History of Bornholm

During the 14th and 15th centuries, the actual power over the island was exercised by merchants from Lübeck, who took over sovereignty over the island in 1525. In 1578 King Frederick II of Denmark regained control of the island. In 1645 during the battles between Denmark and Sweden for control of the Baltic Sea, Bornholm was temporarily taken by the Swedes. However, in the same year, an uprising against Swedish rule broke out on Bornholm, led among others by Jens Pedersen Kofoed (1628-1691), Paul Anker and Willum Clausen. The insurgents were victorious, killing among others the Swedish commander of the island Printzensköld (1615-1658) and driving out the Swedish troops. The uprising was ended by the peace treaty in Copenhagen in 1660, and the island was handed over to the Danish Crown, and the inhabitants were granted many royal privileges. The islanders were given the privilege of producing alcohol, and the Bornholm Defence Force, which exists to this day alongside the regular army and is made up exclusively of islanders, was formed.

In the 17th century, the extraction of rock and coal began. Profits from the sale of these commodities and from fishing were the beginning of the island's economic development, interrupted by epidemics and Napoleonic wars. Successive kings of Denmark strengthened Bornholm militarily as an important naval base for Denmark. In 1684, King Christian V began building a naval fortress on a small island 18 km to the east of Bornholm named after him, Christiansø, which is still under the jurisdiction of the Danish Ministry of Defence. After the wars ended, Bornholm began to develop economically again. In 1866, permanent shipping lines were opened to Copenhagen and nearby Ystad in Sweden (sailing was maintained on a daily basis, using steamboats). This contributed to the development of tourism on Bornholm, especially after the opening of a permanent ferry connection to Sassnitz on the German island of Rugen, and later to Kołobrzeg in Poland.