Every design for Nakskov

Outside Thiesens Gård, an old merchant's yard in the centre of Nakskov, the narrow streets, half-timbered houses and warehouses still give the town a medieval look. Nakskov began as a fishing village at the innermost point of Nakskov Fjord, on the west coast of Lolland, and received its trade privileges under King Erik V Glipping. Fertile farmland and a position well placed for trade with the north German towns made it a leading market town, and a hoard of coins found at Gåsetorvet shows how much money once changed hands here. A Swedish siege and occupation ended that era and began a long standstill, until industry arrived with a sugar factory and a shipyard.

There is a particular pride here that outlasted the closing of the shipyard, for years the largest employer in the whole region. Nakskov Skibs- og Søfartsmuseum keeps that working life alive, and Danmarks Sukkermuseum tells how Lolland became the centre of sugar production in Denmark. Today wind turbines, high technology and Ortofon's audio work fill the old industrial gaps, and Denmark's largest sugar factory still runs in town.

Beyond the quays lies Nakskov Fjord itself, a wildlife reserve known for its birds, where the town first took shape on the wooded headland called Nakken.