In Balle, you can choose between very different highlights: Munkholm Zoo offers an animal visit, Balle Barrow is a prehistoric monument, and Rosmus Church showcases Romanesque architecture. In addition, a national cycling route runs through Syddjurs from Balle via Ebeltoft and Rønde. You can focus on one of these highlights or include different themes in your travel plans.

Munkholm Zoo: Animals and getting there

Munkholm Zoo is located at Munkholmvej 5, 8444 Balle. More than 400 animals from 80 different species live there. Regional bus route 123 runs between Grenå and Ebeltoft and serves Munkholm Zoo. Get off in Balle and walk two kilometres from there. Allow for this walk as a separate part of your journey, and check the route’s timetable before setting off. This lets you plan the bus ride and the subsequent walk separately.

Balle Barrow: a prehistoric monument

Balle Barrow is a completely preserved round barrow in a burial mound immediately north of Balle. The monument is dated to around 3400 BC. This date is approximate and gives it a different historical perspective from the Romanesque features of Rosmus Church.

The route to the burial mound follows a footpath across a field from a marker post at the roadside. To find your way there, remember the sequence: first the post, then the field path, and finally the mound. This makes the directions to the barrow different from the journey to the zoo, where getting off the bus and then walking from Balle are the key landmarks.

Rosmus Church and its Romanesque details

Rosmus Church is located at Rosmus Bygade 26, 8444 Balle. Its nave and chancel are Romanesque. Its oldest item of church furnishings is considered to be a Romanesque granite baptismal font decorated with lions. The church therefore brings together two aspects: its Romanesque architectural features and a single item of church furnishing. The font’s material and decoration give it a distinctive character, while the nave and chancel identify the architectural focus.

For cultural planning, this sets the barrow apart: there, the focus is on the round barrow, burial mound and approximate date; at the church, you can distinguish between architectural history and an item of church furnishing. Visitors choosing Balle for its historical themes will therefore find two different highlights rather than a repetition of the same perspective.

Cycling route and travel planning

The national cycling route runs through Syddjurs from Balle via Ebeltoft and Rønde. At every junction along the route in Syddjurs, road signs show the way. The route’s progression through the towns and the signage serve different purposes for navigation: Ebeltoft and Rønde indicate the sequence of towns mentioned, while the signs help you find your way at junctions. For cyclists, this is a different way to plan a trip from taking the bus and walking to the zoo.

For the zoo, the bus ride and walk matter; for the cycling route, it is the journey through several towns and the signage. If you are more interested in history, the barrow and Romanesque church offer two clearly distinct themes. First decide what you want your stay to focus on; this will help you search for hotels based on the activities you actually plan to do.

Discover more destinations: Følle, Skødshoved Strand, Rønde, Øerne, Egsmark Strand, Begtrup, Holme, Dejret

Go to the main travel overview: Syddjurs Municipality.