Prior to Allinge and Sandvig becoming urban areas, people in the
Bronze Age lived there and made
rock carvings at
Madsebakke. Not all carvings of ships, suns, and footprints have survived, however. Late in the 19th century, stone quarries flourished in the area and some rock carvings were blown up between 1885 and 1902. Allinge and Sandvig were two separate towns, the former formed near the natural harbour on the northwestern coast, while Sandvig has been a small fishing village, whose origins can be traced to the
Middle Ages, its name derived from a sandy
cove on the coast. The port of Allinge dates from 1862, while that of Sandvig from 1831-33. ==Hammershus fortress==