Oddesund Tower is free to visit and open from 8:00 to 22:00. The door is unlocked with a QR code, and your phone needs an internet connection. This makes the tower ideal both for a quick stop by Oddesund Bridge and as a starting point for a walk along the coast.
The 12.5-metre-high tower stands about 40 metres from the fjord. From the glass floor and the top, there are views in every direction across Oddesund, the bridge and the coastal landscape. The exhibition inside connects the views with the area's nature, geology, cultural history and wartime history. Beach ridges, coastal lagoons, salt marshes and small areas of heath lie close around the strait, which is about 400 metres wide.
Oddesund was formed by both erosion and deposition. The two spits therefore have different shapes, while the strait's location made it an important crossing point between Thy and the land south of the Limfjord.
A nature trail about four kilometres long runs from the tower between Oddesund and Sunddraget. It follows the coast and crosses salt marsh, where the ground can be wet, so waterproof footwear is a sensible choice. It is not stated whether the trail is a circular route, clearly marked or suitable for wheelchairs, walkers and pushchairs.
Traces of the old ferry landings can be seen on both sides of the strait—a subtle reminder of the time before the permanent crossing.
Oddesund Tower is equipped as a practical cycling stop by the fjord, with bicycle parking and an electrical outlet for charging bicycles. A special feature is the built-in, specially designed holder for a bicycle pump. There are also picnic tables by the beach.
The nature trail at Oddesund Nord starts at the tower, but bicycles must remain in the starting area. Bicycles are not allowed on the route out of consideration for the birdlife and grazing animals.
Regelbau 411 is an art centre for Danish and international sound, light and video art in two bunkers near Oddesund. Here, the spaces are not neutral settings: raw concrete walls, rust, lime, acoustics and labyrinthine passages form part of the site-specific art.
The bunkers formed part of the German anti-aircraft position around the Oddesund Bridge during World War II. Type L/411A originally housed a garage and generator for a 60-centimetre searchlight used to illuminate enemy aircraft at night. The searchlight bunker has thus become a setting for light art.
This story is presented in the tower: Christian Vandet Jørgensen became known as Æ Skawmand because he lived for decades by Oddesund Nord in a wardrobe on wheels. During the day, the wardrobe stood upright with its door open, allowing him to cook and seek shelter. At night, he laid it down and slept in it. Later, the wardrobe was fitted with a small peephole, and after 24 years he built a shed around it.
He lived alone, but was not completely isolated: He took day laboring jobs and enjoyed talking with visitors, who, according to the story, were not allowed to cross the threshold. He died in 1956 and was buried at Odby Cemetery. The gravestone ends fittingly enigmatically: “There are runes that no one can decipher.”
