We continued south through Esby and towards the very end of Helgenæs, where the road eventually reaches Sletterhage Fyr. This is one of those corners of Denmark that feels increasingly remote the further you travel: small villages give way to open fields, low coastal vegetation and finally the Kattegat on almost every side.
Esby itself is tiny, but its position is interesting. The village lies beneath Ellemandsbjerg, the highest point on Helgenæs, and this apparently quiet rural landscape has been inhabited for a very long time. Esby is recorded historically as “Esbye” in 1594, while archaeological work nearby has revealed a much older Viking-age settlement and trading site known as Gammelby.
Helgenæs was once even more isolated than it appears today. The peninsula was originally an island; post-glacial land uplift gradually created the narrow strip of land connecting it with Mols, with the connection becoming established during the Bronze Age. The narrow neck is still known as Draget, a name associated with the old practice of dragging boats across the land between the two sides.
From Esby we continued to Sletterhage Fyr at the southern tip of the peninsula. The final stretch of the journey is part of the attraction, ending in a wonderfully exposed coastal landscape with the little white lighthouse standing only a short distance from the water.
The lighthouse we see today dates from 1894, but it was not the first one here. Aarhus Municipality had established an earlier light at Sletterhage in 1872 to guide vessels travelling to and from Aarhus. That first lighthouse was replaced 22 years later by the present tower, built roughly 300 metres farther west under lighthouse engineer J. S. Fleischer.
At only 16 metres tall, Sletterhage Fyr is not an enormous lighthouse, yet its position makes it remarkably important. Its light is about 17 metres above sea level and can be seen for around 16 nautical miles. It is also a sector light: depending on the direction from which a vessel sees it, the light appears white, red or green, helping ships establish whether they are following a safe course.
There is an excellent reason for putting a lighthouse here. The sea immediately off Sletterhage reaches roughly 40–50 metres in depth, allowing surprisingly large vessels to pass close to the coast on their way to and from Aarhus. From the beach it is therefore possible to watch container ships and passenger vessels at a distance that seems almost unnatural compared with most Danish viewpoints.
The sea has another attraction as well. Harbour porpoises live in these waters and can sometimes be spotted from Sletterhage. The lighthouse association even includes them in its educational material, describing the small whales that visitors may observe from the coast.
The lighthouse itself can be visited during the warmer part of the year, and the former keeper’s buildings contain an exhibition about the maritime history, wildlife and geology of the area. From the top there are views across the Kattegat towards Samsø, Tunø and Aarhus Bay.
There is also a much more recent historical layer hidden in the landscape. During the German occupation of Denmark, this exposed end of Helgenæs was strategically important for monitoring the approaches to Aarhus. A concrete radar observation tower was constructed on the heights near Sletterhage, allowing German forces to watch both maritime traffic and aircraft approaching Aarhus. Two gun emplacements were also prepared nearby for weapons with an intended range of about 15 kilometres, although the guns were never actually installed.
Even the geology along the beach is unusually interesting. Sletterhage is known for the variety of rocks brought here by the glaciers, and the coastline preserves very visible traces of the Ice Age. The result is a place where looking down at the stones can be almost as interesting as looking out to sea.
One warning is worth remembering: despite the inviting appearance of the water, the sea around the tip of Helgenæs is deep and affected by numerous currents, and the official visitor information advises against swimming here.
Esby and Sletterhage therefore worked particularly well together as one stop. Esby represents the old, quiet agricultural interior of Helgenæs, while only a few kilometres farther south Sletterhage opens completely onto the Kattegat. Between the Viking landscape, the 1894 lighthouse, passing ships, porpoises and the remains of wartime surveillance, there is considerably more history concentrated at this remote tip of Denmark than its peaceful appearance suggests.