Cycling: The Elvira Route

On the route, you pass the three places where Elvira Madigan and Sixten Sparre spent their last days: Troense, where they stayed in a summer guesthouse. Nørreskoven, where their bodies were found, and Landet Church, where they are buried. At Tåsinge Museum near Bregninge Church, the whole story is told, and various artifacts are displayed.

Also, take a trip up the tower of Bregninge Church, from where there is a five-star view over the South Funen Archipelago.

The story in brief: The year is 1889, and Elvira has pawned her jewelry and has run away from the circus, where she worked as a tightrope walker, together with her beloved – and married – Sixten Sparre, who has deserted from his regiment. The couple went to Stockholm, and from there took a train to Copenhagen and Svendborg, where they checked into a hotel (the current Hotel Ærø, where you can stay in the very same room) as honeymooners. On July 15, Circus Bergman arrived in Svendborg, after which the couple, fearing recognition, went to Troense to a summer guesthouse. Their money is spent, and with no money and no prospects, the couple took a fatal trip into the woods on July 20 to seal their fate. They brought a picnic basket and wandered out to Nørreskoven, where Sixten shot Elvira and then himself.

Buy the guidebook: 17 Bicycletours around the South Funen Archipelago and see more tours (available at the tourist offices in the South Funen Archipelago and at BikeØhav: http://www.bike-ohav.dk/BUY.html