Flagermusehuset (The Bat House)

If you want to learn more about the lives and movements of bats, visit the Danish Nature Agency's exciting bat information centre in Rø Plantage.

During the day, they hide in dark caves and crevices, and many of them sleep with their heads down. When night comes, they wake up and set out to hunt insects. A third of Danish mammal species are bats, and now this shadowy predator, which is also Denmark's only flying mammal, will have its own information centre on Bornholm.

Bats live a secret life in the dark, and perhaps that is why many Danes have limited knowledge of them. Bats are among the few animal species that feed on nocturnal insects such as mosquitoes and moths. They play an important role in the forest ecosystem both as predators and as food for other predators, such as owls. With an information centre on Bornholm, the Danish Nature Agency hopes to increase awareness of bats and thereby delight schoolchildren, scouts, nature-interested tourists and Bornholm residents.

The choice of Bornholm as the location for the information centre is not accidental. The island is home to Denmark's greatest diversity of bat species and has a completely unique composition of these species. Bornholm is thus a hotspot for bats, and 15 out of the 17 Danish species live here, including the rarest of them all, Bechstein's bat, which is only found and breeds on Bornholm - the only place in Denmark.

The information centre is housed in an old, dilapidated thatched building in Rø Plantage, known as Borgedalslængen, where a colony of long-eared bats has found a home in the attic. To protect the colony's habitat, the building will be partially renovated, while some parts will be demolished. The renovation and demolition will be adapted to the bats' annual cycle to minimize disruption.

The center will be on the lower floor of the building and will feature an exhibition about the life of bats. It will also be possible to follow the bats' activities in the attic via infrared cameras.

Rø Plantage is a fantastic place to experience bats. The forest is located far from the cities, which means that you can enjoy dark nights without light pollution - a rare experience in Denmark. The forest is also a free camping area, so visitors can combine a bat tour with a night under the open sky and get the opportunity to experience the fascinating animals up close.

The information center itself is unmanned and is open all year round.