Visual Bornholm
Published by Visual Media ApS
Designed by Miru Studio
Through the leafy roof of Almindingen, the sun draws patterns on the yellow-whitewashed timber-framed Christianshøjkroen. The air carries the scent of lavender, deciduous forest and the spicy aroma from the large sage bush by the entrance door.
In 1824, Christian the 8th visited Bornholm to inaugurate the newly planted forest. It gathered half of all Bornholm residents there, where the inn is located today, and it has been located here ever since.
Because it was Sofie’s great-grandfather, Johannes Lyngby, who took over the small inn, which is today the Christianshøjkroen, and where Sofie and Nikolaj and their staff entertain guests all year round. Sofie in the inn room, Nikolaj in the kitchen.
Nikolaj has a past in Michelin restaurants, but has shifted his focus from pretentious pince-nez dishes to honest food experiences.
The ingredients are given time. The celeriac is baked overnight at 85 degrees. The trout roe comes from Musholm because it is good enough to export to Japan. The egg cake is conceived with the same culinary care as if it were part of a twelve-course menu. Every mouthful becomes a sensory bombardment that makes guests forget time and place.
Christianshøjkroen is a time capsule where the noise and folly of the world are conspicuous by their absence. The world continues elsewhere. Here there is time, space and peace to taste, sense and let history and nature get under your skin.
In the middle of Almindingen, in the middle of Bornholm, lies the Christianshøjkroen inn surrounded by hundreds of years old giant beech trees.
The inn is run by the same permanent team all year round. The number of tables is deliberately kept low, so that there is time and peace for Sofie, Nikolaj and the skilled staff to pamper the guests.
The gastronomy lies at the crossroads between traditional French country cuisine, new Nordic minimalism and the classic Danish inn tradition.
Even though the gastronomic level is sky-high, it is still an inn. This means that the food is unpretentious, and guests should feel that they are getting full.
The inn’s traditional forest lunch unfolds in three acts.
The first serving is herring in various guises, where acid and sweetness find a natural balance. The second act is meat – a selection of pâtés and cold salads, stirred from scratch in the kitchen. The finale brings a sweet greeting to the table.
Chef Nikolaj and his right-hand man Magnus are inspired by the day’s ingredients and the changing mood of the forest. A pickled chili or a fresh herb from the garden changes the expression of a well-known classic.
And in the evening, the menu changes with the seasons, ingredients and the chefs’ clever ideas.
A reserved table belongs to the guests for the entire evening. The meal is allowed to take as long as it takes.
