Broughton Quarterly - Fall 2007 - (Page 34) Then and Now By Laura Kath Recently named by Sunset magazine as one of the “10 Most Beautiful Small Towns in the Western United States,” Solvang is known for its Danish roots. One expects the windmills and gabled roofs of a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, not to mention Danish bakeries, Danish architecture, and Danish smorgasbords. But nowadays, one also finds a number of sophisticated wine tasting rooms, each featuring local vintages from the surrounding wine country—which served as the setting for the award-winning movie Sideways. Dining options in Solvang are no longer limited to mieisterpolse (sausage) and aebleskiver (ball-shaped pancakes); there’s French, German, Mexican, Italian, Japanese, and plenty of traditional American cuisine as well. Today, this pedestrian-friendly village has more than 150 wonderful gift and antique stores, clothing boutiques, and art galleries. And given its proximity to the Santa Barbara County wine country, Solvang is a perfect base from which to explore local flavors without having to drive. Solvang has always been a place where cultures mix. When the industrious early settlers purchased 9,000 sunny acres of the former Rancho San Carlos de Jonata, they situated their new community adjacent to the historic 180 Mission Santa Ines. (This answers the oft-asked question: Why is there a Spanish Colonial-style mission in the middle of a Danish-style village?) To preserve and promote their Danish culture, Solvang founders constructed a Danish folk school, church, and college. As the 20th century progressed, more buildings began to reflect Danish farm-style architecture: cross-beamed bindingsvaerk timbers framing either brick or stucco, carved eaves and doorways, and windmills of all sizes catching gentle breezes. Bethania Evangelical Lutheran Church on Atterdag Road, dedicated in 1928 and still active with worship and open for tours, was built in the 1th century Denmark architectural style and features a wooden ship hanging from the nave. The Little Mermaid bronze sculpture, Denmark’s national symbol, greets visitors at the intersection of Mission Drive and Alisal Road. The Danish Days annual festival emerged in 1936 and continues to commemorate Solvang’s heritage. This year’s event takes place on the weekend of September 21-23 and features music, parades, dancing, dining, living history exhibitions, and fun for the entire family. Festivals and celebrations are traditional parts of Solvang’s charm—from the Taste of Solvang food and wine event every March to the Old Mission’s Fiesta each August and Winterfest during the month of December. Has Solvang really changed much since 1911? It depends on whom you ask. Regarding the influx of tourists and related businesses since the 1950s, many of the third and fourth generation Danish-American residents will respond with a resounding “Ja!” Others welcome the infusion of variety in restaurants, shops, and attractions, as well as the wine tasting rooms that have proliferated in the last decade. Yet an article in the January 18, 197 edition of the Saturday Evening Post that exposed Solvang to the world and began its modern “tourism era” still seems to hold true now: The rullepolse and risengrod were never finer in Copenhagen than they are in Solvang, a spotless Danish village that blooms like a rose in California’s charming Santa Ynez Valley. Old country charm and customs have been successfully fused with the American way of life. Nowadays . . . the quaint village is busy living up to its affectionate name, “Little Denmark.” Photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox 3 Broughton Quarterly Fall 2007
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