other growing Danish towns in the 1960s, which basically means that you can drive through the city without noticing the size of it. Most shopping is concentrated in a shopping mall (Hanstholm Centret), and there are separate pedestrian and bicycle paths covering most of the city. History Pre-historic Several excavations have shown that the Hanstholm area was inhabited by farmers as early as 1000 B.C. Teutons In the year 120 B.C., teutons inhabited the area, but left in a large exodus, together with the Cimbri, towards the south, where they encountered the Romans. Age of the Vikings In the years 800 to 1050, Hanstholm and the area around it were islands, and nearby was the gathering point for the Vikings for their invasions of England and France. First Christianity According to legend, the first Christian church in the Thy area was built in 1040 in Vestervig, where Christian priests coming from England entered Denmark. A big monastery was later built here and this was the beginning of the end of the Viking era. The churches in Ræhr, Hansted and Vigsø were built in the 12th century in Roman style, and on Hansted church, one of the stones shows the picture of a trading vessel. This trading vessel has been used as model for the arms of the former Hanstholm municipality. Norwegian trade From approximately 1600 to approximately 1850, people from the area of Hanstholm traded considerably with Norway, which was a part of Denmark at that time, with special boats across the Skagerrak. They exported food, mostly grain, and imported logs. There were no trees in the whole area, so wood was in high demand. The primary harbours for this trade were Vigsø and Klitmøller, the latter because they had water mills to produce flour. For this trade, special ships were designed, named 'sandskuder', meaning 'sand boats'. They were able to sail directly onto the beach and were designed for the transport of grain, flour and logs. Sand drift A lot of sand began to drift from the west coast towards the east in the 14th century. In 1555, the sand drift had damaged a large area of Vigsø parish, and the local pastor suggested the abandonment of both the parish and the church. However, people stayed in the area, and the parish remained active. The other parishes were hit hard as well, and in 1690 there were dunes on