Revisiting the castle ruins of Bornholm

You immediately appreciate the importance of Northern Europe's best-preserved caste ruin as an important defence facility many years ago and, today, as the most important attraction on the island and a landmark that is very dear to many of Bornholm's residents.

With the new visitor centre, this important, historic building gained an even stronger foothold on the island and in people's hearts since the visitor centre stages the grand historic caste ruin. Like a natural part of the cliff, the visitor centre is placed as a discreet building, where the path ahead towards the ruin ends on the roof of the visitor centre. If you decide to walk down along the cliff side and into the visitor centre, the story is retold with a panoramic view of the ruin. As a visitor, you experience a strong sense of landscape, castle ruin and architecture blending with each other.

Inside, raw concrete floors are distributed throughout the building and are complemented by warm ceilings and wooden window frames. Here, you see soft wool from the sheep in the surrounding landscape in the integrated curtain artwork by the artist duo AVPD. The pleated curtain functions as a noise-reducing room divider next to the school facilities. In the permanent exhibition, you can learn more about the castle ruin while visitors can buy relevant books in the store or enjoy local-based food and beverages in the café, which also offers a view of the castle ruins.

From the visitor centre, the path continues over a bridge, which, supported on slender piles, takes visitors across the canyon that separates the centre from the castle. From the castle ruin, you can look back at the visitor centre, which blends into the landscape with a subdued calmness and elegance.

The project was designed in close cooperation with professor and architect Christoffer Harlang. At the same time, the Danish Nature Agency and the A.P. Møller Foundation played an important role in the realisation of the project.