Hvide Sande

Hvide Sande is one of the youngest urban communities in Denmark, created in the wake of the construction of the drainage sluice that was inaugurated on August 30, 1931.

When the hydraulic engineering department, which was responsible for the construction of the lock, had to name the construction project, it was natural to choose the name Hvide Sande; a name that had been used for many years by local fjord fishermen as a landmark on the bright sandy cliffs at Østergade, which can still be seen today from both Ringkøbing and Stauning, on the opposite side of Ringkøbing Fjord.

A temporary harbor was built around the lock, and within a few years, a small Klondyke-like community emerged, which grew to several thousand inhabitants in the 50s and 60s. When fishing peaked in the 70s and 80s, Hvide Sande was rich with money and initiative – and vacation home tourism also started to make money.

Even though fishing is no longer the main industry in Hvide Sande, you can still feel the town’s DNA: the pioneering spirit and defiance that created the small coastal community between the North Sea and Ringkøbing Fjord. Hvide Sande is still rich in initiative, and the city has a relatively high number of independent entrepreneurs, both in trade and services.

Volunteering and community life

The fact that Hvide Sande originated as a small, close-knit community on the edge of the North Sea is undoubtedly also the main reason why the city today has a diverse, active association life. People in Hvide Sande have not only been used to, but to a large extent also had to help each other and lift together.

Almost all of the events you can experience as a guest at Hvide Sande, are created by associations; often with the participation of both civic and tourist associations, as well as several of the local sports clubs. The many volunteers create life and activity in the city, which secures the financial basis of the associations, which in turn creates fertile ground and scope for the local community in the future.

This portal was also created by an association: Hvide Sande By is the name of the association of businesses in the city that was previously known as Foreningen Havnen. You can read more about the association’s work here, and see a presentation of most of the member companies via the links to the different categories in the main menu or at the bottom of the page.