007, Thy is roughly identical with Thisted municipality which belongs to the Region of North Jutland. The southernmost part of Thy, the peninsula Thyholm, belongs to Struer municipality in the Region of Central Jutland. Before the merger, Thy consisted of four municipalities: Hanstholm, Thisted, Sydthy and Thyholm.

Thy forms the western part of the North Jutlandic Island and borders Hanherred to the northeast with Vendsyssel even further northeast. South of the Limfjord is the island of Mors, considered a twin district of Thy, and Hardsyssel in western mainland Jutland. Thy is traditionally regarded part of northern and western Jutland alike. The dialect belongs to the West Jutlandic group.

Nature

Thy has a very varied landscape. In the north it is marked by flat coastal plains which were covered by sea in neolithic times, but fell dry because of the . These are interrupted with higher-lying plains that were islands in the neolithic sea. In the slopes that formed the coast in these times, high-lying limestone is often visible - hence the name of the Limfjord. The eastern stretch, facing the Limfjord, has quite fertile soil, is slightly hilly and dotted with small villages and farms like the landscape in most of rural Denmark. The landscape is marked by strong western winds, most trees bending eastwards.

The west coast has wide beaches and high dunes with Leymus grass and sea-buckthorn. Behind the dunes, there is heath with stretches of Calluna heather, Iceland moss, Cladonia, crowberry, bilberry, blueberry, cranberry and orchids including the unique "Dactylorhiza majalis subsp. calcifugiens". This is the result of huge sand drift in the 15th to 19th centuries which covered much formerly fertile land. The sand drift affected the whole west coast of Jutland, and some other parts of Denmark as well. Since Thy is exposed to winds from both the north and the west, even from the North Atlantic, the sand drift went the furthest inland in this area, as far as 18 km (11 miles). Parts of the sandy stretches have been turned into conifer woods. A line of lakes, believed to have been caused by the sand drift's blocking the outflow to the sea, mark the border between the western, sparsely populated sandy area and the eastern, fertile farmland.

The wetlands Vejlerne in the northeast are the largest bird sanctuary in Northern Europe. [ [http://www.thy.dk/ud_i_naturen/vejlerne/?&setlanguage=2 Vejlerne] ] Nearby is the bird cliff Bulbjerg.

National park

On 29 June 2007, the dune and heath landscape of Thy was officially selected to be the first national park in Denmark proper (national parks already exist in Greenland). Three other areas in Jutland, the Wadden Sea, the areas around Skjern river and the hills of Mols, will follow suit in the next couple of years [http://www.mim.dk/Nyheder/Pressemeddelelser/nationalparker_4.htm] , Danish Ministry of the Environment (in Danish)] . In total, seven outstanding areas are candidates for the status. [ [http://www.sns.dk/nationalparker/english.htm The Pilot Phase of National Parks in Denmark] , Danish Forest and Nature Agency] The governmental Forest and Nature Agency states::"Thy has a very great national and international significance. Not least so because of the many large dune and dune heath landscapes — from the lighthouse of Hanstholm to the isthmus of Agger — which are unique in a European context." [ [http://www.skovognatur.dk/Ud/Oplev/Nationalparker/Thy/ Welcome to the National Park of Thy] , Danish Forest and Nature Agency (in Danish)] The national park was officially opened on 22 August, 2008. The total area of the national park is 244 square km (94 square miles) [http://www.skovognatur.dk/Ud/Oplev/Nationalparker/Thy/] .

On 10 July 2007, a police officer from Hanstholm found a hermit in the state forest of Hjardemål Klit, one of the more deserted areas in the north of Thy. For three years, the middle-aged man from Zealand had been living in the primitive forest shelters of the district and made a living from collecting empty bottles. For the same period he had been missed by his parents, who thought he was dead, but he was now re-united with them on the initiative of the police officer. Forest workers told they were aware of the man's existence, particularly that he had left behind many eggshells at the shelters and seemingly was nourished on eggs, but since he didn't do any harm they had left him alone. [ [http://www.nordjyske.dk/index.aspx?page=2&action=SektionId%3D144&sender=239&target=240&data=Id%3D2427576%26TelegramType%3D3 Hermit re-united with parents] , Thisted Dagblad/Nordjyske, 11 July 2007 (in Danish)]

History

"Thy" is originally the same word as Old Norse "Þjóð" ("thioth"), meaning people. Thy is by some scholars thought to be the origin of the Teutons; ["Nudansk Ordbog", Politikens Forlag, 1986, ISBN 87-567-4462-5] Ptolemy placed the Teutons and the Cimbri at the northern end of Jutland on his ancient map.

Antiquity

In the stone age, probably before it got its later name, Thy exported fine flint present in the limestone. A Neolithic flint quarry has been restored at Hov east of Thisted. Thy was densely populated in the bronze age and has a great number of burial mounds.

Middle ages

In the viking age the area had vital trade links across the North Sea, being Christianised from England by Saint Theodgarus, unlike other parts of Denmark that were Christianised from the south. The former cathedral and monastery of Theodgarus in Vestervig is today the largest village church of Scandinavia. In 1085 Thy was the gatehead for King Canute the Holy's plans to retake England from William the Conqueror, with 1,000 ships gathered in the Limfjord until the expedition was cancelled and a peasant uprising broke out.

World War II

In the Second World War Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany. The German Wehrmacht built huge fortifications along the west coast of Jutland for fear that the allied invasion would take place here. The vast bunker complexes in Hanstholm have been restored and are open to the public.

Economy

Thy is still a mainly rural area, the traditional businesses of agriculture and fishery being more prevalent than in many other areas of Denmark.

Tourism

Tourism is a major business in summer, the coastal villages receiving many German tourists and smaller numbers of Norwegians, Swedes, Dutch and others. Although the coastal resorts have areas with individual holiday houses, they maintain a native population as well. The only major hotel-like holiday complex is at Vigsø Bugt east of Hanstholm. Thy has become a major destination for windsurfing.

Industry

There is some small and medium scale industry, with no single company exceeding 1,000 employees. These include wooden furniture ( "NJA" in Nors), prefab windows ("Ideal Combi" in Hurup) and "Sjørring Maskinfabrik" in Sjørring (subsupplier to Volvo and Scania). The harbour of Hanstholm with related ferries and fish processing industries employ about 2-3000 people. Most major employers are based in Thisted: "Cimbria" (combine harvesters and grain dryers), "Coloplast" (medical plastic products), "Oticon" (hearing aids), and "HM Automatic/Thy El-Teknik" (industrial electrical systems). Food industry includes "Tican" (meat processing/slaughterhouse), "Dragsbæk Maltfabrik" (malt), "Dragsbæk Margarinefabrik" (margarine), and "Mejerigaarden/Polar Is" (one of Denmark's largest ice cream manufacturers), all in Thisted. "Thisted Bryghus" was the first Danish brewery to introduce ecological beer and has a growing sale of its many speciality beer types. [ [http://www.baja-thisted.dk/DK_dansk_sproget/erhverv/Virksomheder.htm baja-thisted.dk] (in Danish)]

Education

Secondary education includes the gymnasium and "EUC Nordvest" of Thisted. The latter offers technical and mercantile secondary education as well as a Market Economist programme. The School of Nursing in Thisted is the only other higher educational institution in the area. Many youths leave the area for major centres of higher education such as Ålborg and Århus, and only a few of them return to Thy after finishing their education.

The Nordic Folk Centre for Renewable Energy at Hurup is internationally known for its research in wave energy and small-scale windmills for developing countries.

Infrastructure

With its position in the northwestern corner of Jutland, Thy is far from the greater traffic corridors. There is, however, some international transit traffic due to the ferry lines from Hanstholm harbour to Western Norway and the North Atlantic.

Roads

*National route 26, in part a 2+1 road, goes from the harbour of Hanstholm diagonally across Jutland to Viborg (route 13) and Århus (motorway and European route E45).
*National route 11 passes through Thy from north to south on its way from Aalborg down to the German border at Tønder.
*National route 29 goes from Hanstholm eastwards to the E45 motorway at Hobro.
*Secondary national route 181 is part of the Green Coastal Road, a scenic route along the North Sea from Norway to Belgium. In Thy it offers some of the straightest road in Denmark, set in a vast dune and heath landscape along the coast.

Bridges

* Oddesund (southwards to western Jutland, carries national route 11 and railway)
* Vilsund (eastwards to the island of Mors and from there onwards to central Jutland, national route 26)

Railways

* Thisted-Struer, local trains operated by Arriva as well as two daily Intercity trains to Copenhagen

A railway from Thisted to Aalborg via Fjerritslev existed from 1904 to 1969.

Ferries

To Norway:
* Hanstholm-Egersund/Haugesund/Bergen (Fjord Line)
* Hanstholm-Kristiansand (Fjord Line, with the world's fastest passenger vessel Fjord Cat)

To the Shetland Islands, Faroe Islands and Iceland:
* Hanstholm-Lerwick-Tórshavn-Seyðisfjörður (also calling at Bergen, Norway), Smyril Line

Small internal ferries on the Limfjord:
* Agger-Thyborøn (connecting the two sand spits at the western mouth of the Limfjord, on route 181)
* Neessund (to Mors)
* Feggesund (strictly speaking from Hanherred to Mors)

Airports

* Thisted Airport, currently no scheduled traffic

The closest airports with scheduled flights are Aalborg Airport and Karup Airport.

See also

*Traditional districts of Denmark

References

External links

* [http://www.thy.dk Official tourist information]
* [http://www.thyweb.dk Thyweb] , local events, news and information (Danish and German)