Kvie Sø north of Ansager is shallow, with a sandy bottom by the public bathing beach. This makes the lake practical for families with children, but swimming should be kept to the designated area because the lake is protected and vulnerable.
What makes it special is the nutrient-poor heath lake: a lobelia lake, where the lean conditions provide space for rare underwater plants. Here, the modest nature is not a shortcoming, but the very point.
Around the lake are Heart Trails of about 2.5 and 3.5 km. The playground is located by the beach area, and the old lake pavilion now serves as Pandekagehuset, with views over the water.
The photo shows children from Copenhagen, presumably from Apostelkirken, bathing in Kvie Sø. The scene shows that as early as the 1930s, the lake was more than just a local bathing spot.
In 1932, the pavilion was built so that bathers could come inside and sit down with food and drink. The present-day lake pavilion is mentioned at the main site; here, the focus is on the early bathing and excursion culture around the shallow lake.
Øst for Kvie Sø ligger sommerhusområdet med omkring 230 huse pr. 2023. Det er ikke et ensartet felt af nye fritidshuse: de første kom allerede i 1930’erne, udbygningen tog fart i 1970’erne, og i begyndelsen af 2000-tallet blev området udvidet markant.
Derfor kan man her aflæse flere lag af feriehistorie omkring søen, fra ældre fritidshuse til nyere udstykninger.
Kvie Sø has a legend featuring a rather disgruntled resident: the lake troll Nekkus, also called Nicus. He is not described as pure evil, but as capricious. In one version, he demanded a heifer as a sacrifice every year, and if he did not receive one, he would take one himself.
The tale exists in several variants. In one of them, heifers or steers went out into the lake, where Nekkus tried to catch them with his hook, gaff, or fishing spear. The animals broke free and dragged the tool with them onto land. The farmers found the strange hook and placed it by the church so people could see it.
It was a poor location for the troll’s property. Nekkus could not tolerate the church, but came there anyway, called for his hook, and eventually got it back. In a rage, he struck it against the church wall so that the wall cracked, and then left the area. The old rhyme has boiled the whole drama down to one dry line: “Kvie calves dragged the Hook from Nekkus’s Hand.”
