Where to stay in Højby
Most beds in Højby gather close to the centre, where a handful of small guesthouses and rooms stand within a short walk of the old Højby Kirke that marks the town. The centre suits families visiting the park at Sommerland Sjælland nearby. Stock is thin here.
Out across the Odsherred peninsula, the holiday country near Nørre Asmindrup Kirke and the bog of Trundholm Mose offers summer houses and rural guest rooms for those touring this corner of Odsherred Municipality by car. Visitors drawn to the wall paintings of Højby Kirke and the museum at Annebergparken, the Nykøbing Sj. Psykiatriske Museum, find the country roads dotted with quiet lodging.
Reserve ahead in summer. With little accommodation of its own, Højby works best as a calm rural base in north-western Region Zealand for families and travellers who spend their days among the beaches, churches and ancient sites of Odsherred and want a peaceful place to return to each evening.
About Højby
What is Højby known for?
Højby is a country town on the Odsherred peninsula. Best known for its medieval Højby Kirke, with its old wall paintings, and for the family park of Sommerland Sjælland nearby, it sits among the fields of north-western Region Zealand. Ancient ground surrounds it.
The bog of Trundholm Mose close by gave up one of Denmark's great Bronze Age finds, and with the neighbouring Nørre Asmindrup Kirke and the museum collection at Annebergparken, the Nykøbing Sj. Psykiatriske Museum, the area carries deep history across Odsherred Municipality.
What are the main landmarks in Højby?
Højby Kirke marks the town. The medieval whitewashed church, known for its old wall paintings, stands at the centre of Højby, the chief monument of a country town set among the fields of the Odsherred peninsula. The family park of Sommerland Sjælland draws crowds nearby.
Out across the land lie the bog of Trundholm Mose, where one of Denmark's great Bronze Age finds came to light, the old earthwork of Drosselholm, and the country church of Nørre Asmindrup Kirke, while the asylum collection of the Nykøbing Sj. Psykiatriske Museum keeps its own history at Annebergparken. Church, bog and mound mark the land.
What is the history of Højby?
The land around Højby is far older than the town. The bog of Trundholm Mose gave up one of Denmark's great Bronze Age treasures, a find that places this corner of the Odsherred peninsula deep in prehistory, on the land of north-western Region Zealand. Drosselholm marks a later age.
In the medieval centuries the parish gathered around Højby Kirke, whose walls were painted with the religious scenes that still draw visitors, while the neighbouring parish raised Nørre Asmindrup Kirke among the fields. Farming held the peninsula for centuries. The modern age brought new roles to the country town.
A large asylum rose at Annebergparken, its long story now gathered into the museum there, the Nykøbing Sj. Psykiatriske Museum, while in time the family park of Sommerland Sjælland drew summer crowds out along the peninsula and the old village grew into a small town serving the surrounding holiday country and farms of Odsherred Municipality. Through the long modernising of Zealand the painted church held its place at the heart of Højby, and the town settled into its present life among the beaches and fields of the Odsherred coast.
Where is Højby?
Højby lies in eastern Denmark, on the island of Zealand in the north-western part of Region Zealand. The town sits among the low hills and fields of the Odsherred peninsula, a stretch of farmland and holiday country reaching out toward the sea on three sides. The setting is open and rural.
Low bog ground at Trundholm Mose lies out across the fields, while the roads of Odsherred Municipality run past Højby Kirke and Nørre Asmindrup Kirke toward the beaches of the coast and the wider island.
What is the climate of Højby?
Højby has the mild, damp temperate climate of the Odsherred coast. Winters are cool and grey rather than harsh, with frequent rain and only brief frost and thin snow over the low fields around the town, far gentler than the deeper cold that grips the ground much further north. Summers are warm and green.
The farmland and bog about Trundholm Mose hold their colour through the long-lit months, when the northern dusk lingers late over the peninsula. Wind and cloud off the surrounding sea reach this part of Region Zealand all year.
How do you get to Højby?
Højby sits on the rail line running out onto the Odsherred peninsula, with trains stopping through the day on the route from the larger towns inland. Drivers reach it by road. The motorway and local roads tie the town through Odsherred Municipality to the wider network of Region Zealand and on toward the capital.
Families heading for Sommerland Sjælland reach it by road from the town, while visitors arriving from abroad come through the airport across the island, linked to Højby by the same rail and road routes that serve its everyday traffic.