Spanske Trappe (Den Spanske Trappe), Sønderborg

A painted stairway in the heart of Sønderborg

The Spanske Trappe is a steep granite stairway stitching together two central streets in Sønderborg, a practical route that has been part of everyday city life for years. Today, however, it is far more than a shortcut. Each riser has been painted so that, from the foot of the stairs, all 53 steps lock together into one continuous nature scene. Stand in just the right spot and what looks like separate stripes of colour suddenly becomes a single landscape. The staircase sits right in the compact core of the town, close to shops, housing and the harbourfront. It feels very local: people still hurry up and down on daily errands, bikes are pushed, shopping bags are carried, and children race each other to the top. The artwork simply overlays this routine with a layer of surprise and playfulness.

An everyday structure turned into urban art

The transformation was carried out in a short, intense burst of work by Danish artist Kristian Vodder Svensson. Using the stair risers as a vertical canvas, he painted a stylised woodland world: soft hills, tree trunks, patches of sky, and the sense of walking into a small, imagined valley right in the middle of town. The title "Den Spanske Trappe" playfully nods to Rome’s famous Spanish Steps, but the atmosphere here is intimate rather than grand. One of the charms of the piece is how incomplete it looks when you are close to it. As you climb, the image fragments into abstract bars of colour. Only when you step back down to street level and line yourself up with the base do you see the full motif – a deliberate visual trick that rewards those who take the time to look.

Hidden stories in the painted landscape

Look carefully along the stairs and you will spot small, whimsical details tucked into the larger scene. Tiny figures, stylised animals, and subtle shapes are blended into the brushwork, like a picture book scattered across the steps. Locals sometimes point out their favourite details to each other, turning a simple staircase into a little game of discovery. Because the painting runs across every riser, the mood shifts with the weather. On bright days the colours are sharp and almost graphic; on overcast afternoons the tones soften and the forest scene feels more subdued. In winter the paint can be dusted with frost; in summer, patches of sunlight move slowly down the stairway during the day, picking out different corners of the artwork.

A casual pause point in the city fabric

The Spanske Trappe also works as a small urban terrace. The wide steps naturally invite people to sit down for a breather, chat with a friend or quietly watch the flow of the street below. It is informal and unplanned seating in the very fabric of the city, framed by colour instead of concrete grey. Thanks to its central position, the staircase often becomes a brief stop on a wider stroll through Sønderborg. It offers a quick dose of character in between other sights: the harbour, the historic streets and the town’s cultural venues. You rarely spend long here, but the memory of a painted stairway appearing around a corner tends to linger.

A small landmark with a big splash of colour

What makes the Spanske Trappe distinctive is scale: the artwork is modest in size yet large enough to reshape the feel of this little slope between streets. It shows how a single intervention can give a neighbourhood a focal point and a nickname, turning directions like “take the stairs” into “meet me at the Spanish staircase.” For a visitor, it is a reminder that not every highlight is a monument or museum. Sometimes it is a piece of public art that you can walk on, sit on, and experience differently from every angle. Here, in the middle of Sønderborg, a staircase has become a story you climb through rather than simply pass over.