About Vejrø

The history of Vejrø can be traced back to the Stone Age. The first known owner of the island appears in the annals in the 13th century. It was none other than King Valdemar II, better known as Valdemar the Victorious - the king who, with God's help, brought the Dannebrog home from Estonia. After the great king's death, Vejrø was owned by a number of other kings and later counts.

Vejrø appears in Valdemar Sejr's Jordebog. Here, the island is listed as a royal hunting ground with "Hus", i.e. hunting house. It doesn't seem very likely that Valdemar - or, for that matter, subsequent kings - practiced the royal sport on Vejrø, but the entry in the Jordebok at least indicates that Vejrø was royal property.

In the 15th century, the island was a notorious pirate shelter - at a time when piracy was an almost common profession

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Vejrø probably had its first permanent residents in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, in accordance with society's laws and natural conditions.
Interestingly, these people did not come from Lolland or the other islands in the Småland waters, but from Ærø and Langeland - it was the Klausen family who immigrated from Langeland.
Vejrø welcomed the new residents with a huge task. The island has been overgrown, and everywhere the ground has been strewn with stones of all sizes - both on the surface and immediately below.

An elderly man over 60 years old and of good family chose to settle on Vejrø. He bought the island's largest farm on April 17, 1830 at a forced auction for 1,010 rigsdaler and decided to tear it down to build a new and impressive four-winged farmstead just southwest of what was known as the town.
The man's name was Andreas Christian Kastrup and he bore the distinguished title of "His Royal Majesty's Real War Assessor", presumably a lawyer who was part of a court martial.
He had come from Langeland, where his family had real estate, and when his project on Vejrø came to fruition, he borrowed money from his brothers to import building materials from his home region. From this, the impressive farmhouse was built and stood as the pride of the island for several generations.
In 1840, War Assessor Kastrup left for the eternal battlefields, and several children from the island bore his family name in the time that followed.

The beautiful hexagonal white lighthouse dates back to 1846 and replaced a coal lighthouse that was only lit by residents when they could see ships passing through the waters. It was automated in the 1970s and in 1977 the lighthouse keeper's widow left the lighthouse houses, which had previously been home to three families. The lighthouse is an angled beacon, with different colored glass to signal if the course is correct.

In 1883, a school was established with the first headmistress, Oline Bendix. The school had classes up to 7th grade with varying numbers of children. The school closed in 1966 due to too few children, with Mrs. Hansen as the final headmistress. However, the school was just in time to see electric lights installed so that students could see in the dark.
When the school closed in 1966, the residents still did not have the means to build a church, but devotions in the school hall, led by the Fejø priest, were acceptable, and confirmation preparations were also carried out - albeit under peculiar circumstances. The local teacher was probably in charge of religious education, but they had to go to the priest anyway. The children therefore had to row the long way from Vejrø to Fejø.

The cemetery on Vejrø was built in the late 1800s by the residents of Vejrø themselves. Due to depopulation in the 1960s, the remaining residents chose to transfer the cemetery to the Fejø parish council in exchange for the parish council making a trip to Vejrø once a year to maintain the cemetery. However, it was officially closed on July 15, 1983. Fejø Parish Council still maintains the cemetery to this day, but it is considered an island cemetery, which means that it does not have to be maintained like other cemeteries - but also that it cannot be closed down or removed.

By 1909, the island community was clearly developing, with a school, cemetery, lighthouse and the latest addition: a cooperative dairy.

Ejner was only 11 months old when his parents bought Blæsenborg in 1918.
Ejner was the youngest of 4 children and was the only one who wanted to stay on Vejrø. That's why he took over Blæsenborg from his father.
The 76 acres of land, along with cows and horses, became a source of income that made it possible for Ejner and Astrid to live on Vejrø.
Ejner and Astrid had 13 dairy cows, which produced a lot of milk that couldn't be brought from the island - so they used it to fatten calves. They fermented the cream, and then Astrid made butter. 14 pounds she sometimes churned.
Every day while they lived on Vejrø, there was a mail boat that also brought supplies to the island. But when winter set in, the ice took hold of the island and completely isolated the residents from the outside world! You'd think this would get the residents running around screaming - but on the contrary, they were having a great time.
"We had such lovely parties," Astrid remembers. "We had many, and they lasted several days."

The Klausen family lives on the oldest farm, Nygaard. Well over half of the graves in the small cemetery have stones bearing the name "Klausen".
In addition to Nygaard, owned by Morten Klausen, there are three other farms on the island:
"Jacobsminde", owned by Birger Jønsson,
"Blæsenborg", owned by Amandus Madsen,
"Lundegaard", owned by Niels Iversen.
In addition, there are some smaller houses, as well as school and lighthouse staff housing.
In total, 14 families with around 50 family members live on the island. Just a few years ago, the number was 80, but the island is slowly depopulating.
There is not enough money to keep foreign help - and it is hard to get. The island lacks a community center, a cinema and a village.

Valdemar Nielsen is one of the hard men on Vejrø. He is paid by the postal service and is the only link the 14 families on Vejrø have to the outside world.
If a resident falls ill, they have to use the merchant's telephone, which is shared with the lighthouse, and call Maribo for an ambulance or Fejø for a doctor.

In 1946, there were 14 families living around Vejrø. Among them was a four-long farm called 'Valodia'. People on the island laughed at the owner for buying a farm on a small island. After he had renovated the farm and made it nice, he named it Valodia (what were they laughing at).

Nygaard was taken over by tobacco manufacturer E. Nobel from Nykøbing Falster. He owned the entire island and sold it in the 1970s to a contractor who built the large marina where a small bridge used to be one of the islanders' options for dry landings.

The grocery store, telegraph, dairy and school were closed as there were only 2 children left.

The last lighthouse keeper left Vejrø.

Nygaard's four timber-framed buildings burn to the ground.
When Nygaard burned down, Vejrø was visited by 25 hunting guests. Most of them had already gone to bed, but 4-5 of them sat back and had a game of cards. Suddenly, one of them noticed a flickering light in a window facing the courtyard. Those present went to the window to see what was going on, and they immediately noticed that there was a fierce fire in the opposite wing, where there was a tool room, garage, etc.
Those present immediately ran around to the many rooms in the courtyard and got the sleeping guests up, and one of those present timed the development of the fire while trying to save what could be saved. It took 25 minutes before the roof of all four wings was gone and the ceilings on the ground floor had burned through. When the fire brigade arrived at Vejrø, three hours after the fire alarm had been raised, all that was left was a smoking ruin.
Either there was a short circuit in the electrical installations in that part of the yard, or flakes from an overheated fireplace chimney had broken loose and flown onto the roof.

The island changed owner again. A young farmer from the Rødby area. He and his wife wanted to explore the island's potential and the peculiar difficulties it presented.
After a while, his wife gave birth to a child. As the child needed to be seen by a nurse and the local municipality was not prepared to send an employee all the way to Vejrø, the farmer's wife had to move to the mainland. This created a situation that was not the best conditions for a young couple with a demanding everyday life - and Vejrø was soon to have a new owner.

Kim Fournais buys Vejrø with the goal of revitalizing Vejrø as a modern, self-sufficient and sustainable oasis. Since then, massive investments have been made in nature conservation, regenerative agriculture, energy systems and luxurious facilities.
Today, the island is run as an exclusive destination with a focus on nature, gastronomy, hunting and experiences - all in interaction with sustainable principles. Vejrø has also become a case for green energy, and the future looks like an island in transition - with respect for history and a focus on innovation, community and regenerative living.