Lille Vildmose

Lille Vildmose
View of the central part of Lille Vildmose
Location	Denmark
Nearest city	Denmark location map.svg
Coordinates	56°53′15″N 10°13′14″E / 56.88750°N 10.22056°E / 56.88750; 10.22056Coordinates: 56°53′15″N 10°13′14″E / 56.88750°N 10.22056°E / 56.88750; 10.22056
Area	7,600 hectares (19,000 acres)

Lille Vildmose (meaning: “little wild bog”) is a raised bog also known as the East Himmerland Moor in the hinterland in the municipalities of Aalborg and Mariagerfjord, Denmark. It is reported to be the largest raised bog in north-western Europe. The bog is a remnant of heathland that once extended south from Limfjorden to Rold Forest.

Lille Vildmose is a protected area, about 28 miles (45 km) southeast of Aalborg. It encompasses an area of 7,600 hectares (19,000 acres) which is owned both privately and partly by the State. A well-preserved, pristine wilderness, it contains the largest raised bog in Northern Europe and is Denmark's largest protected area. Its habitat consists of raised bogs (once part of the seabed), former islands (during the Stone Age), and a large area of coastal hills and beach meadows.

The raised bogs flourished undisturbed for 1,200 years till they were intentionally drained around 1750. They contain layers of peat growing at an annual rate of 4–5 millimetres (0.16–0.20 in) and reaching a depth of 5 metres (16 ft). Rainwater provides the nutrients. Tofte Lake (Tofte sø) has been formed after draining the marsh over a period of 200 years. The deciduous forests of Høstemark, Tofte, and Mose are part of the protected area secured by fencing. Trees have started to grow on the Portlandmose and Paraplymose, both raised bogs, as a result of drainage.

Rye was cultivated in Lille Vildmose prior to the medieval period when hemp was introduced for diversification, after ca. 1140. Agricultural production dropped and farmland in Lille Vildmose was abandoned between 1360 and 1540 due to the Black Death plague, resulting in the regeneration of woodland. After 1540, farming was intensified, the main products being rye and hemp. By 1760, when Lille Vildmose belonged to the Lindenborg Estate, more than 5,000 ha (12,000 acres) were tilled for the estate's farm, Vildmosegård. In the early 19th century, the reclamation of Lille Vildmose was the impetus needed to establish a peat industry. The peatcutting have now been terminated completely for many reasons of which the conservation efforts is just one.