Bornholm

Bornholm is a <a href="/facts/List_of_islands_of_Denmark/MYDuPpTG">Danish island</a> in the <a href="/facts/Baltic_Sea/jbQJGLQX">Baltic Sea</a>, to the east of the rest of <a href="/facts/Denmark/KVtykzsw">Denmark</a>, south of <a href="/facts/Sweden/u3qC7lyj">Sweden</a>, northeast of <a href="/facts/Germany/paluuWBX">Germany</a> and north of <a href="/facts/Poland/eXJ7fd0D">Poland</a>. 
Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by Denmark, but also by Sweden and by <a href="/facts/Free_City_of_L%25C3%25BCbeck/9fEPTvpR">Lübeck</a>. The ruin of <a href="/facts/Hammershus/8P0teBTU">Hammershus</a>, at the northwestern tip of the island, is the largest medieval fortress in <a href="/facts/Northern_Europe/u77t0yJI">northern Europe</a>, testament to the importance of its location. Bornholm and <a href="/facts/Ertholmene/IjXvDPlk">Ertholmene</a> comprise the last remaining Danish territory in <a href="/facts/Sk%25C3%25A5neland/zVdUUThG">Skåneland</a> east of <a href="/facts/%25C3%2598resund/X6luBjnY">Øresund</a>, having been <a href="/facts/Treaty_of_Roskilde/y9UYoklF">surrendered to Sweden in 1658</a>, but <a href="/facts/Treaty_of_Copenhagen_(1660)/qSMAc2kH">regained by Denmark in 1660</a> after <a href="/facts/Bornholm_uprising/Ks8UsS7w">a local revolt</a>.
The island is known as solskinsøen ("sunshine island") because of its weather and klippeøen ("rock island") because of its geology, which consists of <a href="/facts/Granite/G2evuVKo">granite</a>, except along the southern coast. The heat from the summer is stored in the rock formations and the weather is quite warm until October. As a result of the climate, a local variety of the <a href="/facts/Common_fig/vjBvExXl">common fig</a>, known as Bornholm's Diamond (Bornholms Diamant) (Ficus carica 'Bornholm' ), can grow locally on the island. The island's topography consists of dramatic rock formations in the north (unlike the rest of Denmark, which is mostly gentle rolling hills) sloping down towards pine and deciduous forests (greatly affected by storms in the 1950s), farmland in the middle and sandy beaches in the south.
The island is home to many of Denmark's <a href="/facts/Nordic_round_churches/EaSq6yHH">round churches</a>. Occupying an area of 584.59 square kilometres (225.71 sq mi), the island had a total population of 39,332 as of January 2024<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bornholm&action=edit">[update]</a>.

Bornholm open-in-new

Bornholm