Denmark's Winter Swimming Festival Is A Haven For Nudists

For four days in January, the beaches in Skagen are filled with naked winter swimmers. Would you dare to join them, and dive into the sea (with or without a bathing suit) when the temperature on land is approximately 2° C? The Skagen Winter Swimming Festival is for those who aren’t afraid to push past their limits.

Every year in January, the “Icebreakers” (Isbryderne), a winter-swimmers club, organizes a festival that only a few have the courage to attend: Skagen Winter Swimming Festival (Skagen Vinterbaderfestival). For those who aren’t familiar with Denmark’s map, Skagen is the country’s northernmost city. It’s located literally on the top of Denmark. It’s a popular destination, attracting thousands of tourists every year who travel up north in order to admire the diverse landscape and visit Grenen, the point where two seas, the Skagerrak and Kattegat, meet.

While most people get goose pimples just thinking of diving in Skagen’s crystal-clear waters even during the summer, participants of Skagen Winter Swimming Festival don’t mind taking a refreshing dip in the dead of winter. Naked. Well, a bathing suit wouldn’t keep them much warmer in water as cold as 2° C, so, why not get the full experience?

During the four-day festival, participants gather every morning at Sønderstrand, a beach near Grenen, take off their clothes even if the thermometer shows 0°C and after swimming and playing with the waves, head to Jacob’s Café for hot soup and a filling meal.

Several events such as music concerts take place during the evening while fitness activities start from early in the morning for a proper warm-up and last until late in the afternoon.

The festival for 2019 will be held January 24–27. If you feel low temperatures aren’t a problem for you and you want to experience Danish winter like a real Viking, then pack your stuff and book your tickets for Denmark’s northernmost town.

About the author

Aliki Seferou

When she doesn't have her headphones on, Aliki likes to talk about cinema, the peculiar stories she has experienced during her various travels around the world, and her desperate attempts to capture landscapes and people with her lens. Originally from Athens, Greece, Aliki moved to Copenhagen to find out if Denmark is actually the happiest nation in the world (still looking into it) and at the same time study Film and Media.