Bagenkop is a port town on southern Langeland with 456
inhabitants (2020), located 52 km south of Lohals, 27 km southwest
of Spodsbjerg and 25 km south of the municipal seat Rudkøbing.
Bagenkop belongs to Langeland Municipality and is located in the
Region of Southern Denmark.
In 2011, the association
"Villages in Denmark" named Bagenkop "Village of the Year".
Bagenkop was until 1 October 2010 a church district in Magleby Parish, but is now separated as Bagenkop Parish. Bagenkop Church, built in 1920, is located in the north-eastern part of the city.
At Søndenbro, 3 km east of Bagenkop, is the cold war museum
Langelandsfortet.
The area around Bagenkop is one of the few
places in Denmark where there are wild horses.
The children in Bagenkop have been going to school in Magleby since
the 1960s. When the municipality wanted to close it in 2006, a group of
citizens investigated the possibility of forming a free school. The
group joined Magleby Efterskole, and in 2008 55 children could start at
Magleby Fri- & Efterskole.
Bagenkop Hallen was built in 1975 as
half a hall and in 1988 expanded to a full hall. It is owned by Bagenkop
Bylaug and functions more as a cultural and leisure center than as a
sports hall.
After being closed for 15 years, Bagenkop Inn was
taken over in 2007 by a new host couple, who in 2009 renovated the very
dilapidated inn.
The Society of Sciences called the town Barnkop. At the end of the 19th century, it was called Bagnkop and was a fishing ground with 65 vessels. The harbor was laid out in 1858, expanded in 1899 and had a harbor lighthouse. There was a shipping point, grocery store, granary, mill, beach comptroller's residence, telegraph and telephone station.
Bagenkop was the terminus of the Langelandsbanen (1911-62). The monumental station building, designed by architect Helge Bojsen-Møller, has been preserved at Stationsvej 6 and houses the Magleby-Bagenkop Local History Archive. Small pieces of the track to the east of the station and of the harbor track to the west of the station have been preserved.
From 1965, Bagenkop had a ferry route to Kiel in Germany. Although it also transported German tourists to Langeland and Funen, it suffered the same fate as other alcohol routes when duty-free sales on sailings between EU countries were abolished. The ferry Langeland III, which had sailed on the route since 1989, was sold to Croatia and sailed its last trip on 30 December 1998. The company resumed operations with a chartered ferry on 1 March 1999, when there was a prospect of extending the duty-free sale. It missed and operations stopped after 4 months. The shipping company Difko tried the route in 2000, but ended on 1 November after almost half a year, which had resulted in a loss of 5 million. DKK
It went violently when shells suddenly exploded over the city on 15
November 1980. By mistake, the West German navy began shelling the city.
Sydlangeland's Maritime Efterskole
Sydlangeland's Maritime
Efterskole, which for many years was the city's largest workplace,
closed in 2014 after trying to change its name to Actionskolen. A later
attempt to revive the school ran aground.