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Svendborg - Odense

total distance 60 km on tarmaced roads

 

We start from Svendborg, which is the largest country town in South Fyn. It has most of the archipelago as its hinterland and a history that goes back to the 13th century, its name coming from the castle (borg) located at the point where porpoises (marsvin) used to pass between Tåsinge and Fyn. Today, Svendborg is a dynamic commercial and cultural town hat, apart from the offshore islands and the yachting environment, has a number of attractions, including the museums of 'Anne Hvides Gård', 'Viebæltegård' and Naturama

Once you have passed Amalieskov wood the farm buildings on Hvidkilde manor house come into view. The main building is a three-winged Baroque castle, surrounded by the Hvidkilde Sø lake, with its three small islets and restored water mill, 'Rønninge Mølle'.
 
Egebjerg Bakker is the eastern part of a 40-kilometre-long fairly cohesive range of hills. Several of the hills rise to a height of 100 metres above sea level. From a vantage point just after Egebjerg Mill you get a magnificent view out across the hills and part of the South Fyn Archipelago.

Before arriving in the station town of Stenstrup there are a number of lakes that have resulted from clay pits. Near Stenstrup, in the so-called Stenstrup Ice-Lake, there are deposits of stone-free clay which have formed the basis of an important brickworks industry. The lakes have a high population of toads, newts and various species of web-footed birds. North of Stenstrup lie two very big smallholdings, Løgeskov and Hundtofte, parcelled out around the turn of the 19th century. They were established on the land which the farmers in Stenstrup sold so that they could afford to become freeholders. For this reason the countryside consists of many small fields. The mill, Egeskov Mølle, is situated on one of the hilltops, where there is an exhibition about the mill, the village, Egeskov Market and the station-town Kværndrup.

The magnificent, elegant castle of Egeskov is one of Fyn's most frequented tourist attractions. It has much to offer visitors: a park, gardens and gardens in a number of styles and from a number of different periods; a collection of veteran and vintage cars, motorcycles and aircraft, a maze with a lookout tower - and the main building, one of Europe's best-preserved island castles, with a history that stretches back to 1554. Rumour has it that an entire forest of oak trees was needed to provide the foundation of oak piles on which the castle rests. Give yourself plenty of time to enjoy this great attraction. 
 

The road now twists and turns through gently rolling countryside, passing outside the village of Rudme and finally arriving in RINGE, where you cross the cobbled main street. If you are interested in local history, you will find an excellent museum on the main street. It is housed in a school from 1704, which happens to be the oldest building in town. In 1857 Christen Kold, the father of the Free Schools, set up the first Free School in the next stop on the route, Sødinge.

In 1857 Kristian Kold, the father of the Free Schools, set up a Free School in the next stop on the route, Sødinge.
Continue from here through Pederstrup, where there is a medieval castle mound, and, on your way to Årslev, you pass a gallery that contains an important private art collection. In Årslev you can see quite a few old farmhouses, several of them half-timbered structures with thatched roofs. Slightly east of the village lies Møllehøj, the biggest burial mound on Fyn, dating from either Bronze Age or the Viking Age. The next section of the route offers you the possibility of making a detour to Nr. Lyndelse, where the childhood home of the composer Carl Nielsen has been converted into a museum. An alternative, you can cycle 3 - 5 km to the east of Sønder Nærå. This brings you into countryside fashioned by men and machines (the Tarup-Davinde gravel pit)

Den Fynske Landsby (The Funen Village) is an open-air folk museum where a large number of characteristic, half-timbered structures from the pre-1840 period have been re-erected. Each house is a miniature museum in itself, and many of the houses contain operational workshops. The farm animals belong to old Danish breeds. This splendid attraction deserves a lengthy visit.

Odense can be traced back to the time of the Vikings, when there was a ring fortification down by the river. At the end of the 18th century, Odense was Denmark’s largest city outside Copenhagen.
 
The "capital" of Fyn offers many attractions and lots of entertain-ment. The Tourist Bureau can give you lots of information about these, and places to stay.