The formation of landscapes
The River Kongeå
The river Kongeå runs into a riverbed, which is carved into the sand of the meltwater from the last ice age, the Weichsel Ice Age. The river Kongeå is 65 km long and rises between Ødis-Bramdrup and Vamdrup. However, it is not until it meets with the river, the Vejen Å, that the river Kongeå becomes a wide and significant river.
Until 1864, the river Kongeå formed the border between the Kingdom of Denmark and the Duchy of Schleswig. Both areas came under the rule of the Danish king but had greatly differing historical, management conditions. This meant that there was a customs border here - right in the midst of the king's kingdoms and countries.
The Kongeå runs through the wide Kongeå valley, with considerable slopes leading up to the hills along the river's north side and south sides. The Kongeå flows into the Wadden Sea at Kongeå Sluice, just west of Gredstedbro.
The Kongeå valley
The Kongeå valley cuts through the landscape between Vejen and Villebøl. The river valley is between 2 and 3 kilometres wide and 30 kilometres long. It is surrounded by hills from the middle ice age, the Saale Ice Age and outwash plains from the last ice age, the Weichsel Ice Age.
The Kongeå valley was created by streams of meltwater at the end of the last ice age. From glaciers along the edge of the ice, the meltwater ran over the ice-free land, washed the sand away and formed the river valley.
The meltwater from the ice ages also created the area's hilly lanscape. The landscape from Vejen and west towards Holsted is remarkably hillier than other areas in southwest Jutland. Significantly hilly areas can be seen by Tirslund Bjerg, Føvling, Åtte Bjerg and Jelshøj south of Askov.
