On the high ground of Old Sprogø, out in the middle of the Great Belt, rises Sprogø Lighthouse – a striking sea mark that has guided ships through one of Denmark's busiest and most current-swept waters since 1868. For more than 150 years its light was a fixed point for shipping between Zealand and Funen, long before the bridge tied the regions together.

The tower stands high on the original moraine island and is one of its clearest landmarks. From here the view reaches far across the belt, over the open nature of New Sprogø and to the soaring suspension span of the Great Belt Bridge, which now passes close by. Old lighthouse and modern bridge gather, within a few hundred metres, more than a century of Danish infrastructure history.

Sprogø has always been a strategic point in the middle of the belt – over time a hideout, a fortress and a lighthouse station. The tower bears witness to an age when safe passage through the Great Belt was vital, and when the lighthouse keeper and his family were among the island's few permanent residents.

Today Sprogø is a protected area, closed to the public to safeguard its rich birdlife, and there is no free access to the island. The lighthouse and the rest of the island can therefore only be experienced on a guided tour, where a guide recounts the tower's history, the island's dramatic past and the nature around it. The tours are arranged by Destination Sjælland from Korsør.

A visit to Sprogø Lighthouse joins maritime history, magnificent nature and a view of one of the world's great bridge structures. Find more inspiration at Destination Sjælland and read about the island at Sund & Bælt, which manages Sprogø today.