Himmelev Skov, Denmark

Himmelev Skov or Himmelev Forest near Roskilde is an exciting nature area with new young forest, pastures, bogs and lakes in a hilly area that was once a gravel pit. The first trees in the new Himmelev Forest were planted in 2004. The lakes are new and the soil in the hilly landscape is anything but lush. This means that the forest only grows up slowly, and this helps to make Himmelev with the lakes Fanen and Noden an even very exciting and different nature area. The area is currently 141 hectares, but the idea is to buy more land, so that Himmelev will become twice as large over time. The forest must help to ensure clean drinking water in the area, and for the same reason, neither fertilizer nor spraying is used to help the young trees up. The forest has been established in a collaboration between the Danish Nature Agency, Roskilde Municipality and Københavns Energi A/S. Visitors can enjoy nature-fitness, fishing, picking sea buckthorn or admire the beautiful and extremely rare orchid flower that looks like a bee.