Space for Nature
Saksfjed Wilderness
Size
800 hectaresObserved species
1288redlisted species
180About Saksfjed Wilderness
From agriculture and forestry to wild nature with large herbivores. Saksfjed Wilderness is an area in transformation.
Where farming and forestry dominated until 2023, the landscape is now evolving into a wilderness with open woodlands, flower-rich grasslands with scattered vegetation, wet meadows, and other wetlands—all made possible through rewilding.
The landscape engineers are nearly 200 Galloway oxen and Exmoor horses, roaming freely and shaping the 800-hectare area. The site is protected under Natura 2000 and has the potential to become one of the country’s most unique biodiversity hotspots.
What is Saksfjed Wilderness?
The wilderness is one of Denmark’s largest rewilding initiatives. On 800 hectares in southern Lolland, natural processes are being restored as former farmland is transformed into wild nature. Here, we make space—both for nature itself and for the latest knowledge and communication about nature restoration. The wilderness prioritises research, knowledge-sharing, and education, providing opportunities for researchers, students, volunteers, and visitors to take part in understanding and accelerating nature’s return.
Saksfjed Wilderness' History and VisionWho’s behind it?
Here is the team – we are biologists, managers, and communicators. Saksfjed Wilderness is owned and managed by the Danish commercial foundation, the Hempel Foundation. In addition to being the main owner of the Hempel Group, the foundation aims to accelerate lasting change in education and biodiversity.
The Hempel FoundationFind us here
Lyttesholmvej 4a
4970 Rødby
Lolland, Denmark
Saksfjed Wilderness is open to the public, and we welcome visitors inside our enclosures, where oxen and horses graze year-round.
The area belongs to nature and the wild animals, so there are a number of rules that we kindly ask you to follow.
Read more about access and general rules here.
behind the wilderness
The Wilderness offers space—both for nature and for the latest knowledge on nature restoration.
In Saksfjed Wilderness, some of the country’s most important and unique nature is emerging.
Using rewilding as a method, the Wilderness will be an incubator for much more than just biodiversity—it will be a place where cutting-edge research is developed and applied, and where education and inspiration sow the seeds for the future of nature restoration.