page_title: Skagen
section_title: 17th–19th centuries
hierarchical_section_title: Skagen / History / 17th–19th centuries
context_page_description: Skagen is Denmark's northernmost town, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in Nordjylland, 41 kilometres north of Frederikshavn and 108 kilometres northeast of Aalborg. The Port of Skagen is Denmark's main fishing port and it also has a thriving tourist industry, attracting 2 million people annually.
  The name was applied originally to the peninsula but it now also refers to the town. The settlement began during the Middle Ages as a fishing village, renowned for its herring industry. Thanks to its seascapes, fishermen and evening light, towards the end of the 19th century it became popular with a group of impressionist artists now known as the Skagen Painters. In 1879, the Skagen Fishermen's Association was established with the purpose of facilitating the local fishing industry through the Skagensbanen railway, which opened as a narrow-gauged railway in 1890. The modern port of Skagen opened on 20 November 1907, and with the railway connections to Frederikshavn and the rest of Denmark, tourism began to develop.
context_section_description: In the 17th century, fishing suffered from a decline in herring stocks. Shortly after the beginning of the Torstensson War, the Swedish army arrived in Skagen in January 1644, plundering the town.  Skagen's White Lighthouse with adjoining accommodation for the keeper was built in 1747. In 1775, accumulations of drifting sand made it difficult to access St Lawrence's Church, finally leading to its closure and partial demolition in 1795. Its remaining artefacts were sold by auction in 1810. St Lawrence's was replaced by Skagen Church, completed in 1841 and redesigned in the local style by Ulrik Plesner in 1910.
  On a single day in 1825, 23 ships were left stranded off the coast. In 1833, Martinus Rørbye became the first artist to paint the fishermen and landscapes of Skagen, almost half a century before the arrival of the Skagen Painters. Skagen Church was inaugurated in 1841, and the first guest house in the town opened in 1844. In 1858, the grey lighthouse was inaugurated. The same year, bye-laws were established specifying building requirements including the completion of tiled roofs within five years. Skagen was struck by the cholera epidemic of 1853.
  Hans Christian Andersen visited the town in 1859. During his stay at Brøndums Hotel, the future painter Anna Ancher, daughter of the inn-keeper, was born. In 1871, the author Holger Drachmann and the painters Fritz Thaulow and Karl Madsen arrived in Skagen, the first of the colony of artists which became known as the Skagen Painters. They were followed by Carl Locher in 1872, Michael Ancher in 1874 and Peder Severin Krøyer in 1882.   
  In 1879, the Skagen Fisherman's Association was established with the purpose of facilitating the local fishing industry through the railway. In 1890, the Skagensbanen narrow-gauge railway from Frederikshavn finally arrived in Skagen, connecting the town to the rest of Denmark. The tracks were widened in 1916 to avoid the need to transfer cargoes of fish in Frederikshavn. Many of the town's typical yellow-plastered houses with red roofs which grew up along Sankt Laurentii Vej from 1890 to 1930 were designed by Ulrik Plesner. He was also the architect behind many other buildings in the town, including the railway station, Brøndums Hotel and Skagen Museum. Skagen Missionshus was opened in 1896.
caption: Typical Skagen house: red tiled roof with white trimmings, yellow-plastered walls and a white fence
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