Daugbjerg Limestone Mine offers legends

Go underground to a constant temperature of 8 degrees all year round in Scandinavia's oldest limestone mine. Daugbjerg limestone mine was once an important source of lime used in construction, today it is the focal point for several events every year. 

2022 marked anew era for the limestone mines and the new leaseholder

Carsten has been the leaseholder of Daugbjerg Kalkgruber since January 2022. But the mines were not new to him when he took over the daily operations, before that he had been working in the mines as a guide since 2004. 

When one of his oldest children fell ill a few years ago, Carsten decided that family came first and that there should be more time to do things as a family. 

At the time, he was working as an educator, so he took a leave of absence to be there for his child. When everyday life returned, he could feel that his drive and passion had shifted. After the illness, he decided to talk to the owner of the mines at the time. They had previously talked about whether Carsten should be a bigger part of the business. When he came and said that if it was to be, it had to be now, everything started to fall into place. And in January, he was able to take over the role of tenant farmer. 

A family project 

On a daily basis, Carsten is the one man on the stick in Daugbjerg Kalkgruber. A tourist attraction in Central Jutland that welcomes 10,000 visitors to the mines every year for an experience. Here, the story of Jens Langkniv can take place under the ceilings of the mines where the bats live. 

Before taking on the role of tenant farmer, Carsten has guided numerous school classes, family excursions and other visitors around the caves with stories about what the mysterious caves are used for and what they have housed in the past. 

Today, he still enjoys taking guests down into the mines, in addition to running the kiosk and day-to-day operations. 

The whole family is involved in making it a place that works. His wife does the bookkeeping, the two oldest help out when it fits in between friends and school, and the youngest spreads energy and smiles for all visitors.

Alimestone mine and not a gold mine

At Daugbjerg Kalkgruber, the focus is on the experience. It has therefore been the goal to emphasize this even more after Carsten took over. Daugbjerg Kalkgruber also has an assembly hall, and in 2022, it had great success when a Danish/Australian singer visited the mines with an intimate concert for 50 guests. 

The first year as a concessionaire has also offered several new experiences, as the job description now extends from being able to deep-fry French fries in the kiosk to being able to capture and interact with visitors down in the pits.
Every year, more events are created, something Carsten and his family want to maintain, but also to do even more of. The idea with Daugbjerg Kalkgrube is not to get the same amount of visitors as the neighboring limestone mine, the goal is instead to keep the authentic experience high at each event. 

Daugbjerg Kalkgruber therefore offers the opportunity to sleep in the pits, walk in Jens Langkniv's footsteps around the curved corridors or spot sleeping bats. In addition, there are a number of special events such as the limestone mine race, team building opportunities and party room rental. Carsten hopes to organize even more concerts, lectures and events in the pits and the party room. 

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Read much more about opening hours and the many possibilities on their website daugbjergkalkgruber.dk

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