Højer

Højer (German: Hoyer) is a town in Southern Jutland with 1,102 inhabitants (2022)[1], located 9 km northwest of the Rudbøl border, 27 km south of Skærbæk and 12 km west of Tønder. The town belongs to Tønder Municipality and is located in Region Southern Denmark. In 1970-2006, Højer was the municipal seat of Højer Municipality.

Højer belongs to Højer Parish. Højer Kirke is located in the city.

Locally, the town is called Hæwe, and the inhabitants are called Hæwringer.

 

Geography

Højer is located in Tøndermarsken near the Wadden Sea. The town is built behind dykes and is located in one of the most sparsely populated areas in Denmark. The Marskstien passes Højer Mølle, which is the starting point for one of the trail loops.

South of Højer, Vidå runs westward through the marsh to Højer Sluice and further through Højer Kanal out to Vidå Sluse in the extended dike that was built in 1979-1981 after the storm surge on 3 January 1976 threatened to overflow the older Højer Dike from 1861. At Vidå Lock there is a nature exhibition about the Wadden Sea and the marsh, and in the summer visitors can go seal watching with excursion boats.

 

Attractions

Højer Mølle is a restored Dutch windmill from 1857. With its height of 22 metres, it is one of Northern Europe's tallest of its kind. Højer Mølle and the two associated granaries are part of Museum Sønderjylland and houses an exhibition about Tøndermarsken.

Højer by is characterized by old houses and farms from the 18th and 19th centuries. At Torvet in the town there is the Mayor's office, a thatched building from 1803, and in Møllegade there is Kiers Gaard, a stately marshland built in 1760, but with a history that goes back to the 15th century. Lise's House was built in 1708. In the house's garden there is a reconstruction of Højer's old town well from 1807. In Nørregade is Hindrichsen's Farm, a building from 1760 with a distinctive gabled house and a large thatched roof. The building was for many years the town's merchant farm.

Højer Pølser has since 1897 for 4 generations produced award-winning southern Jutland cured sausages, etc. At the butcher's shop there is a shop and a cafe.

 

Facilities

The Dike School is a department of Tønder District School and has 125 students, divided into grades 0-6. grade. The German minority school in Højer was closed in 2010 when there were only 12 pupils.
Højer Danske Børnehave is an age-integrated institution for 0-6 year old children. The toddler group is limited to 20 children. and there are 5 adults attached. The kindergarten is rated for 43 children, and there are 5 adults attached. Digevejens Børnehus is housed in two separate buildings. The nursery has 10 employees and 1 pedagogic student and is rated for 37 children, who are divided into 3 rooms. The nursery has 10 employees spread over 3 rooms and is rated for 73 children.
Højer Sports Association uses the Marskhallen and offers, among other things, badminton, table tennis, gymnastics, football and handball as well as exercise teams.
Højer-Hus is the town's community center with a large hall for 100 people and a small hall for 40 people.
Marskhotellet på Torvet offers rooms with a kitchenette and apartments with a full kitchen, all with a private bath and toilet. The hotel was built in 1888 under the name Bahnhof Hotel. The side building is popularly called Falles Hus and also belongs to the hotel.
Care center Digegården has 29 homes, divided into 3 departments with single homes and 1 with two-room homes.
The town has a utility, bakery, restaurant and pharmacy outlet.

 

History

Højer is mentioned for the first time in Valdemar Sejr's land register from 1231 as the village of Høthær. It was crown property until 1313, when it passed to the Duchy of Schleswig.

When Tønder completely lost contact with the sea in the 17th century, Højer became an important port with trade links to the Netherlands, England and the northern German ports. Cattle and grain were exported, and colonial goods were returned. In addition, there was an extensive fishery for oysters, which in Højer were packed in barrels and sent to Flensburg as so-called Flensburg oysters.

Højer's right to trade and craft was contested for a long time by the citizens of Tønder, but in 1736 Højer was granted the privilege of being a farmer. The city also retained this after 1920, when it chose to withdraw from the county municipality. The concept of split disappeared with the municipal reform in 1970.

19th century
In 1825, King Frederik VI paid a visit to the area to encourage the population after the storm flood in 1825. In Højer there is a memorial stone with an inscription in German about the visit.

Højer became a transport hub for bathers, goods and mail, which at high tide was sailed by steamship through the Wadden Sea to Munkmarsk on the island of Herring.

The railway
In 1892, the Tønder-Højer line was built with a station in the town and a terminus at Højer Lock, where the steamship had a landing place. Since the ferry operation was dependent on the tide and the weather, the stay at the lock could be of longer duration, so Højer Lock Station was expanded from a smaller wooden building to accommodate a three-star restaurant and rooms for overnight guests.

After Reunification, the Germans still needed to run trains to and from Højer Sluse. In order to avoid German officials on Danish soil, transit traffic was introduced, so the compartments were sealed between the German border station Süderlügum and Højer Sluse. The troublesome transit traffic became redundant in 1927, when traffic to Herring was diverted to the new railway over the Hindenburg Dam.

The section between Højer town and the lock was reduced to a harbor line without passenger traffic, and the line now only carried traffic of local importance. Passenger traffic to Tønder was discontinued in 1935, and in 1962 the line was closed completely and the track taken up. The station buildings have been demolished. YEAR. Kjærbys Vej is built on the path of the track, and it continues to the west and on a path that, in a sharp left curve, goes down to the small boat harbor "Bådfolk ved Vidåen".

The reunion
Højer Parish came to Denmark at the Reunification, but with a large German majority at the referendum of 536 German against 251 Danish votes. The municipal board had a German majority until 1946. Therefore, a combined reunification and liberation stone could only be erected on 15 June 1950, which stands where Nørregade and Nørrevej cross each other.

The station town
The Danish surveying sheet shows a doctor's residence and pharmacy as well as the water tower, which was built in 1934, so the map must be newer than that, but not much newer because it still shows the remains of the Herring traffic: customs office, inn by the lock and several small hotels.

Højer Teppefabrik
A wool spinning mill from 1877 was bought in 1919 by Anders Rasmussen Kjærby, who was the 3rd generation of a Funen wool spinning family. For decades, the company left a strong mark on the city. At the beginning of the 1920s, Højer Täppefabrik started weaving fabrics and not just spinning the yarn. At the beginning of the 1960s, the factory employed 200 men, but from there it went downhill towards bankruptcy in 1992.