12 kmKammerslusen near Ribe
Same meeting of stream, dike and the Wadden Sea; a good nearby connection on the route.
Rejsby Sluice lies where Rejsby Stream is led out into the Wadden Sea. It is a place with few elements: the water, the dike, the wind and the flat expanses. From the sluice, one gets a clear sense of how the marsh behind the dike and the tidal landscape in front of it fit together.
From the sluice you can drive along Rejsby Dike. To the north, the landscape opens up with the Wadden Sea’s distinctive nature, and at Råhede Wadden there is a vegetated marsh islet surrounded by channels and priler. It is precisely the small streams and tidal flats that make the area so changeable; the landscape moves with ebb, flow, waves and deposited material.
The sluice is also part of the story of people’s attempts to keep the sea out and divert the water away from the hinterland. Here, dike, sluice and drainage are not abstract words, but visible parts of the landscape. At Rejsby Sluice stands a memorial stone for the 19 dike workers who died during the storm surge in 1923. It gives the open place a darker weight, in the middle of the view over a landscape that is still governed by water.
The memorial stone by Rejsby Sluse points to the dark side of the dike landscape. On 30 August 1923, a storm surge struck Rejsby Marsh while the new sea dike was under construction. The water trapped the workers, and 19 dike workers drowned.
The stone was unveiled in 1925 and stands as a sober reminder of the tragedy. The dike was built in 1923-1925 and was later named Christian X’s Dige; behind the open marsh lies also the story of work, risk, and lack of warning.
At Rejsby Sluse there are three shelters and a fire pit from 2020. Overnight stays are free and do not require booking, so the site follows the simple outdoor principle: first come, first served.
A local travel account describes the place as privately maintained with a fire pit, firewood shed and a small toilet. From the embankment, the difference between low and high tide can be clearly felt, and the fire belongs on days without strong wind or drought.
