Every design for Ringkøbing

For centuries Ringkøbing was the only real harbour town on the Danish west coast, sheltered from the North Sea by the long wall of Holmsland Klit. Then, in the seventeenth century, the channel linking Ringkøbing Fjord to the sea began to drift south with wind and tide, and before long ships could no longer get through. The town was cut off from the open sea until a new channel was dug at Hvide Sande early in the twentieth century.

What stays with you is the light over the fjord and the quiet old streets that nearly all lead down to the water. In summer the town fills with people from the holiday houses by the North Sea; out of season it belongs to the people who live here, under the church tower that is wider at the top than at the bottom. A European survey once named Ringkøbing the happiest town in Europe, and it is not hard to see why.

The map takes in more than the centre: the ancient site at Lynghøje, Oplevelsespark Naturkraft and Ringkøbing Museum all sit within it, alongside the fjord shore that holds this place together.