Podcast: Sounds of Ristinge Cliff
Listen to biologist and nature communicator Marianne Petersen talk about Ristinge Klint – a geological hotspot – which has been designated a geosite because it tells the story of the formation of Denmark. The numerous and differently coloured layers in the cliff tell a fantastic story of 130,000 years of geological landscape formation.
Ristinge Klint – layers of history
At the end of the last ice age, a sheet of ice pushed against the underlying layers of soil and cracked them, causing them to tilt as we see them today. Along the long stretch of coastline, which is almost 30 metres high at its highest point, it is believed that the soil repeats itself 34-38 times. Each layer of soil contains 6-7 different layers. Each layer and each colour in the sloping cliff tells its own story.
Nothing is static
At that time, we were connected to England by land. As the ice no longer weighed down the land and melted, the national borders we know today were formed. But the cliff is only a snapshot in time. As the waterline gnaws away at the cliff, it is being eroded, so that the cliff is slowly disappearing and may drift out to form Ristinge Hale.
The legend of the Lindworm's grave
The town of Ristinge was haunted by the Lindworm, which ravaged and wreaked havoc. A man was told that the Lindworm would cause his death, so he went to sea to escape his fate.
The citizens of Ristinge went into battle against the Lindworm and drove it towards the coast, where it threw itself over Ristinge Klint and, in its fall, created a huge chasm with a blow from its tail. This is the place we now call the Lindworm's grave.
Listen to the podcast to find out how the story ends!