Faxe Municipality: Chalk History, Nature and Cultural Heritage

Faxe Municipality combines geological insights with mills, parks and hiking trails. At Faxe Limestone Quarry, active limestone mining meets fossils and the history of the Earth; elsewhere, buildings and landscapes tell of other facets of the area.

Fossils and Geology at Faxe Limestone Quarry

Faxe Limestone Quarry is still active and offers insights into its operations. Visitors can reach the publicly accessible area via the path system by the hostel. Several spots near the Geomuseum lead to the edge of the quarry and to plateaus along the quarry wall. There is also a picnic area at the edge, with tables, benches and a fire pit.

At KALK, you can borrow a hammer and chisel and explore Faxe Limestone Quarry independently. A guided fossil excursion has a different focus: participants search for corals, snails, shark teeth and shells. The excursion covers about 2 to 2.5 kilometres; the ticket includes admission to the KALK Geological Museum. This means you can shape your visit around either exploring on your own or taking part in a guided search.

At KALK, the exhibition “Denmark’s Fossil Coral Reefs” explains the 63-million-year-old coral reef that formed the limestone beneath Faxe. A geological trail at Faxe Limestone Quarry explains its history at five stations. The exhibition and the trail present the history of the Earth in different ways: indoors through the reef, and outdoors along the interpretive stations.

Forest Views and Camp Adventure

Skovtårnet features a 3.2-kilometre elevated walkway through the forest. The observation platform is 140 metres above sea level. From there, the view stretches across forests and fields and, on a clear day, as far as Copenhagen and Malmö. Skovtårnet is accessible to wheelchairs and pushchairs.

Camp Adventure’s climbing park has twelve courses and more than 150 obstacles. It also includes a 500-metre zipline through the forest. There are two specially designed children’s courses for children aged three and over. Adults can support the children from the forest floor area without buying admission to the climbing park themselves. Forest Farm features flowers, a kitchen garden and a greenhouse, as well as goats, chickens and rabbits.

Gisselfeld: Renaissance and Parkland

Gisselfeld Kloster is one of Denmark’s oldest and best-preserved Renaissance castles. Peder Oxe founded it in its present form and had the castle built between 1547 and 1575. Parts of the main building are open to the public on guided tours.

Gisselfeld Park, covering about 40 hectares, is an English landscape garden with modern design influences; about half of its area consists of carp ponds. During the season, the park is open to the public for an admission fee, and opening dates may vary. Checking the dates before your visit can help with planning. The park hosts events several times a year, including cultural salons, Halloween and a Christmas market.

Gisselfeld’s forests also feature striking landscape formations: Svenskekløften is a named meltwater gorge. Cycling is permitted on paved paths in the private forests, but not on the forest floor. If you cycle there, this distinction is important when planning your route.

Hiking Trails, Coast and Nature

The municipality provides access to forests, the sea, lakes and beaches. Marked routes in Faxe Municipality include Sjællandsleden, a long-distance trail that follows the coast. Near Haslev, route information identifies shorter Heart Trails. The Faxe Ladeplads–Strandegård Dyrehave hiking route branches off from Sjællandsleden and leads from Faxe Ladeplads through the landscape of Zealand to Faxe and Faxe Limestone Quarry.

Another route, “Fed, fjord og fossiler” (“Coast, Fjord and Fossils”), passes Præstø Fjord, where visitors can watch breeding waterbirds. The municipality’s outdoor portal provides overviews of beaches, cycling and hiking routes, as well as outdoor accommodation options. This gives you both designated trails and information about different types of landscape to help plan your trip.

Mills, Museums and Local History

Blåbæk Møller consists of a watermill and a windmill; both were listed in 1959. Guided tours are available for groups of at least ten people. The exhibitions at the Øst Cultural Museum’s museum building in Faxe focus on local history and place it in a broader context. Andels Elmuseum displays historic household and electrical appliances, including televisions, record players, dynamo-powered torches and washing machines.

In Faxe Ladeplads, Miniby & Park depicts the town as it was around 1900, at a scale of 1:10. Visitors can see how the miniature houses are made in the workshop. Also in Faxe Ladeplads, Hylleholt Church combines historic architecture with modern church art and stands out for its distinctive spire.

At Troldhøje in Roholte, near Strandegårds Dyrehave, burial mounds covered with beech and oak trees stand beside a Neolithic long dolmen. The mounds offer views across Faxe Bay. Here, a specific archaeological monument meets a wide-ranging landscape view.

Discover more destinations: Rønnede, Fakse, Mosebølle, Faxe Ladeplads, Leestrup Strand, Haslev, Karise.

Discover more destinations: Greve Municipality.

Back to the main travel overview: Zealand.