|
|
|
|
As the Vikings left their imposing mark on European history, so they also left their distinctive mark on the Danish landscape. A trip to Denmark’s Viking Age monuments also takes in some of the country’s most beautiful regions.
|
|
Denmark’s Birth Certificate
The runic stones are singular testaments to the written language of the Danes, as well as their social conditions and personal circumstances. By far the majority are installed at the Prehistoric Museum, Moesgård, but the two most imposing stones stand in Jelling where they have stood for a millennium. Indeed, Jelling Church contains one of the most remarkable monuments of the Viking Age, consisting of two huge mounds, between which are two runic stones. On the largest of these King Harald Bluetooth had inscribed that the stone was erected as a monument to his parents, and that he had united Denmark as a single kingdom and converted the Danes to Christianity. The stone, which is decorated both with the image of Christ and the distinctive ornamentation of the Viking Age, is referred to as “Denmark’s Birth Certificate”. The recently-built visitors’ centre, Royal Jelling, takes you through the history of the monuments from their erection just under 1000 years ago and up to the present day. Click to learn more about:
The Prehistoric Museum, Moesgård
Jelling Church and The Runic Stones
Royal Jelling Visitors centre
|
 The Monuments
The Vikings erected their monuments on many sites in Denmark. In the Ladby ship on Funen a Viking noble was once buried, and an impressive ship tumulus is to be seen in Glavendrup, also on Funen. The Lindholm Mound near Aalborg is Denmark’s largest Viking burial site. Click to learn more about: The Ladby Ship Lindholm Høje Museum
 The Ships
Without its ships the Viking Age would never have been the great era celebrated today. The Vikings struck fear and terror into the hearts of men wherever they went, but their ships compelled boundless admiration. Visitors to the maritime history museum containing The Viking Ship Museum have the chance to sense the awe for themselves. This museum is built up around a find of 5 shipwrecks from Viking times, which testify to the legendary ship-building skills of the Vikings. Click to learn more about: The Viking Ship Museum (Vikingeskibsmuseet) |
|
|
The StrongholdsAmong Viking edifices, their circular strongholds are some of the most impressive. Trelleborg Castle in West Zealand and Fyrkat near Hobro in Jutland are the most clearly visible. Alongside the strongholds, Viking museums have been established to exhibit the excavated finds, reconstructions of stronghold dwellings have been erected, and in summer these sites host Viking combat re-enactments and Viking markets. Click to learn more about: The Trelleborg monument
Relevant links: Ribe Viking Centre is a reconstructed life-size Viking estate, peopled with Vikings with whom you can work and talk Ribe Viking Centre
The Museum Ribe’s Vikings presents special exhibitions and in the lecture room you can see videofilms about the Viking Age of Ribe The Museum Ribe’s Vikings Learn more about the Vikings and their history through this electronic exhibition Viking exhibition at the Smithsonian
|
Prehistoric DenmarkThere was people in Denmark long before the Vikings. At the National Museum (Nationalmuseet) in Copenhagen prehistoric Denmark is presented right from the Palaeolithic Age. Here visitors can view abundant of finds made by archaeologists in the Danish soil over the centuries. The regional and local museums throughout the country also hold excellent finds from prehistoric Denmark. Ertebølle near the Limfjord has a telling testament to the Stone Age Dane, in the shape of a well-preserved kitchen midden! Iron Age finds can also be viewed at Lejre near Roskilde on Sealand and at Hjemsted in southern Jutland. Click to learn more: The National Museum of History and Culture The Stoneage Center at Ertebølle Lejre Experimental Centre Hjemsted Oltidspark (Iron Age Park) |
Thursday, November 10 2011
Selected viking
events through-
out the year
|
|
|
|
|