A Trip to Egeskov Castle

Prompt
Does the historic and elitist institution of the country house estate have a role and purpose in Denmark's egalitarian society? Explain.

Today the class visited Egeskov Castle in Jutland, Denmark. There, we walked around the premises and within the castle itself. Because Denmark is an egalitarian society, where people are ensured equal rights and opportunities, the Egeskov Castle seems somewhat out of place and contradictory in terms of social values. The first striking observation that is likely to divide classes is the fact that visitors have to pay to get in—and it's not very cheap. The majority of people who visit this historic park tend to be middle to upper class. Lower-income families have a greater chance of being left out from enjoying this greenspace and other amenities the park has to offer.

Although the historic, elitist castle seems contradictory in an egalitarian society, it does some serve some functions that can be quite valuable to Denmark. One of the main important roles of the castle is to provide those who visit the park with greenspace. The premise consists of unique gardens, such as the fuchsia flower gardens, herb gardens, mazes, etc. They are also experimenting a lot with organic farming. Egeskov has some organic vegetable gardens, but they are planning to expand organic agriculture even more. The park also has ponds that surround the castle. While I was walking around, I felt very relaxed being surrounded by the greenspace, and the animals that inhabit them.

Another role of Egeskov is to provide education and history to its visitors. There are tours that are given around the castle, as well as in the castle. There are also signs in front of each item in the different exhibitions which provide the public with education on the history of the castle.

Egeskov Castle is great for Danish tourism. People from all over, including places throughout Denmark, come to visit. The park is very family oriented, and appeals to different demographics in different ways.

Danish vs. American National Parks

Prompt
Contrast today’s experiences of a Danish National Park with America’s National Parks.


Today the class visited Kongernes (soon to be) National Park in North Zealand, Denmark. Throughout the visit, I noticed many similarities but also many differences between this park and national parks throughout the United States. For example the flora and fauna which inhabit Kongernes National Park vary from U.S. national parks. The trees that make up this park are predominately beech trees. Although the main species of trees are beech, the park also consists of conifers from other Nordic countries. In addition, Kongernes has species only native to Europe, such as the European red deer and the European badger.


The biodiversity of species is very rich in this park because of the management practices. Since the 1800s, there has been an effort to restore trees. Most of the trees in the park have been replanted, and the bogs that are there today have been constructed. This differs from the forests of national parks in the United States, because the majority of them are old growth and have never been cut down. A great example is the Sequoia National Park in California. American national parks seem to be preserving what has already been there, whereas Kongernes is recreating what was once deforested. Recreational regulations within Kongernes also vary from national parks in the United States as well. For example, biking and bonfires are allowed, whereas most U.S. national parks have stricter recreation regulation.

Another prominent difference is the size of Kongernes. The Sequoia National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and Yosemite National Park are examples of renowned U.S. national parks that are very large. Kongernes is only about 14,000 acres, whereas the Sequoia National Park is about 400,000 acres. Yosemite National Park is over 700,000 acres, and the world's first national park, Yellowstone National Park, is over an astounding 2,000,000 acres. 

Reforesting Denmark

Prompt
Why has so much valuable land close to Copenhagen been given over to forest?

Denmark has a history of deforestation, and much of that cleared land was turned into what is now new forest. For two centuries, Denmark has performed active reforestation procedures throughout the country. The main push for these reforestation projects was The Danish Forest Act of 2004. This act helped to conserve and protect Danish forests, increase the forest area, and promote sustainable forest management in terms of economic, ecological, and social values. Today, the class visited Store Hareskov, where we walked through the forest, took a boat tour, and saw how the area looks today. It is right outside of Copenhagen, full of lush greenery and a lake. If I didn't know it was manmade, I would have thought it's been this way forever.

This land was reforested instead of being developed upon because of the many functions this greenspace provides for not just the environment, but the people as well. Fresh water lakes, such as the one in Hareskov, is a source of recreation for kayaking and boating. They also provide habitat for flora and fauna.

The forests outside of Copenhagen help to create a biodiverse landscape and provide habitat as well. In terms of societal values, forests provide people with recreational uses such as trails for walking. They also provide overall aesthetics, which is valuable for people who want to get out in nature as an escape. Forests also help to purify our air, as they capture carbon dioxide emissions. Sustainable harvesting practices can also be used to provide a source of timber from these forests, which can be viewed as a benefit to society.

Danish Coastscape

Prompt

How has and does Denmark’s coastscape shaped life and identity in Denmark? 

Today the class visited the town of Gillelej to study the coastal landscape. Denmark's coastscape has shaped life and identity in Denmark in many ways. One way is through the fishing industry. Fishing has always been a significant part of Danish history, and continues to be today. Today, Denmark is the world's fifth largest exporter of fish, and the largest in all of Europe. You can recognize fishing as a large part of coastal Danish culture when seeing all of the old fishing boats in the harbor, and by tasting Denmark's famous smoked herring.  

                             

Another way the coast has shaped life and identity in Denmark by creating the summerhouse trend for Danish residents. People began to enjoy summerhouses along the northern coasts of Zealand as well as in Jutland starting in the 19th century. During the summer months, people would escape the urban life and head for the coast. When summerhouses were first beginning to be established, they were only really affordable for the wealthy city-dwellers. Now, summerhouses have become very popular amongst Danes of all different incomes. It is quite common for someone within the city to have a coastal summerhouse. Gillelej is an example of a coastal town where people go to live in their summerhouses (as shown below).

Although Denmark's coastscape has reaped many benefits, it has faced some issues in the past, such as erosion from water and sand in Gillelej. This erosion essentially caused the dunes to creep. However, the town worked to stabilize the dunes by planting grasses and trees, starting as early as the 1660s. These reforesting efforts created a boom in Denmark's export of commercial lumber. The greenspace that surrounds Gillelej looks astonishingly natural, but it is actually manmade. 

Eliasson

Prompt

How does Eliasson discuss the relation of space, time, and the viewer?

Artist, Olafur Eliasson transforms spaces with his sculptures and installation art. By inserting natural elements, his installations make the space tangible, as you can see from his work shown in photo 1. In the TED talk we watched in class today, we saw how the viewers interacted with this particular space. A girl was laying down on the ground within this installation, and she noticed her own reflection in the mirrors above. 

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Eliasson believes that art is not just about decorating the world, but is also about making the space active, and having people react to it. The impact on the viewers is just as an important as the art itself. Creating an interactive, artistic space essentially forms relationships between space, time, and the viewer themselves.

Figure 2 represents time; the time that it takes for water to fall. It is inspired by the mountains in Iceland, where he learned that landscapes are defined not just by the size and view of it, but the time it takes to move place to place, or the time it takes for something within the landscape (such as water) to flow. Time is merely another way to measure space. You can understand the size of a landscape when taking into account time.

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Installing these creative pieces enhances public space, and make it easy for people to come together. These interactive spaces provide outlets for both individuality and collectivity.

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Danish Golden Age and Greenspace

Prompt
Describe the Danish Golden Age of painting and explain how the artists and their work helped shape the perception of the Danish landscape.

The Danish Golden Age of painting started during the 19th century. It began with the school of painting called Skain. The landscape was often a large subject in the paintings of this time, and was portrayed in a positive light. The paintings reflected the happiness of this time, for example, summer was the common season to paint as opposed to the colder, darker months of the wintertime. The pieces tend to have sun, blue skies, and vast, green land, which is likely depicting the economic prosperity of this time.

In this painting, the landscape is the majority of this picture, whereas the buildings and people are smaller. The image is portraying the significance of landscape.

The painting below portrays the vast greenspace and blue skies. The people in the photo are enjoying the nature that they are within.

In the next photo, a slightly different approach is used. An interior is painted, rather than the exterior. Although people are indoors, you can see the blue skies and greenery outside of the window.

This photo exposes the issues of gender roles, but there is still and emphasis on landscape.The water and the sand take up the majority of the photo, and a lot of detail is put into the organic landscape.

The final photo is a painting of the artist himself, and his wife. They are gazing out into the ocean, appreciating the nature around them. The moon is shining bright, and the landscape is still a large part of the painting.

Exploring Himmelhøj with Alfio Bonanno

Prompt
Describe your experience and interpretation of Himmelhøj in the light of visiting it with its creator.

Today we went to Himmelhøj with the artist himself, Alfio Bonanno. He walked us through the three different installations, starting with the the landlocked boat. Bonanno implemented the structure on land that was once under water. Bonanno wanted to create an interactive space that people of all ages can enjoy.

We walked through the ship, around the rocks and up the stairs that lie at both ends of the ship. I really enjoyed standing on the uppermost point of the rocks, because I was able to see the boat in its entirety at that point. I would have loved to hear him talk about this piece more, because it was the most interesting to me. Much of his style is seen in every one of his pieces, for example, his inspiration of snails was seen within the boat structure. The center rock piece that I love was designed in the shape of a snail shell. As you walk from the base up until you reach the top, you follow the spiral shape. I really admire his individual taste that permeates all of his work in some way.

The second structure that Bonanno brought us through was a sheltered area that is enclosed by reclaimed trees and has a fire pit in the center. He charred the wood to make them last longer within the space.While it added to the longevity of the piece, it also added to the aesthetics as well. The charred wood's influence on the aesthetics may have not been intentional, but I feel as though it very much added to the mystical appearance and remote feeling.

The last piece that Bonanno brought us through was a circular rock formation. Within the space is a lot of sitting room on the rocks surrounding a large fire pit with a grill. It felt the least sheltered out of all the structures, but seemed to be the most functional.

All of the structures are unique from one another in their own way, but they all are driven by similar style and taste. Bonanno has always been inspired by nature, and uses it as the basis of all his artwork. He represents the natural world and all of its abiotic and biotic components, such as "new landscapes" that are created on the sand after the tide goes out. In addition, all of his pieces are composed of found, natural materials. What's special about these three pieces is the fact that all of the rocks used were from the ice age.