Anholt Joins Denmark’s Dark Sky Places With New Designation

Tucked between Denmark and Sweden in the Kattegat Strait, the remote island of Anholt has just been designated with the prestigious status of International Dark Sky Park, a recognition granted by DarkSky International. With this new designation, Anholt becomes the fourth certified Dark Sky Place in Denmark, and a compelling example of how small communities can make a big impact in protecting natural nighttime darkness.

Best known for its vast dune landscapes and fragile ecosystems, Anholt spans just 22 square kilometers. Nearly 85% of it is a protected area known simply as “The Desert,” a wild expanse of shifting sands, low juniper hills, and moraine mounds, free of artificial lighting and home to diverse species of bats, birds, insects, and seals. For stargazers and scientists alike, this absence of light pollution creates an invaluable resource: a pristine, naturally dark sky.

Achieving International Dark Sky Park certification is no small feat. It’s the culmination of years of effort from local advocates, scientists, and municipal leaders, all working to raise awareness of light pollution and implement thoughtful, long-term solutions.

Anne Dixgaard, Chairwoman of Dark Sky Anholt, said it best: “We’re so pleased, and proud, to have worked to get Denmark yet another place where people can re-orient themselves as inhabitants in this infinite universe and re-acquaint themselves with the darkness.”

That re-acquaintance with darkness is more than poetic; it’s ecological. Light pollution disrupts animal behavior, interrupts plant cycles, and affects human health. On Anholt, the push to reduce artificial light has had community-wide buy-in. Public lighting has been swapped for Dark Sky-compliant fixtures. Homeowners and business owners registered their lights and removed unnecessary ones. And crucially, the Desert remains completely unlit.

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Guided by Dan Oakley from DarkSky International, Anholt’s application stood out in part due to that total darkness in the eastern preserve. But it also succeeded because of the island’s cohesive, grassroots effort. “The commitment shown by the local community was inspiring,” Oakley noted. “Their engagement with private companies and public institutions to reduce light pollution demonstrates what’s possible when people work together to protect the night.”

Anholt has long been a place where human history and the natural world intersect. From Stone Age artifacts to Viking outposts, from 300 documented shipwrecks to a modern maritime rescue station, the island’s story stretches back millennia. Today, it draws modern adventurers – especially sailors and nature lovers – who seek peace, wildness, and increasingly, a sky full of stars.

Dark Sky Anholt and the Municipality of Norddjurs now plan to build on this momentum with three core goals: protect biodiversity by maintaining low light levels, especially near the harbor; deepen public understanding through educational signage and events; and support astrotourism, especially in the quieter, darker months. For an island of just 123 year-round residents, the stars may prove to be a new kind of economic lifeline—one that preserves what makes Anholt so rare.

As Dixgaard reflected: “We’re proud to contribute to more night-sky darkness becoming protected – for the benefit of Anholt’s rich biodiversity, and the divinely dark sleep of both residents and guests.”