COMING TO SOLVANG
It was late in the year of 1910 when three Danish visionaries made a contract to purchase nearly 10,000 acres of land in the Santa Ynez Valley. The land had been part of the Mexican land grant, Rancho San Carlos de Jonata, and had the united virtues of climate, adequate water supply and fertile soil.

Solvang Street Names Ever wonder what all those Danish street names mean? Click here for translation

Stock in the newly formed Danish American Company was issued on October 19, 1910 and the founding of a new Danish colony on the west coast began under the guidance of Pastors Benedict Nordentoft, J.M.Gregersen, and Professor Peter Hornsyld. One might imagine the hopes and courage of the first Danes who arrived by the Pacific Coast Railway in Los Olivos, ready to begin construction and development.

Hans C.D. Skytt, master builder and bachelor, arrived to begin a family heritage of construction. Mads Frese was the appointed land salesman, and Mr. and Mrs. Sophus Olsen were to open the first general merchandise store. The sounds of hammers and saws were not only evidence of building activities, but with the superior craftsmanship of the Danish carpenters, the Solvang Hotel was soon made ready for families, who would wait for their homes and businesses to be constructed. Mr. and Mrs. H.P. Jensen stayed there, after arriving from Kansas to begin anew in this beautiful valley. Mrs. Jensen cooked for all of the carpenters while the Jensen home, the first residence in Solvang was being built.

Essential plans were to construct two Danish cultural institutions - a Lutheran church and a Danish folk school - which at first were linked within the same building. The first folk school was located on Alisal Road (it still exists as the Bit O'Denmark Restaurant). This structure was quickly outgrown. A larger building, Atterdag College, was built in 1914. The college brought educators from all parts of the world, who complemented a culturally oriented program to help students lead richer, more meaningful lives. The Danish folk school was for the purpose of teaching pupils (who had to be at least 16 years old) a love for life, people, country and God. Students lived together for three to five months enjoying lectures, sermons, singing, gymnastics, folk dancing, crafts and fellowship. After many years of service, Atterdag College was razed in 1970.

The Bethania Evangelical Lutheran Church, built in the architectural style of the Bishop Grundtvig churches in Denmark, was dedicated in 1928. The church was built by Hans C.D. Skytt and the land on which it sits was donated by Peter Bredall. In the church are handsome art objects with a pulpit, altar, baptismal font, and railings handcarved by Jes P. Smit. The church completed the attainment of the two very important goals of the founding pioneers of Solvang, and is still very much in use today.

In the first thirty years, the commercial buildings had the architectural styles of the day. (Rasmussen's at the corner of Alisal Road and Copenhagen has a combination of the original Spanish arches with an old world roof style, added many years later). It was not until 1946, after the end of World War II, that promoters of the idea of a "Danish Village" were finally able to move ahead with plans to redesign the existing facade of the town, and to mandate this style for new construction. News of this was picked up by many local, regional and national newspapers and when an article appeared in the Saturday Evening Post in 1947, Solvang became a very hot tourist attraction. A view of early Solvang, as it looked from 1911 to 1936, is shown in a diorama in a garden cottage at the Elverhoj Museum of History and Art.

Royalty has come to Solvang twice; in 1939 Danish Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Ingrid were welcomed here. In 1960 Princess Margrethe paid a visit and came here again in 1976 after she became queen of Denmark. In the intervening years, a number of areas have been annexed to the originally platted town. Many of the present residents are of Danish heritage, as Solvang continues to see an influx of Danes from their homeland as well as many others drawn to the charming area.

Many years ago H.C. Hansen, one of the Danish American Company directors, gave the village its name, Solvang, meaning "sunny fields". Sunny Solvang has become a very special place where old-world charm and customs have been successfully linked with the American way of life. Tourists arrive by the hundreds to enjoy the charm of the village with its flower-filled garden areas. The annual Danish Days celebration, begun in 1936, is held on the third weekend of September each year, bringing with it the busiest weekend of the year. Many real and would-be Danes wear typical or modified Danish costumes. Music and sounds of folkdancing fill the air and the main street is closed to auto traffic so that medistepolse and aebleskiver can be cooked on outdoor stoves by the local Danes who enjoy this social event.

There is a cultural imprint that charactizes Solvang: the Scandinavian architectural style; the presence of folk customs with music and dancing; the famous pastries and restaurants; coffee shops, museums and an outdoor festival theater. The gentle pace of life that makes the area a fine place in which to spend enjoyable visits and to live and raise families, reflect the heritage that arrived in that first busy year of 1911.

Written by Marilyn Cronk, Former Museum Director