Råbylille Strand

Råbylille Strand is a resort on the south coast of eastern Møn, an island on the Baltic Sea in south-east Denmark. On 1 January 2007, it became part of the new Vordingborg municipality.It is 9km to the east of Stege and 15 km south-west of Møns Klint. As a result of the growing popularity of holiday homes, many of which are available for rental, it has developed rapidly over the past 30 years.HistoryThe beginningsThe history of Møn dates back many thousands of years with traces of tribes living from hunting and fishing in the area. By about 3000 BC, in the neolithic period, the inhabitants built farming settlements throughout the island and created the first ancient monuments in the form of graves or barrows built of huge stones, one of which can be found near Råbymagle, just a couple of kilometers from Råbylille Strand. There are also several burial mounds in the area.Much fuller accounts of the history of the area can be found in the articles on Møn and History of Denmark.Recent historyThe hamlet of Råbylille, 2 km north of Råbylille Strand, consists of a few thatched cottages, some dating back to the 17th century. A few similar cottages as well as some larger farmhouses were built closer to the coast when Råbylille Strand was simply just the beach for Råbylille. After the end of World War II, plots of land became available for holiday homes or summer houses as they are known in Denmark. These proved increasingly popular, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s, with the result that today there is a quite network of unsurfaced roads, each flanked by small or medium-sized wooden chalets and their gardens. The names of the roads in Råbylille Strand may appear rather curious. In fact, they are all based on the Danish terms for the components of a sailing ship.