Marsk Tower (Marsk Tårnet)

A sculptural spiral in the marshland

Marsk Tower rises from the low, wind-brushed marsh of southern Jutland like a rust-red ribbon twisting into the sky. Standing around 25 metres tall on the grounds of Marsk Camp near Skærbæk, the tower was conceived as a contemporary landmark for the Wadden Sea National Park, one of Denmark’s most distinctive natural landscapes. Its corten-steel skin, weathered to deep ochre and brown tones, mirrors the earthy colours of the surrounding marsh and dikes. From a distance the structure reads as a slender, tapering sculpture, visible for kilometres across the flat terrain. As you draw closer, its form resolves into a double spiral: two intertwined staircases wrapping around a hollow core. The tower both stands apart from the landscape and feels rooted in it, using form and material to echo the sweeping curves of old sea defenses and the warm hues of the tidal flats.

Architecture that turns a staircase into a journey

Designed by Danish studio Bjarke Ingels Group, Marsk Tower transforms a simple climb into a carefully choreographed experience. A pair of stairways coil together in a double helix, one dedicated to ascent, the other to descent, allowing a continuous one-way flow. In total, the spiral counts 272 steps, split between the way up and the way down, rising in seven tight turns from a compact 6‑plus metre base to a much wider viewing platform above. As the stairs climb, the tower subtly flares outward. Each loop of the helix grows slightly broader, so that the top widens into a generous, roughly 110 m² deck. The openness of this final platform contrasts with the enveloping feel of the lower coils, where the steel plates frame glimpses of sky and marsh like shifting picture windows. An integrated lift ensures that those who cannot manage the stairs can still reach the summit, making the views accessible to a wide range of visitors.

Panoramic horizons over the Wadden Sea

Marsk Tower’s height is modest by urban standards, but in this perfectly flat landscape it feels dramatically elevated. At ground level, your view stretches a few kilometres across the fields and dikes. From the top platform, on a clear day, the horizon pushes out to around 18 kilometres, taking in the Wadden Sea, the North Sea and the island silhouettes beyond. Looking one way, you can trace the line of the causeway towards Rømø, a ribbon of infrastructure arrowing across the tidal flats. In other directions, your gaze runs over intricate patchworks of drainage channels, reed beds and meadows that form part of the UNESCO-listed Wadden Sea system. To the north, you may pick out the distant contour of Esbjerg; to the west, the sky often dominates, a vast dome that shifts by the minute with North Sea weather.

Gateway to a UNESCO-listed landscape

The tower stands within Wadden Sea National Park, Denmark’s largest national park and part of a wider cross-border protected area shared with Germany and the Netherlands. These shallow coastal wetlands are a vital habitat for migratory birds, seals and countless invertebrates that thrive in the nutrient-rich tidal mud. Twice a day, the sea advances and retreats, reshaping sandbanks and mudflats in a slow, perpetual choreography. From the platform, it is easy to grasp the scale and fragility of this environment. You can see how dikes hold back the sea, how drainage ditches carve straight lines through the fields, and how wide the tidal zone becomes as it fans out towards the horizon. The tower’s role here is not only to entertain but also to introduce the geography of the marsh, helping visitors understand how human settlement and natural processes are interwoven.

Marsk Camp: more than just a viewpoint

Marsk Tower forms the centerpiece of Marsk Camp, a low-rise complex set on the former Hjemsted open‑air museum site. Around the tower you will find a reception and visitor hub, dining options, an icehouse, mini‑golf, glamping tents and pitches for more than a hundred motorhomes. The setting feels deliberately open and informal, with wide lawns and gravel paths giving way to the marsh. This clustering of facilities turns the tower into a full‑day stop rather than a quick photo point. Some guests treat it as a base for exploring the national park and nearby islands; others come primarily for the architecture, pairing the climb with a leisurely meal or a stroll along the dikes. After the windy exposure of the viewing platform, the ground‑level spaces provide shelter, warmth and a chance to linger over the views you have just taken in from above.

Light, weather and the changing mood of the tower

Because the marsh and sky are so exposed, the character of Marsk Tower shifts constantly with the elements. On bright days, the corten cladding glows almost orange against sharp blue skies, and the horizon reads crisp and far away. In mist or low cloud, the upper coils can disappear into a grey veil, and the landscape softens to muted greens and browns. Wind is a constant companion, especially on the upper platform, where gusts from the North Sea can be bracing even in summer. Sunsets can be spectacular, with the sun dropping into a band of cloud over the sea and the tower’s steel darkening to near-black silhouettes. At different hours you notice new alignments—shadows spiraling on the steps, reflections in puddles on the marsh, and birds wheeling at roughly eye level as they traverse the wetlands. Each ascent offers a slightly different reading of both tower and landscape.