Every design for Skanderborg

Out in the middle of Skanderborg Lake lies the islet of Kalvø, where monks once founded a monastery and later gave up, cut off from the shore for days and weeks whenever the weather turned harsh. The town spreads along the lake's northern and north-eastern edges, with smaller waters tucked in among its streets: Lillesø, Sortesø, Døj Sø and the boggy ground of Eskebæk Mose.

Skanderborg sits in the hilly country of East Jutland, south-west of Aarhus, with the beech woods running down to the water. Just north of town, across the motorway, lies Illerup Ådal, a valley of great archaeological importance, and to the south-west rises Ejer Bavnehøj, one of the highest natural points in Denmark. Every August the woods by the lake fill up for Skanderborg Festival, while Skanderborg Bunkerne and Vestermølle Museum keep other chapters of the town's story.

Long before any of that, Skanderborg Castle stood here as a royal residence, until it was taken down stone by stone. If you grew up here, the map holds the lakes you walked around, the streets up from the station and the beech woods where every summer ended with the festival.