Solvang was founded in 1911 on 9,000 acres (36 km²) of formerly Spanish land by a group of Danish educators, who traveled west to escape midwestern winters. The city is home to some bakeries, restaurants, and merchants offering a taste of Denmark in California. The architecture of many of the buildings follows traditional Danish style. There is a copy of the famous Little Mermaid statue from Copenhagen, as well as one featuring the bust of famed Danish fable writer Hans Christian Andersen. A replica of the Copenhagen observatory Rundetårn in the scale 1:3 was finished in 1991 and can be seen in the city centre.

Mission Santa Ines, one of the California missions, is both a National Historic Landmark and a California Historical Landmark. It is located near the center of the town, at the junction of State Route 246 and Alisal Road.

Solvang Media Attention

Patricia Hitchcock, the only child of the film director Alfred Hitchcock, currently resides in Solvang
Solvang was one of the two locations featured in the William Castle film, Homicidal. The location used for the drugstore and flowershop still stands today and remains relatively unchanged.
Rancho del Cielo, President Ronald Reagan's ranch which served as the "Western White House" during Reagan's two terms in office, is located about six miles (10 km) outside of Solvang.
In The Simpsons episode "Little Orphan Millie", it was revealed that Milhouse has an uncle from Solvang named Norbert "Zack" Van Houten. Bart has a telephone conversation with a switchboard operator in Solvang, and a wooden "Solvang Air" airliner, whose fuselage resembles buildings in the town, is shown landing at Springfield Airport. Uncle Zack's overwhelming pride in his Danish heritage also reflects Solvang's history from its founding by Danish citizens.
Ska-punk band Mad Caddies call Solvang their home.
In American Dad, Roger refers to buying chocolate in Solvang.
The town of Solvang was featured on Bravo's hit television show, Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, on its third season.
In an episode of "Pinky and the Brain", Brain forms a basketball team that has a practice session in Solvang.

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