Bornholm in Literature

Bornholm turns up in literature in two very different roles: as the home of a classic of Danish world literature, and as a favourite stage for Nordic Noir. Travellers arriving with a novel in their luggage can seek out many of these settings for themselves – the island's one dedicated literary museum, a writer's childhood home, and the freely accessible filming locations of a German television drama. This overview sorts out what's actually documented and what you can genuinely visit on the island.

Martin Andersen Nexø – Bornholm's voice in world literature

The best-known writer associated with Bornholm is Martin Andersen Nexø (1869–1954). Born in Copenhagen, he spent part of his childhood in the harbour town of Nexø in the island's south-east and later took its name as his pen name. His best-known work internationally is the multi-volume coming-of-age novel "Pelle the Conqueror," about the hard life of poor labourers on a Bornholm manor estate. Alongside it stand his "Bornholm Stories," which centre on the island's fishermen, farmers and day labourers in the 19th century.

"Pelle the Conqueror" achieved worldwide fame through Bille August's 1987 film adaptation starring Max von Sydow. Shot on Bornholm, the film was widely honoured: it won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in May 1988 and shortly after the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for the 1988 season – though the Oscar ceremony itself didn't take place until 29 March 1989, which is why both awards are often wrongly attributed to the same calendar year. A Golden Globe followed in early 1989.

The Martin Andersen Nexø Museum in Nexø

To follow in Nexø's footsteps, visit his childhood home at Ferskesøstræde 36 in Nexø, where he lived from around 1882 to 1884. The house survived, was protected in 1983, and has been a museum since the summer of 1990, run by the Martin Andersen Nexø / Nexø Museum association. On display are portraits and photographs covering his life and work, stills from the film adaptations, personal belongings and furniture from the 1880–1900 period – the house gives less a treasury of originals than a picture of the circumstances that shaped Nexø's books.

• 2026 season – 2 May to 17 October, daily 13:00 to 16:00; outside the season by arrangement.
• Address – Ferskesøstræde 36, 3730 Nexø.
• Contact – [email protected], +45 5649 4542. Admission is paid on site.

Nexø itself is worth a visit quite apart from its literary connection; for an overview of the island's towns, see the guide Places on Bornholm.

Nordic Noir – Bornholm as a crime-fiction setting

Bornholm is a well-used setting in Scandinavian crime fiction. Destination Bornholm even runs its own Nordic Noir overview of freely accessible crime scenes – among them the granite quarry near Vang, the Ekkodalen ravine and St Nicolai Church in Rønne.

• Jussi Adler-Olsen sends his Department Q team to Bornholm. In the German edition, titled "Verheißung – Der Grenzenlose," the sixth Carl Mørck case deals with the disappearance of Alberte Goldschmid in 1997. The book is available as a printed edition, ebook and audiobook.
• Sara Blædel set "Pigen under træet" ("The Girl Under the Tree") on the island; the Danish first edition appeared on 15 November 2019 from Politikens Forlag. Detective Louise Rick investigates the discovery of a girl who vanished on a school trip to Ekkodalen in 1995. The novel won the 2020 Marthaprisen, a Danish readers' award for crime fiction.
• Pernille Boelskov lives on Bornholm and writes an island-set series around detective Agnethe Bohn, published in German translation as "Das Granitgrab" (2016), "Tiefe See" (around 2018/2019) and "Dunkle Kluft" (2020).
• Katrine Engberg adds another Bornholm plot to the Nordic Noir list with "Isola" (2020).

German Bornholm crime series

German-language authors have also discovered the island for long-running crime series of their own.

• Michael Kobr, known for the Kluftinger crime novels, writes solo as well, featuring Detective Lennart Ipsen: "Sonne über Gudhjem" (2023), "Nebel über Rønne" (April 2024) and "Schatten über Sømarken" (14 May 2025). A fourth title, "Sturm über Christiansø," has been announced but hadn't appeared as of early 2026.
• Katharina Peters (a pen name of Manuela Kuck) writes the "Sarah Pirohl ermittelt" series for the publisher Aufbau: "Bornholmer Schatten" (2020), "Bornholmer Falle" (2021), "Bornholmer Flucht" (2022), "Bornholmer Finale" (2023), "Bornholmer Geheimnis" (2024) and "Bornholmer Spur" (2026) – six German-language volumes so far.
• Jörg Böhm has had Bornholm-born detective Emma Hansen solving cases on her home island since "Und süß wird meine Rache sein" (March 2017), part of an established series.

These German-language series aren't currently available in English translation, but the real settings behind them – the quarry near Vang, Ekkodalen, and the small rocky island of Christiansø – can all be visited regardless of which language you read the books in. No organised, bookable crime-fiction or literary tours exist for Bornholm; you're on your own to explore.

"Schweigeminute" and its filming locations

The television adaptation of Siegfried Lenz's novella "Schweigeminute" was largely filmed on Bornholm. Contrary to what's sometimes reported, the German ZDF drama didn't air in 2015: filming ran from 2 September to 5 October 2015 in Berlin and on Bornholm, the premiere followed on 25 June 2016 at the Munich Film Festival, and the ZDF broadcast premiere came on 31 October 2016. It was directed by Thorsten M. Schmidt, with Julia Koschitz and Jonas Nay in the lead roles.

The filming locations are documented and freely accessible. The fictional "Hirtshafen" is the harbour of Sandvig at the island's northern tip. Other locations include:

• Teglkås and Helligpeder – small fishing harbours on the west coast.
• Gudhjem – around the Bokulhus path.
• Rønne – on Skt. Mortensgade.
• Dueodde – the lighthouse and beach in the south.
• Jons Kapel – the rugged coastal cliffs near Vang.

If you'd like to combine several of these spots into one trip, you'll find them in the guide Attractions on Bornholm.

Earlier traces – Holger Drachmann

The island was already drawing in artists back in the 19th century. The Danish poet and marine painter Holger Drachmann (1846–1908) spent repeated spells on Bornholm as a maritime painter, with yearly stays roughly between 1865 and 1874. He made his literary debut in 1872 with the poetry collection "Digte" and the prose volume "Med kul og kridt." His Bornholm period produced mainly paintings; he also decorated ceramics with marine motifs for the L. Hjorth pottery in Rønne. No single work can be pinned down as explicitly set on Bornholm – for Drachmann, the island was above all a place to paint and find inspiration, rather than a literary subject.

Book recommendations for a Bornholm trip

• The classic – Martin Andersen Nexø, "Pelle the Conqueror" and the "Bornholm Stories."
• Danish Nordic Noir – Jussi Adler-Olsen's Department Q novel "Verheißung – Der Grenzenlose"; Sara Blædel, "Pigen under træet"; Pernille Boelskov, "Das Granitgrab."
• German Bornholm crime series – Michael Kobr, "Sonne über Gudhjem"; Katharina Peters, "Bornholmer Schatten"; Jörg Böhm, "Und süß wird meine Rache sein."
• Adapted for the screen – Siegfried Lenz, "Schweigeminute" (filming locations above); Martin Andersen Nexø, "Pelle the Conqueror" (Oscar-winning film adaptation).

Many of these books are set at real, freely accessible places – the quarry near Vang, Ekkodalen, and the harbours of Sandvig and Gudhjem. That makes it easy to pair your reading with a day trip.