Salomons Kapel, Hammerknuden, Bornholm

Medieval chapel at the edge of the Baltic

Salomons Kapel is a small medieval church ruin clinging to the rocky shoreline on the Hammeren headland, the wild granite peninsula at the very tip of Bornholm. Once a functioning chapel for seafarers and fishermen, it now stands roofless and exposed, its rough fieldstone walls weathered by centuries of wind and salt spray. The ruin sits just above the waves on the northwest side of the headland, beneath a granite plateau that rises around 50 metres behind it, adding a dramatic backdrop to this compact historic site. Step inside the low doorway and you can still read the simple floor plan: a rectangular nave, the remains of a small porch on the south side, and traces of the gable that once supported a wooden roof. There is no preserved interior decoration, but the proportions are intimate, almost domestic, giving a sense of how modest rural churches looked in the far reaches of the medieval Danish realm.

Fishermen’s faith and the herring boom

Salomons Kapel grew out of the great herring fisheries that transformed Bornholm’s north and east coasts between the 13th and 15th centuries. At the foot of Hammeren there was a natural landing place and seasonal market where fishermen landed vast shoals of Baltic herring. The chapel, founded in the early 1300s, offered mass, blessings and a spiritual anchor for the transient community of fishers, traders and boatmen who worked the waters here. The site was chosen not only for its proximity to the landing place, but also because a holy spring rose nearby, adding a layer of sacred landscape to an already important economic hub. Over time a small settlement grew up around the chapel and the fish market, but as herring landings shifted to larger harbours elsewhere on Bornholm, the community declined. With the Reformation in the 16th century, both spring and chapel quickly lost their importance, and the building slipped into disuse.

From Dominican influence to quiet ruin

The name Salomons Kapel is believed to honour Salomon of Cologne, a distinguished 13th-century Dominican whose reputation carried far across medieval Europe. Church lands on Bornholm, including this northern tip, were controlled from Lund, and the chapel’s dedication likely reflected the political and spiritual influence of the Dominicans at the papal court. Aligning a modest seafarers’ chapel with a powerful order may have been a strategic choice as much as an expression of devotion. Little of the original furnishings survives. A single smaller bell, now hanging in the church at Allinge, is thought to have come from Salomons Kapel, offering a rare physical link to its working past. The rest of the interior has long vanished, leaving only the stony shell. Yet this simplicity is part of the site’s appeal: there is nothing to distract from the meeting of history, rock and sea.

Coastal setting on the Hammerknuden trails

The chapel stands directly on the circular walking route that loops around Hammerknuden, one of Bornholm’s most striking landscapes. As you approach along the path, the ruin appears suddenly against the horizon, with the Baltic stretching away behind it and the angular cliffs stepping down into the water. In clear weather, the light over the sea can be dazzling; on rough days, waves erupt against the rocks just below, sending spray into the air. Around the chapel, the ground is uneven and rocky, with low coastal vegetation and views along the coastline to nearby lighthouses and headlands. The open surroundings mean you are almost always aware of the wind, the calls of seabirds and the distant sound of surf. Despite its accessibility on the marked paths, the place can feel surprisingly remote, more like a fragment of wild coastline than a manicured monument.

Experiencing the ruin today

Visitors are free to wander through the chapel remains, step into the nave and look out through window openings now framing slices of sea and sky. The ruin is protected, so the stonework should be treated with care, but the atmosphere is relaxed: there are no barriers or formal displays, only the quiet presence of the building itself. Many people pause here during longer hikes to rest on nearby rocks, take photographs or simply sit and listen. Salomons Kapel works equally well as a short contemplative stop or a scenic waypoint on a half‑day exploration of Hammerknuden’s cliffs, heaths and viewpoints. The combination of layered history, coastal drama and modest scale makes it an evocative place to reflect on how life, faith and work once revolved around the rhythms of the sea on Bornholm’s rugged northern shore.