Marielyst is a holiday town on the southeast coast of Falster. It
has 725 inhabitants (2020) and is located in Guldborgsund
Municipality, which belongs to Region Zealand. During the influx of
tourists during the summer period, the population rises to over
50,000 in the high season, when the neighboring settlements Bøtø,
Elkenøre, Stovby and Sildestrup are included.
In addition to
one of Denmark's best sandy beaches, the town of Marielyst itself
consists of a center with shopping facilities, clothing stores, pubs
and restaurants, as well as discos.
In 1906, one of the area's four large farms
opened as a seaside hotel. It is this farm, Marielyst, that has
given its name to the area, and since 1971 has been a pensioner
college under the name Højskolen Marielyst. Recently, it had a new
concert hall built. The folk high school offers lectures, concerts
and courses in creative subjects such as painting, sewing, glass,
wood and jewelery making.
Among the bathing hotel's most
famous guests was Franz Kafka in the summer of 1914, which was one
of the hottest summers of the 20th century. Peter Malberg, Carl Holm
and Olaf Rude were also guests this summer. Three cottages were then
built by the beach, all with names inspired by Holger Drachmann. One
was called Kitzwalde and was decorated with Drachmann quotes,
painted by Olaf Rude. However, one quote - "The devil stands in the
woman, because she fools all men" - was removed because the
residents found it inappropriate and untrue.
From the resort
there are approx. 2 kilometers to Væggerløse, 12 kilometers to
Nykøbing Falster and 17 kilometers to Gedser.
In 2011, Kanal
5 broadcast the reality show The Kings of Marielyst, where a group
of young people live in a holiday home in Marielyst and party in the
city. The program series was followed up by later seasons elsewhere
in Denmark (including Rømø and Svendborg).
At the end of the 19th century, after the storm surge in November
1872, spa tourism developed in the area. First, in 1897, only one farm
was converted into the Hotel Marielyst summer pension. The owner Hans
Jørgensen named the farm after his wife Marie. In accordance with the
type of a Danish seaside hotel, it was characterized by simple comfort.
Herman Bang was a popular summer guest and wrote his scandalous novel
Haabløse Slægter (1880) here. Between 1898 and 1901 the accommodations
were expanded to European standards. Now the guests had at their
disposal hot and spa baths, croquet, tennis courts and golf courses, a
casino, billiard halls and a theatre.
The lawyer and later head
of the Danish Ministry of Education Frederik Graae (1875-1948) initiated
the founding of a seaside resort (Østersøbad) on July 28, 1906. In
1908/09 spacious summer villas were built near the dyke, named after
works by the poet Holger Drachmann: Troldtøj, Kitzwalde and Tannhäuser.
The houses are still preserved today. In July 1914 Franz Kafka spent a
few days of vacation in Marielyst together with his friend Ernst Weiß.
In the beginning, it was mainly wealthy residents of the capital who
built summer houses in Marielyst; since the 1920s the town has also
attracted citizens from nearby Nykøbing/Falster.
Since 1971, the
former Hotel Marielyst, located directly behind the market square, has
housed Højskolen Marielyst, a folk high school for seniors.
In
2014, the center of Marielyst Torv was redesigned: the street became a
pedestrian zone, oak wood flooring replaced the asphalt and a promenade
leads to the bathing beach.
Marielyst can also be reached by public transport. There are bus connections to the Gedser ferry port (Rostock-Gedser car ferry) and to the Nykøbing/Falster train station (Vogelfluglinie Hamburg-Copenhagen).
The discounters Aldi, Rema 1000 and Netto are located in the village.