At the turn of the 19th century, the English Wars made it difficult to transport firewood from Norway which was still part of the Danish kingdom. To facilitate the transportation of firewood from Gribskov to Copenhagen, it was decided to construct a canal between Lake Esrum and the sea at Dronningmølle. The work was led by Adolph von der Recke and carried out by local peasants, soldiers and forced labour workers. Construction began in 1802 and the canal was completed in 1805.