Thygeson, Thyge de

Biography in relation to Skagen

His life's work came in 1861 when the Ministry entrusted him with the supervision of dune planting. When the dune system was reorganised in 1867, he became dune inspector and, with initiative and ingenuity that lasted until his old age, led the work of replanting the dunes and curbing the sand fly.

Thanks to Thygeson, in 1888 the area from the fields of Skagen and Hohen down to the parish was drained, covered with cut heather and subsequently planted with a few million multi-stemmed mountain pines. This created the Skagen Dune Plantation and fulfilled a crucial condition for the establishment of the railway. Immediately afterwards, work began on the Bunken and Ålbæk dune plains.

Nearly four square miles of the Jutland dunes were planted under his direction. - de Thygeson was chairman of the Jutland Coastal Protection Commission 1874-84.

He was not a prominent politician, but participated in committee work concerning agriculture, dune planting and the like. He was a strong advocate of the construction of the Skagen railway, which took place in 1890. The memorial to Thygeson stands in Skagen Klitplantage by Gammel Landevej