Main Street

Start at the Helligdomsvej car park. If you walk straight down Brøddegade, you will immediately get a sense of the mountain town.

Brøddan, as the steep street is commonly known in Gudhjem, is a Bornholm dialect word simply meaning “a road down a steep slope”.

Brøddan is Gudhjem’s main street and has over the years been home to many different shops and businesses. Gudhjem Museum has published an entire book about the development of Brøddan over the past 100 years.
At the top you can see Gudhjem Mill, dating from 1893. Take your time walking down the hill and look at the shops and galleries.

Gudhjem’s town troll, “Gråbakkabobbajn”, lived hidden away on “Gråbakkajn” in Brøddegade, opposite Hotel Gudhjem and Restaurant 3760.

He was a headless giant who, after dark, enjoyed blocking the narrow street and preventing people from passing. Many brave men tried in vain to fight their way through him with weapons.

The power of “Gråbakkabobbajn” was finally broken by a young couple whom he tried one evening to prevent from meeting. Their faith in God and faithful love were more than he could withstand. He had to give way, and since then the street could be safely passed day and night.

Another story says that he was banished to the cliffs at Gråbakke after frightening a newlywed couple over the cliffs at Hestestenene.

The rock formation Gråbakken was originally much larger than it is today. At the beginning of the 19th century, part of the rock was blasted away to create a better and wider road into town. Before that, the narrow Bryggerstræde, which runs parallel to Brøddegade, was the town’s “main street”.

Where the road divides, you have two options. Either follow Brøddegade and pass all the shops. It continues as Løkkegade and ends at Nørresand Harbour.

There you continue to the right along Nørresand, which becomes Ejnar Mikkelsensvej at the bend. You will pass several shops before reaching Gudhjem Harbour itself. A real shopping route!

Gudhjem’s shops offer, among other things, arts and crafts, clothing and items for the home.

If you want to get to the harbour quickly, keep right onto Åbogade where Brøddegade divides.

Åbo is the Bornholm dialect word for “eider duck”. Notice the beautiful “åboer” at the entrance gate to Åbogade No. 3.

When you pass Åbogade No. 9, you will see the former Gudhjem school, which today houses, among other things, Gudhjem Library.

You can now see Gudhjem Harbour, built among the skerries and extended and dredged several times, but also damaged by two storm surges. In 1936, there were 49 commercial fishermen in Gudhjem. Today there are none.
This route is particularly good when returning from the harbour to the car park, as there are plenty of opportunities to stop along the way on the steep climb.