About Vejroe
You are invited to an original experience.
One of Denmark’s smallest islands, Vejroe is 155 hectors and located north of Lolland and close to the island of Fejoe. A privately owned island, purchased by Kim Fournais in 2005, Vejroe operates a Blæsenborg Hotel, Karlekammeret, a marina, 4 guest houses, a restaurant, airstrip, organic agricultural production, hunting fields and a fleet of boats for guest transportation.
READ MORE
Our trademark is Field to Table, where sustainable agriculture and high quality food production yield delicious, healthy and seasonal ingredients, prepared by our well-trained chefs and ultimately enjoyed by our guests at the Skipperly Restaurant.
Green technology solutions ensure our vision of sustainability with low-maintainence delivery of clean energy for heating, light, machines, water production and waste processing.
Vejroe is a place where people can enjoy relaxed luxury, savor the best of life, feel inspired and reconnect with the people around us and the fantastic world we live in.
Letter from Kim Fournais
Dear Vejroe Ambassador,
I appreciate your interest in Vejroe, a project I am very passionate and inspired to take to the next level. From the beginning, it has always been my dream to develop the island into a livable laboratory and model of sustainability where the best and most innovative green technology can be tested, applied and practiced.
READ MORE
The vision is to develop Vejroe into a unique role model and case study of both eco-friendly and pleasant living. The purpose of our project is to demonstrate how innovative, unbiased thinking joined by cutting-edge green technology enable us to preserve our environment, while also enjoying outstanding beauty, convenience and a high quality of life.
Vejroe is a beacon for what the future of sustainable living could look like as well as a real-time showcase for the technology required to make it happen.
When I took over Vejrø, it was a wasteland, a piece of “UdkantsDanmark” with no relevance, no jobs, piles of junk, ailing nature facing dereliction with no sustainability. It was a sad result of the way mankind sometimes leaves a bad heritage with negative impact.
The concept of making serious positive impact on a “defined area of the world” is appealing to me. If possible, we should all be striving to be a part of the solution by demonstrating a lasting positive win – win based footprint. This is my personal purpose and I am driven by strong motivation and a lot of energy.
I hope you will enjoy exploring the island as much as I do and are inspired by your experience on Vejroe to become a part of the solution and preserve this beautiful world we live in.
Warm Regards,
Kim Fournais
The Vejrø Manifest
More than a decade has passed since version 1.0 of Vejrø, the beginning of a large-scale overhaul of a languishing, depopulated island community. Both the island’s nature and infrastructure were given a helping hand so that guests could once again enjoy the stillness, beauty and unspoiled nature of our little gem in Smålandsfarvandet and it has steadily progressed since. Now, time has matured, the potential has grown, and the project deserves another boost. And we are well underway.
VEJRØ 2.0
VEJRØ 2.0 A REGENERATIVE AND SELF SUSTAINABLE ISLAND
Vejrø 2.0 is based on the principles of regenerative agriculture, sustainability, animal welfare, soil rejuvenation and utilizing the island’s existing raw materials. We continue to be inspired by the idea of self-sufficiency and that we can take this a step further based on the principles of nature. Our canvas is an isolated island, and we have all the possibilities to bring it back in a holistic cycle, where nature dictates what we offer our guests on the plate.
Nature when allowed, has an incredible ability to heal and repair itself… and we who are responsible for a given piece of nature like Vejrø, have the opportunity, the ability and not least, the will to offer a helping hand in bringing nature back to balance.
We will, with insight and respect, restore nature back, handle it as little and as well as possible to reap its harvest, on its own terms, because a harvest will taste and nourish our bodies best when nature is allowed to work as it was intended.
Our Story
When Vejroe was purchased in 2005 by Kim Fournais, the island was desolate with nearly 100 tons of waste and garbage left by people over the years. The first project was to clear the accumulated garbage like old cars, washing machines and heavy scraps of metal. This was the first sustainability initiative on Vejroe preventing contamination of soil and groundwater by removing the decomposing metal and preventing chemicals from leaking into the soil.
READ MORE
The harbor has been restored completely which has become a vital part of the island’s new life with world class sailor facilities, 85 berths and a small café where guests can purchase food and drinks locally grown and prepared on Vejroe.
The agricultural part of Vejroe has been revived with the building of 2 modern Greenhouses, constructed in a traditional English style where fruits, vegetables and herbs can be grown all year round. In addition, we have various livestock, pigs, goats, sheep and chickens, which are a food source but also used in our biodynamic farming practices to graze on the fields, clearing unwanted vegetation and fertilizing the soil along the way.
In our mission to become a model of sustainability, we are very focused on trying, developing and using the best in clean energy solutions. We have installed two small wind turbines and solar panels. We use battery storage, a control and power management system, district heating, as well as local geothermal, solar and electric heating. An electric van transports our guests around the island. We still operate machines that require diesel to operate, as we are a work in progress, for example our boats that sail guests to the island use diesel but it is our plan to convert the ferries over to clean energy solutions in the future.
Historical Information
The meaning of the name Vejroe is “the island that is exposed to the weather.”
Vejroe holds a meaningful place in Danish history, with the first written record of the island found in 1231 describes King Valdemar using the island for royal hunts.
From this point all the way up to the end of the 1600’s, the island was inhabited by “tenant farmers”, which means they paid rent to the king to both live in a house and farm a plot of land. From this point up until the 1800’s, farmers could own their own property on Vejroe but still pay the king to farm a plot of land.
Source: “Vejrø : En historisk beretning om en ø i Smålandsfarvandet.” Author: Pia Moth Kibsgaard