UNESCO World Heritage in sight

Møns Klint was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2025, but the cliffs themselves are far older. They have stood here for millions of years, telling the story of how the landscape was formed. It is undoubtedly one of Denmark’s most beautiful natural areas, now also recognised as one of the world’s most unique.

Around 70 million years ago, Denmark was covered by a tropical sea. In this sea lived billions of microscopic algae called coccoliths. When they died, their shells sank to the seabed and formed thick layers that, over time, were compressed into chalk. During the last Ice Age, massive glaciers pushed these chalk deposits into large folds and ridges – forming what we now know as Møns Klint.

The 128-metre-high vertical cliffs are Denmark’s newest addition to the UNESCO World Heritage List, but the area has long been recognised as a UNESCO Biosphere. In the Klinteskov forest, ancient beech trees grow alongside rare orchids, and the sunny grasslands are home to many colourful butterflies.

Look up and you may spot a peregrine falcon hunting, or a night sky filled with countless stars. Møn and the nearby island of Nyord are also among the Nordic region’s few Dark Sky Parks, where light pollution is minimal and the conditions for stargazing are ideal.

Møns Klint is a living landscape all year round.

Stevns Klint is on the UNESCO World Heritage List for a very special reason. Here, world history is not hidden – it is visible in the layers of the cliff. You can clearly see the layer that marks the end of the age of dinosaurs, after a massive meteor impact changed life on Earth.

The story goes back 66 million years to when a giant asteroid struck the Earth with such force that it triggered earthquakes, tsunamis and sent dust and ash into the atmosphere, darkening the planet. This dramatic event caused ecosystems to collapse and marked the end of the dinosaurs – but also the beginning of the life we know today.

Even today, the traces of this impact are visible at Stevns Klint. It is one of the best places in the world to observe evidence of this mass extinction. A thin layer of fish clay lies between the white chalk layers, attracting researchers from around the world.

More than 1,000 years passed from the time the ring fortress near Køge was built until it was rediscovered using modern technology. Archaeological excavations revealed that one of Harald Bluetooth’s five Danish Viking fortresses had been hidden underground for centuries.

The mathematical precision required to build these ring fortresses is remarkable. It is believed that Harald Bluetooth sought expertise from abroad, as the fortresses were designed to be perfectly circular.

These circular ramparts symbolised royal power and served as centres for governance, military organisation and religion. During Harald Bluetooth’s reign, Denmark was unified, and Norse beliefs were replaced by Christianity – making the ring fortresses a key part of Danish history.

The other four ring fortresses are Aggersborg, Fyrkat, Nonnebakken and Trelleborg.