128km (80 miles) S of Copenhagen
In World War II almost every music hall in England had singers promising that bluebirds would return to the White Cliffs of Dover when the world was free. On the island of Møn, which also has spectacular white cliffs, it was the peregrine falcon that returned after a mysterious disappearance that lasted for the remaining 25 years of the 20th century. Off the coast of Southeast Zealand in a "corner" of Denmark, the island of Møn lures visitors with its white chalky cliffs, the 120m (394-ft.) Møns Klint that stretches for some 6km (3 3/4 miles), rising dramatically from the Baltic Sea. Møns Klint was formed by the Baltic, and made up of ice-transported chalk masses and glacial deposits formed from calcareous ooze 75 million years ago. The ooze enclosed shells of marine animals that are now fossils. The glacial deposit originated partly as boulder clay deposited by inland ice and partly as bedded clay and sand containing mussels. The boulders on the beach long ago dropped from the cliff and have been rounded by wave erosion.
Although Møn's white chalk cliffs are its main appeal, once you get here you'll find an island of rustic charm and grace well worth exploring. Fewer than 12,000 people live here, and the residents of Møn zealously guard their natural environment where the beauty of their landscapes remains largely unspoiled. Sheltered by dunes, the white sandy beaches are a summer attraction, so it's not just the wild cliffs that draw visitors here. The island also boasts beautiful forests with a wide variety of wildlife and a trio of churches with the best frescoes in the country (more about that later), plus a lively market town in Stege.
Møn is also known for the prehistoric remains that are scattered about the island. For detailed information, the tourist office publishes a booklet called Prehistoric Monuments of Møn. Several Neolithic chambered tombs known as "giants' graves" were discovered. As the legend goes, the western part of the island was ruled by a "jolly green giant" called the Green Huntsman, and the eastern part of the island was the domain of another giant, Upsal.
Møn lies at the eastern edge of the Størstrommen, a channel dividing the island of Zealand and the island of Falster.
