Solvang (; Danish for "sunny field") is a city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Located in the Santa Ynez Valley, Solvang was founded in 1911 and incorporated as a city on May 1, 1985. The population was 6,126 at the 2020 census. Solvang has been described as "The Danish Capital of America".
In 1804, Mission Santa Inés was founded by the Spanish under Esteban Tápis. A small community grew up around the mission called "Santa Inés" during the Mexican period, but it was largely abandoned after the American Conquest of California. In 1911, a new settlement was founded around the mission by a group of Danish Americans who purchased of the surrounding Rancho San Carlos de Jonata, to establish a Danish community far from Midwestern winters. The community began building Danish-themed architecture in 1947, and has since become a tourist destination with 1.5 million visitors per year. The community attracts tourists from Nordic countries, and has been the subject of several Danish royal visits including Prince Henrik in 2011. A minority of residents in the 21st century are of Danish origin.
History
Beginnings
The Santa Ynez Valley, in which Solvang lies, was originally inhabited by the Chumash, identified by Father Pedro Font, chaplain of the 1776 Anza Expedition, and were described as an ingenious and industrious people who are good fishermen and hunters, with an excellent astronomical system."Mission History", Old Mission Santa Inés. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
As part of the expansion of the mission system established in California by Spanish missionaries, Father Estévan Tapís founded Mission Santa Inés, now located near the center of Solvang, in order to relieve overcrowding at Mission Santa Barbara and Mission La Purísima Concepción since it was located midway between the two. It also served as a gateway to the Chumash Indians living east of the Coast Range.National Park Service, "Mission Santa Inés California". Retrieved September 16, 2014.
After the Mexican War of Independence, the Mexican Assembly passed the Secularization Laws which confiscated Mission lands, along with other property, and transferred them to the control of local ranchers, with Solvang being later founded on what became known as the Rancho San Carlos de Jonata. With secularization, Mission Santa Inés began to decline and the Chumash Indian population in the area along with it. For a time, the mission was a seminary but soon began to deteriorate; it was repaired by the Donahue family in 1884 and renovated by Fr. Alexander Buckler in 1904.
Danish settlement Between 1865 and 1914, 300,000 Danes had immigrated to United States, some of whom headed west into California. Three men—Benedict Nordentoft, Jens Gregersen, and Peder Hornsyld—sought and found land to grow a Danish settlement. Initially the settlement was like any other pioneer town in California. In 1910, Danish-Americans created the Danish-American Colony Company in San Francisco. Later that year, suitable land was found in the Santa Ynez Valley northwest of Santa Barbara, and in 1911, they acquired almost of the Rancho San Carlos de Jonata land grant, paying an average of $40 per acre.Pat Murphy,"Remember When?", Santa Ynez Valley Guest Magazine , Spring 2004. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
Solvang was established in 1911 for cultural, educational, and religious purposes. A hotel was built close to the Mission where new arrivals could be housed, and a school opened in 1911, with 21 students.
Expansion and development
In 1912, when it became difficult to sell any more plots of land, developers from Solvang travelled to Iowa and Nebraska to persuade Danish immigrants to buy land in the town. This attracted new settlers. The early settlement had a store, a bank, a lumber yard, a barbershop and a post office.Rolf Buschardt Christensen, "Benedict Nordentoft". Retrieved July 12, 2010. During the 1920s, civic amenities such as electricity were installed in the town.
Folk high school In 1914, Atterdag College opened, named after Valdemar IV of Denmark. The school taught Danish-speaking students in their late teens a curriculum that emphasized lectures, singing, gymnastics, folk dancing and fellowship; teaching both Danish and American curriculum. There were no examinations or degrees, and learning was mutual with teachers and students living, eating and studying together. Among the popular recreation and sports that were taught were folk dance and gymnastics. During World War I, enrollment dropped due to reduced Danish immigration, and a rise in nationalism. The school was sold to the Solvang Lutheran church in 1921. Atterdag College continued to be used as a folk school, community meeting hall, performing arts venue, gymnastics center, summer school, and boarding house until it was demolished in 1970, and then replace by the Solvang Lutheran Home."Bethania", Everything.com. Retrieved September 16, 2010.
Danish church
The Bethania Evangelical Lutheran Church opened in 1928, designed as a Gothic-styled, 14th century rural Danish church."Churches and cathedrals" VisitDenmark . Retrieved August 7, 2010. Originally, the services were mainly in Danish, but are now in English.Sally Cappon, "Picturesque church honors traditions", Santa Ynez Valley News. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
Danish-styled architecture Initially, most of Solvang's buildings were built in the same style as others in the area. The Lutheran church was the first to be based on Danish architecture and bears a close relationship to Danish equivalents. In 1931 Earl Petersen, a local architect, gave the older buildings a new look, adding façades in so-called "Danish Provincial" style.Poul Husted,, Turen går til. Retrieved September 13, 2010.David and Marlere Macbeth,"Solvang — Danish-Inspired". Retrieved September 13, 2010. It was a Danish medieval bindingsverk design. The pioneer of the Danish Provincial style was Ferdinand Sorensen, originally from Nebraska. In the mid-1940s, after returning to Solvang from a trip to Denmark, he first completed Møllebakken, his Danish-styled home, and then went on to build the first of the village's four windmills. But after World War II, interest grew in the concept of a "Danish Village." Buildings in the half-timbered style of Danish rural houses proliferated, creating a new tourist attraction. While much was done to create an "authentic" Danish atmosphere in the town center, it has been pointed out by Scandinavians that fake thatched roofs and artificial timbering are largely a result of local interests in general rather than those of the Danish immigrants themselves. The older buildings have simply been restyled to look Danish even if there was nothing Danish about them originally.Irene Berg Sørensen,"Det rigtige Danmark skuffer i Solvang" , Videnskab.dk, . Retrieved September 18, 2010.
Subsequent development During the 1920s, the proportion of non-Danish residents rose substantially and local businesses and churches began providing services in English, in addition to traditional Danish. In the 1930s, Solvang became the largest town in the Santa Ynez Valley and a commercial hub for the local region. By the late 1940s, Solvang's growth stagnated as the town's economic activity focused predominately on agriculture, prompting younger residents to leave in search of more diverse job opportunities. In 1947, the town was featured in an article in The Saturday Evening Post entitled "Little Denmark," which praised Solvang's quaint rural charms and sparked a tourism boom prompting residents of Los Angeles and San Francisco to take weekend trips to Solvang.
Solvang subsequently developed a tourism industry focused on emphasizing the town's Danish heritage. Up to the 1980s, all changes to downtown occurred without city government, mainly by businessmen and selling bonds. In 1985, Solvang became incorporated as California's 440th city and afterwards made the town look uniformly with Danish-Provincial style. Numerous older buildings were demolished.
The 2004 film Sideways brought attention to the vineyards in the surrounding Santa Ynez Valley and tasting rooms have opened. Restaurants are also part of the revitalization of Solvang as it becomes a destination for locally sourced fare.
Geography Solvang is located in the Santa Ynez Valley some north-west of Santa Barbara and about north of the Pacific coast. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , 99.95% of it land and 0.05% of it water.
Climate Solvang enjoys sunshine throughout the year with clear, warm days and cool nights. Average temperatures vary between with highs reaching the lower 90s °F (lower 30s °C) and winter lows in the upper 30s °F (between 2 and 5 °C). Furthermore, Solvang experiences large diurnal temperature variations, especially in the summer, when daily temperatures vary on average by almost 40 °F (22 °C) Average annual rainfall for Solvang (recorded between 1964 and 2010) is ."Official Monthly and Yearly Rainfall Record, Solvang City Water District" , Santa Barbara County - Flood Control District. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
Solvang is northwest of Los Angeles.Bernbaum, Brian. "Michael Jackson Loves Taco Bell" (Archive). May 28, 2003. Retrieved on December 31, 2015.
Demographics
2020 census As of the 2020 census, Solvang had a population of 6,126 and a population density of . The median age was 50.9 years, and the age distribution was 16.6% under the age of 18, 6.7% aged 18 to 24, 19.8% aged 25 to 44, 26.6% aged 45 to 64, and 30.3% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 88.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 86.3 males age 18 and over.
The Census reported that 94.2% of the population lived in households, 2.4% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 3.3% were institutionalized. 96.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 3.2% lived in rural areas.
There were 2,463 households in Solvang, of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.3% were married-couple households, 5.7% were cohabiting couple households, 14.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 30.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34. There were 1,572 families (63.8% of all households).
There were 2,621 housing units at an average density of , of which 2,463 (94.0%) were occupied. Of occupied units, 58.9% were owner-occupied and 41.1% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 1.9%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 4,161 67.9% Black or African American 50 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native 81 1.3% Asian 115 1.9% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.0% Some other race 789 12.9% Two or more races 930 15.2% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 1,835 30.0%
Income and poverty In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $118,208, and the per capita income was $76,064. About 5.4% of families and 7.7% of the population were below the poverty line.
2010 census The 2010 United States census reported that Solvang had a population of 5,245. The population density was . The racial makeup of Solvang was 4,326 (82.5%) White, 38 (0.7%) African American, 59 (1.1%) Native American, 72 (1.4%) Asian, 1 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 611 (11.6%) from other races, and 138 (2.6%) from two or more races. There were 1,530 Hispanic or Latino residents, of any race (29.2%).
The Census reported that 5,190 people (99.0% of the population) lived in households, 3 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 52 (1.0%) were institutionalized.