Village History: The Seaside Guesthouse in Lohals
Holidaymakers have been important to the harbour town of Lohals since the 1800s.
At the end of the 19th century, it became fashionable to stay in the countryside and enjoy the great outdoors. This was especially true for the upper middle classes and artists, especially painters, actors and writers. Lohals and its surroundings became very popular and almost gained a reputation for being a ‘second Skagen’. Lohals is a beautiful place with water, beach, forests and beautiful nature with hills and hedgerows, and it was relatively easy to get here with the good shipping routes. Holidaymakers meant a lot to Lohals' development. They had to live and eat, there had to be shops and the guests had to be serviced and entertained in different ways.
In time, the Langeland dialect was also influenced by travellers. In Lohals, people spoke differently than ‘out in the country’.
The harbour was vibrant when the steamer ‘Tranekær’ arrived in Lohals from Korsør at noon and again at 4 pm when the ferry sailed back - with both foreign and Danish guests.
The two largest bathing guesthouses were N.J. Flindts Badepensionat, Søndergade 4 and Lohals Badehotel, Søndergade 21.
N.J.Flindt's bathing guesthouse and grocery store, Søndergade 2-4, 1912