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All Denmark Blåvand Blåvand Beach Bunker Mules

Blåvand Beach Bunker Mules

These old World War II fortifications have been transformed into an unusual equine attraction.

Blåvand, Denmark

Added By
Colin John Seymour Jr.
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Blåvand Beach Bunker Mules.   Rezeptus/cc by-sa 3.0
Blåvand Beach Bunker Mules.   Rezeptus/cc by-sa 3.0
Blåvand Beach Bunker Mules.   scandinavianattraction / Atlas Obscura User
Blåvand Beach Bunker Mules.   scandinavianattraction / Atlas Obscura User
Blåvand Beach Bunker Mules.   scandinavianattraction / Atlas Obscura User
Blåvand Beach Bunker Mules.   scandinavianattraction / Atlas Obscura User
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About

An unusual herd of mules guards this gorgeous Danish beach, gazing toward the sea. They're relics of World War II that have been transformed into a unique work of art.

When Germany occupied Denmark during World War II, the beaches along the west coast of the Jutland Peninsula were marred by more than 7,000 concrete bunkers and fortifications. For decades after the war, these structures sat like ugly reminders of the international conflict.

But in the 1990s, some of the bunkers were reborn as works of art. Danish Artist Elle-Mie Ejdrup Hansen was commissioned to mark the 50th anniversary of the war’s end with an art project. The collaborative project included works by 24 international artists and a musical composition by Danish jazz musician Palle Mikkelborg.

One of the artists Elle-Mia Ejdrup Hansen invited to participate in the project was British sculptor Bill Woodrow. Woodrow had the idea to transform four of the unsightly, decaying bunkers into mules. He did this by attaching steel mule heads and tails onto the existing structures.

The animal Woodrow chose wasn’t random. As mules are infertile, the artist used them to symbolically say that the terrors of war should not be able to reproduce.

Related Tags

Sculptures Beaches Animals Bunkers World War Ii Military

Know Before You Go

You can walk by the bunker mules at any time.

Community Contributors

Added By

scandinavianattraction

Edited By

martinmanscher, Kerry Wolfe

  • martinmanscher
  • Kerry Wolfe

Published

February 14, 2019

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Sources
  • https://www.visitdenmark.com/denmark/bunker-mules-blavand-gdk769752
  • https://www.visitwestdenmark.com/ln-int/varde/city-life-blaavand
  • https://seemore.exposure.co/bunker-mules
Blåvand Beach Bunker Mules
22 Lille Strandvej
Blåvand, 6857
Denmark
55.548867, 8.11073
Get Directions

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Photo of Denmark

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