Hostrup: Routes, Nature and Historical Traces

Hammer Bakker Natural Area

In the area around Hostrup, Hammer Bakker encompasses a variety of landscapes: scrubland, mature beech forests, open heathland and flat terrain, as well as larger and smaller lakes and waterholes. The natural area provides a habitat for notable butterfly and bird species. These include Brun pletvinge, Duehøg, Hvepsevåge and Natravn; these birds are considered rare in Denmark.

Hiking and Mountain Bike Routes

The marked Orange Route in Hammer Bakker is approximately 3 km long in the area around Hostrup and passes through hilly terrain, forest and open areas. It is not accessible to people with disabilities. At approximately 13 km, the MTB route in Hammer Bakker is considerably longer, consists of two loops and passes through hilly terrain with different types of forest, as well as open areas with fields, heathland and grassland. When planning a trip in Hammer Bakker, the approximate distances can be considered together with the route form and the hilly terrain. The two routes also differ in their means of transport: the Orange Route is marked as a hiking route, while the MTB route is designed as a cycling route consisting of two loops. The lack of accessibility on the Orange Route should be taken into account as a limitation when choosing your own route.

Hærvejens Perler and Historic Landscape

In the area around Hostrup, the new Hærvejens Perler hiking loop has been certified as a premium hiking route. Hærvejens Perler consists of hiking loops that begin and end at the same place. The route passes Pebermosen, which was created through peat extraction and today features an open water surface and a floating mat of peat mosses. The Bronze Age burial mounds of Tvillinge Høje are also located along the route. From there, there is a view across the heathland. For planning a hike, Pebermosen and Tvillinge Høje represent two different points along the route: Pebermosen features an open water surface and a floating mat of peat mosses; the second site is characterized by Bronze Age burial mounds.

Churches and Art in the Area

Hammer Church is located in the area around Hostrup, secluded deep in the forest of Hammer Bakker, and is a Romanesque church. Sulsted Church contains frescoes from 1548. In a continuous composition, they depict 22 narrative scenes from the life and death of Jesus. The church also has a complete Credo series in the chancel vaults, with all twelve apostles as guarantors.

Historical Traces of Hostrup

In 1533, Hostrup was a single farm with two or four tenants. The division of the historic settlement resulted in Hostrupgård and Hostruplund; Hostrupgård was relocated after 1850. Two smaller farms had already been separated in 1662: they are now called Smedgården and Sindalsgården and were often referred to as “Lille Hostrup.” Historically, Hostrup belonged to the Søndersogn of Sulsted parish. The Langelund farm near Sulsted Church was the workplace of Lars Nielsen and gave him the byname “Langelund.”

Other places for regional orientation include Farstrup, Gjøl, Tylstrup, Store Restrup, Nyrup, Klarup, Ajstrup and Lundby.

For the overarching travel overview: Aalborg Municipality.