Green Track - The Blegen, Blue Lightening and Donations

The Blegen The area across from both sides of the bridge, the so-called Øster Blegen, was also one of Tønder’s three bleaching points where cloth was laid out to bleach. After wool, fabric/ cloth woven from linen was the most common until cotton could be imported. In the bourgeoisie the fabric would preferably be white but the color part of the linen was difficult to dissolve in water. That is why The Bleaching Man lived here who could expedite this process chemically. The cloth was rinsed in the stream and dried on the Blegen in the sunlight so the bleaching was as even as possible.

The Kingfisher Hey! A blue lightening low above the water surface and a sharp cry. That would be the Kingfisher. One of the most colorful Danish birds. Both in summer and winter you are able to encounter it. And take a look at the other bank. A larger square box of soil and dirt with a hole towards the water. This is where the Kingfisher lives. The Sparekasse Bridge From swampy areas with wild bushes to a garden with nice bridges where the kingfisher is fishing and the swamp chicken is nipping at the grass or swimming around among the many mallards. The Sparekasse paid for the bridge in 1880 and donated it to the new garden – hence the name the Sparekasse Bridge. Tønder Sparekasse was created in 1820 and each year it donated all profits to charitable purposes. Thus, from 1820 until World War I the Sparekasse distributed upwards of ½ million mark.