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The Solvang Vikings parade their ship through Solvang during Danish Days. Shoppers, tourists and people attending the Taste of Solvang Festival in March pass Rasmussens, below, on a Saturday morning Danish Days celebration will be held this weekend.//Staff file photos
It began in 1911.
The year before, three men from the Midwest, including two pastors and a college professor, struck out for California.
Their goal? To establish a Danish community with a folk school and a Lutheran church.
According to the book “Where the Light Turns Gold - The Story of the Santa Ynez Valley,” they purchased 9,000 acres of Rancho San Carlos de Jonata, starting a small colony near the Santa Ines Mission where the Santa Ynez River provided a water supply.
The new town was named Solvang, Danish meaning “Sunny Field.”
Danes poured in, most from the Midwest and Europe. They were hard-working people - dairy farmers, carpenters and businessmen.
A folk school was soon built, to be replaced in 1914 by Atterdag College, a center for Danish culture. In 1928, Solvang got its church, Bethania Lutheran, built in Danish architectural style.
There were hard times, with fires and unpredictable weather, but the community found time to have fun.
In 1936, they held a party on the town's 25th anniversary. Thus began “Danish Days,” still celebrated today. This year the celebration of Danish heritage will be held this weekend, Friday through Sunday.
In the 1940s and 1950s, a transformation began. Shops on Copenhagen Drive (once Main Street) started selling imported items and handcrafts. New bakeries, motels and distinctive cross-timbered bindingsvaerk architectural designs appeared.
Today Solvang is one of California's most popular tourist attractions with windmills, Danish flags, storks atop roofs, and bakeries filled with pancake balls known as aebleskiver, twists of kringle and Danish pastry. Restaurants serve hefty smorgasbords, Danish pancakes and delicate Danish sandwiches.
A Friday night torchlight parade and street dancing kicks off this year's Danish Days. The celebration features costumed folk dancers and Saturday and Sunday morning breakfasts of aebleskiver and sausages from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. On Saturday there will be an afternoon parade and evening dinner dance.
Early settlers would be amazed at the change in less than 100 years, but they would echo this weekend's greeting: Velkommen!
Roadside Attractions is a weekly chronicle of sights along the Central Coast's main commuter routes. Sally Cappon can be reached at
sjcappon@aol.com.
September 18, 2007
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