Birkholm is a small Danish

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 island off the southern coast of Funen

Funen

Funen , with a size of 2,984 km² , is the third-largest island of Denmark following Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy, and the 163rd largest island of the world. Funen is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 454,358 inhabitants . The main city is Odense, connected to the...

 in Ærø Municipality

Ærø municipality

Ærø Municipality is a municipality occupying the island of Ærø in southern Denmark. The municipality belongs to Region of Southern Denmark....

. With an area of just 0.9 km², as of 1 January 2010 it has a population of 10. The flat, low-lying island is just over 2 km long and 2 meters above sea level at its highest point, though the protective dykes are 2.8 meters high. It can be reached by post boat from Marstal

Marstal

Marstal is a town in southern Denmark, located in Ærø municipality on the island of Ærø. Marstal has a population of 2,347 and is the largest town on Ærø. It was in the abolished Marstal Municipality.Marstal has a long maritime history...

 on Ærø in 25 minutes.

History

Birkholm is first mentioned in King Valdemar

Valdemar II of Denmark

Valdemar II , called Valdemar the Victorious or Valdemar the Conqueror , was the King of Denmark from 1202 until his death in 1241. The nickname Sejr is a later invention and was not used during the King's own lifetime...

's census book in 1231. At the time, the woody, unpopulated island served as a royal hunting ground. The first inhabitants probably arrived in the 13th century.

Agriculture used to be the main occupation on Birkholm, although there was also fishing. In 1870, there were 89 people living there. The village had a school (until 1976) and a grocer.

In 1872 and 1874, the island was flooded during storms, the only dry spot being Hylsbanken. There was yet another disaster in 1876 when all but two of the houses burnt down.

Birkholm today

Agricultural activity on the island ceased in the 1990s. The fields were unattended although sheep and cattle continued to graze there. Thorn bushes and wild roses spread everywhere. However, since 2003 the situation has improved as the inhabitants have started to take control. In 2004, a cattle barge was put into service by the authorities, allowing cattle to be moved to the islands for grazing during the summer. Most of the houses on the island are now used for holiday rentals, some all the year round. Those still living on Birkholm all the year round appear to have formed their own independent community.