Experience Gudhjem

The light and the painters’ home

It is no coincidence that Gudhjem has attracted painters, ceramicists and craftspeople through the years. The rock faces, the sea and the steep streets create a special light that changes with the hours and gives the town new colours throughout the day.

Above the town lies Gudhjem Museum in the old station building. The building brings together railway history, architecture and art, and the museum also shows artworks and changing exhibitions with a Bornholm connection. From here, you can begin the walk down through Gudhjem and feel how the town opens towards the sea.

Several artists have lived and worked in Gudhjem or found motifs in the town and on Christiansø. Among them are Oluf Høst, one of Bornholm’s best-known painters, and Poul Høm, who lived in Gudhjem with his wife, the ceramicist Lisbeth Munch-Petersen.

Today, craft traditions still live on in the town. Walk through the small streets, look into the workshops and sense how the light, the materials and the work of the hand are still part of Gudhjem’s atmosphere.

Bornholm’s food culture and the taste of alder wood

The air in Gudhjem still carries the history of the smokehouses. In the early 1900s, chimneys stood close together in the town, and Gudhjem had around 30 smokehouses. The many chimneys gave the town the nickname the town of 100 chimneys.

The white chimneys are still part of the town’s face. They tell of herring, smoke and craftsmanship, and of a time when fishing left a clear mark on everyday life along the harbour.

Today, you can still taste the history in Gudhjem. Visit Gudhjem Røgeri, the town’s only working smokehouse, and enjoy a Sol over Gudhjem with smoked herring, egg yolk, radishes and rye bread. A simple dish with a taste that belongs to the town.

A little south of the town, the food story continues at Bornholms Madkulturhus. Here, you come close to the island’s ingredients, modern food craftsmanship and local taste traditions, which build a bridge from the classic smokehouses to today’s Bornholm gastronomy.

Rift valleys, rocky skerries and Røverborgen

Gudhjem is not only harbour, smokehouses and steep streets. Nature begins almost in the middle of the town, and from Nørresand you can follow the coastal path towards Salenebugten and Helligdomsklipperne.

The path was one of Oluf Høst’s favourite places to walk. Here, you meet the raw rocky coast with skerries, rift valleys and small places that carry both nature and stories. Ravneskåret, Røverborgen and Hestestenene lie along the route and give the walk a special depth.

At Helligdomsklipperne, the rocky coast rises in dramatic shapes towards the sea. In season, you can sail back to Gudhjem and experience the cliffs from the water. It gives you another view of the coast and of the town, which lies like a small landmark further south.

Right by Helligdomsklipperne lies Bornholms Kunstmuseum. Here, you can continue the trail from Gudhjem’s art history and meet works where light, landscape and Bornholm motifs play a central role.

Crafts and small shops

Gudhjem is a good town to explore, even when you do not have a fixed destination. In the steep streets and around the harbour, small shops, galleries and workshops lie close together.

Here, you find crafts, ceramics, glass, jewellery and applied art, often with clear traces of Bornholm’s materials, colours and craft traditions. At Gudhjem Glasrøgeri, you can get close to the craft of glassmaking and see how heat, form and colours become finished works.

Set aside time to look in where the doors are open. In Gudhjem, it is rarely about rushing from shop to shop. It is more about following the small streets, discovering a workshop along the way and bringing a piece of the town’s craftsmanship home with you.

A journey back in time

A little south of Gudhjem lies Melsted, a small fishing village with a bathing beach, traditional Bornholm fishermen’s houses and views of the Baltic Sea. Here, the pace slows, and your visit to Gudhjem can continue in a quieter direction.

Melsted feels like a small time pocket. You sense it especially at the living agricultural museum Melstedgård, where the historic farm setting and rural life are interpreted close to the coast. Here, you can meet old livestock breeds and feel the wings of history in the old rooms.

If you want to go further into Bornholm’s history, you can continue to Bornholms Middelaldercenter near Østerlars Rundkirke. The open-air museum gives a living insight into 14th-century Bornholm with houses, crafts, activities and events for children and adults.

Together, Melsted and the area around Østerlars make good detours from Gudhjem, especially if you want to combine coast, living history and cultural heritage on the same trip.