History of Hawkraft
The idea was born from a lifelong dream to create a cultural center as a meeting place for people. As newcomers to Thy, we fell in love with the iconic buildings from 1855, and in October 2021 we received the keys.
1855
A big political decision was made and decision taken to build Vestervig hospital; the first of its kind in Thy.
At that time, Krik Vig was Denmark’s largest port in terms of number of discharges, and sick sailors could now be treated.
Many of our local guests at Hawkraft today can tell about their births or operations in what are today guest rooms or the guest kitchen.
1985
After 130 years as a hospital, the site was transformed into a Rehabilitation Center for Viborg County.
Many local guests talk about their time at the site in these years, and their relatives who were in rehabilitation here.
2009
After the closure of the Rehabilitation Centre, the buildings stood empty for a number of years, to later be taken over by the State, which established a Children’s Center in Vestervig.
A center for unaccompanied war children from i.a. Afghanistan.
Later, the number of arrivals from war zones decreased and the Danish Immigration Service chose to close the center in June 2017.
2021
For more than 4 years, the buildings were left empty again, and further consideration was given locally to what these iconic buildings could be used for.
On an April evening in 2021, Dorte & Jan sat on a bench at høfde 90 in Agger, where their lifelong dream began to take shape..
The dream of creating a meeting place for people, to create a place of culture, unfolded..
With the beautiful sunset over the sea, Hawkraft was born, and on the 1st October 2021 the couple took over the space.
When the war broke out in Ukraine, Dorte & Jan offered up the buildings as a Containment Center in Thy.
On June 1st 2022, a bus parked up at the main entrance and out came 30 Ukrainian guests, all of whom became our friends and who received support by the town’s locals. A very unique connection of support came from the Red Cross Sydthy with whom are in continued contact with most of the Ukrainians who now have their very own homes in Vestervig or around Denmark.
On June 30, 2023, the last Ukrainian guests moved out from Hawkraft, and the first tourists arrived on July 1st.
