Every design for Rønne

Rønne looks west across the Baltic from the edge of Bornholm, the island that lies east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden and north of Poland. It is the largest town on the island and its administrative centre, and its natural harbour turned it into a herring port centuries ago. Today the town is made for walking: cobbled streets, half-timbered houses and interesting museums draw visitors from Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Poland, and the church stands where a small chapel to St Nicolas was built in the Middle Ages.

There is a feeling here of a place that has been fought over and has held its own. The Danish king, the Archbishop of Lund and north German princes all wanted it; men from Lübeck plundered it and later took control of the whole island, until the townspeople chased them away. Plague struck twice, and each time the town slowly recovered. Walk past Erichsens Gård or into Bornholms Museum and that long, stubborn story is right there.

If Bornholm is your island, you know the warmth that the rock holds well into autumn and the way the harbour opens onto the sea at the end of the street. Rønne is where that feeling has an address.