When touring Denmark you are bound to come across various signposts that give directions to the Danish tourist attractions. In this country we use the Saint Hannes cross  (in Danish sankthanskors or johanneskors) to indicate a tourist attraction of importance. The symbol can be said to have the same function in all the Nordic countries, but in Denmark we have both a brown and a blue version of the symbol.

The brown Attractions' Sign

In Denmark, 204 attractions (both natural, culture historic and commercial ones) have been rated to be of special national interest and consequence. For these reasons they and have been given the right to use the brown Saint Hannes Cross sign.

The rating was made by the Heritage Agency of Denmark in co-operation with the Danish Forest and Nature Agency and the official tourism organisation VisitDenmark.

A number of criteria must be met: 

• The attraction must be established on a permanent basis, and rated to be of special and national importance
• The attraction must be open to the publich for at least 5 hours a day, 5 days a week during the period 1st of May to the end of September 
• Information board in Danish, English, and German, showing opening hours, description and entrance fee (if required) must be available close to the attraction
• Sufficient parking space must be available

See the list of the rated attractions (only in Danish)

The blue Attractions' Sign

The blue attractions' sign is restrictively used by the municipality in order to make tourists acquainted with all the high quality sights and attractions in the area worth visiting.

In order to obtain the blue attractions's sign a number of criteria must be fullfilled:

• The attraction must be of interest to a wide variety of target groups both among the population and visiting foreign tourists - and the attraction must be able to satisfy this
• The attraction must be open to the public for at least 5 hours a day, 5 days a week during the period 1st of May to the end of September
• Information board in Danish, English, and German, showing opening hours, description and entrance fee (if required) must be available close to the attraction
• Sufficient parking space must be available

The UNESCO World Heritage List of Monuments sign

Three Danish attractions have been admitted to the UNESCO World Heritage List of Monuments, and consequently are allowed to use the appropriate sign. The attractions are: the Castle of Kronborg, Elsinore, The Cathedral of Roskilde, and the Runic Stones of Jelling.

Click here to see the list of all the world heritage monuments