Northern Europe's largest desert
The desert of Anholt is a large landscape with a desert-like character.
Anholt is home to Northern Europe's largest desert. The desert takes up most of the island and offers an incredible number of unusual and unique experiences of nature and wildlife.
The desert is a mix of marshes, birch groves, rocky reefs, dunes and plains with up to 500 different kinds of plants.
Totten
The Totten, the outermost tip of the desert, is totally protected because of the many seals that breed here every year. Anholt is one of the most important havens for seals in Europe, and the seals are now the subject of extensive research. Among other things, some seals have been fitted with satellite equipment so that researchers can map their behaviour patterns.
You may walk throughout the desert, except on the Totten.
Anholt Lighthouse
Anholt Lighthouse has a beautiful location and a dramatic history. The lighthouse is one of the country's earliest lighthouses and originally dates from 1561.
The lighthouse was placed on the eastern end of the island, where the dangerous reef, Knoben, juts out to the east. The lighthouse was part of the four-way sailing route that went via Skagen, Anholt, Kullen to Copenhagen and further south to Falsterbo.
The present lighthouse dates from 1788. In 1809 Anholt was invaded by the British during the war with England. It was the British who built the round base of the lighthouse, a fortification called Fort York, which at the time housed around 380 British marines. The lighthouse and lighthouse yard are now protected and not open to the public.
