Unusual hunting lodges in the town of Nörre Nebel (10 photos)

This quiet bird sanctuary on the Danish coast has something you don't usually find in nature reserves - hunting lodges.





More than 200 years ago, a sandbar formed a flat, marshy peninsula on Denmark's west coast. Local birds soon appreciated the seclusion of this secluded spot and quickly made it their home.



It is logical that hunters followed along with their equipment and huts, which they built from scrap materials - driftwood, old boards, even pieces of cigarette blocks.





Turukhtan

The huts were very primitive, consisted of one room, had no running water or electricity. They were constantly falling apart due to the harsh western winds and weather. But they served as a necessary shelter for hunters and fishermen.



Loon

However, conservationists recognized the area's value to migratory birds such as loons and ruffs, which used the peninsula as a roosting site. And in 1928, part of the peninsula was declared a nature reserve. Consequently, the huts and associated human activity became a problem.



These houses are replicas of the original houses in the Fryland Museum

Ironically, World War II provided peace and quiet for the birds, as the Germans closed off human access to the area. After the war, hunters returned to reclaim and rebuild the area, and the community of 400 people began a new struggle. In 1977, a conservation law was passed. According to this legal act, the structures had to be removed by 1995.



The local community has set up its own conservation group and has declared that the simple huts are of historical and cultural value.



The dispute has continued for decades, and yet both the birds and the hunters have returned again and again. As a result, the dilapidated buildings and their updated copies have remained in place, turning into a paradoxical part of the reserve, where nothing threatens the birds.