Par force hunting landscape in North Zealand

In 2015 North Zealand received another prominent position on the UNESCO World Heritage List with the inclusion of the par force hunting landscape. Located about 30 km northeast of Copenhagen, this cultural landscape encompasses the two hunting forests of Store Dyrehave and Gribskov, as well as the hunting park of Jægersborg Hegn and Jægersborg Dyrehave. This is a designed landscape where Danish kings and their court practiced par force hunting, or hunting with hounds.

Christian V landscape design

Christian V landscape design In the 17th century, inspired by visits to the Palace of Versailles, King Christian V transformed the landscape with hunting lanes laid out in a star system, combined with an orthogonal grid pattern, numbered stone posts, fences and a hunting lodge. Hunting involved riders and dogs chasing a deer to exhaustion, after which the king or his distinguished guest had the honour of killing the animal with a sword or spear, thereby demonstrating the autocratic kings power over nature.

Outstanding Universal Value

The UNESCO Committee justifies the inclusion of the par force hunting landscape as "an unusual and well-preserved example of how the European Baroque values were translated into design by nature.”