|
|
|
|
|
Let Danish History Tingle on Your Skin
|
|
The past comes to life in new and exciting ways. This is what today’s tourists can experience all over Denmark. With role play, theatre and new technology if feels as if history is actually touching you.
Here are some examples you can experience in Denmark this year.
What about this for an idea for a holiday? Hire “an attack” by highwaymen like those who ravaged travellers in Denmark a few hundred years ago!
This happens in the Rold Forest (Rold Skov) in North Jutland. Whilst on a guided tour in the beautiful forest you can arrange to be attacked by three highwaymen. Of course it happens in the nicest possible way, without a hint of bloodshed. As you recover from the surprise the highwaymen take the chance to tell their ‘victims’ the famous stories of the Highwaymen from Rold. The stories may have grown through time, but they do give an insight into what was a way of life for these desperate men. Book your “attack” at the local tourist office. It is just one example of how history comes alive today for visitors. Danish history is long, interesting and certainly not hidden. You see traces of it everywhere. In the towns and cities there are many fine old buildings and dotted around the countryside there are prehistoric remains of fortifications, moats and burial grounds. You see everywhere castles, manor houses and old churches which are also reminders of Denmark’s past. Denmark’s past can be experienced in big and small museums all over the country. By using theatre as well as new audio visual technology and even the possibility of a ‘try-it-yourself’ experience, history comes alive in fresh and exciting ways. By letting history tingle on your skin you will feel not only how life was for kings and warriors, but for the everyday Dane going about their ancient everyday business. This is easy to arrange for anybody interested in history. All you have to do is to contact the local tourist office who will tell you what from Denmark’s past is happening in the present. There’s no need to worry about language as most activities are in both Danish and English. For more information about Rold Forest and the Highwaymen, go to www.roldskovturist.dk
Danes, as you know, can be traced back to the redoubtable Vikings. About 1000 years ago they were amongst the best seafarers in the world who went on long journeys to England, Iceland and perhaps even America. But what was it really like to sail in their elegant ships? Yes, why not find out for yourself?  Now, you and your family get the opportunity to try this on Roskilde Fjord. Several times a day during the summer period replicas of real Viking ships leave the museum harbour which is part of the famous Viking ship Museum in Roskilde. There are 12 – 18 people in each ship guided by a professional skipper sitting in the stern ensuring everybody’s safe return after the 50 minutes expedition Everybody on board takes an active role. The ores start off by going into the water on the command of the skipper, which often results in a bit of chaotic fun. It is initially difficult for many people to synchronize their moves. But amazingly quickly everybody gets into rhythm. The skipper in the stern will hear someone say almost every time, we didn’t know a longboat could sail so quickly. After about half an hour’s rowing it is time to turn back - the return journey is with sail which everybody helps to set. The ship now heads back towards the harbour to the sound of the flapping sail. Freshened up by the trip on the fjord it is highly recommended you visit the Viking ship Museum – if you haven’t already done so before the expedition. For more information please see www.vikingskibsmuseet.dk
….”and then by midnight I had a date with a ghost at Sønerborg Castle. It was hair raising and fascinating. It was like meeting the real thing”.
This is what was written on many holiday post cards from tourists who visited Sønderborg Castle. Well, maybe this isn’t quite their exact words but the message is similar. The “ghost walk” which takes place at Sønderborg Castle, every June, July & August, in the late hours of the evening fascinates everybody who dares to try.
You turn up at the murky castle at 22.00 to be met by monks in their long dark cassocks who guide you round the lo-o-o-ng corridors. The only lights are the lanterns you carry yourselves. And things happen in the dark. Suddenly a room is filled with the sound of an organ. In the distance you hear a scream, dragging footsteps and the rattling of armour. You see nothing but you hear everything!
During your walk the guides talk about the history of the place – good and bad – including events which through time have repeated themselves in the castle grounds. Amongst others they tell you about Duke Hans (Hertug Hans) a bad man who killed many people and who himself was afraid of getting killed. As part of the guided tour you see the cell where he kept his captured enemies.
There’s also the story of Queen Dorothea (Dronning Dorothea) on the ghost menu. She wasn’t buried until 10 years after her death, which may be why she is one of the white ladies who have been seen around the castle.
Many more stories are told during the late hours of the evening at Sønderborg Castle, but don’t forget daytime is also a very interesting time to come for a visit. The castle was founded in the 12th century and houses a museum with everything about the history of South Jutland from the middle ages until today.
Please see more information on www.ghostwalkind.dk og www.sonderborgslot.dk
You get ear phones, a MP3 player and a map of the Vesterbro part of Copenhagen. And here you go: You are now ready for an “audio walk” into the past of one of the most interesting and trendy areas of Copenhagen. Once it was marked by poverty, slums and prostitution, but today it is known for its cosmopolitan mix of nationalities, small shops, interesting galleries, cafés and carefully restored old houses.  Six young artists have produced their own ”audio walk” through Vesterbro each of them giving you a different angle to their favourite part of the history of the district. You find your way round guided by the information in the earphones and the map. On route you stop and listen to: “Now you are standing on the particular place where…..” “200 years ago on this exact spot….” The subjects are very different ranging from a tour where you experience how Vesterbro was taken over by a young guy from Jutland to a ghost tour from the Black Horse Old Inn as told by the executioner’s young daughter. The Audio walks are with M3 players and maps you borrow from Copenhagen City Museum (Københavns Bymuseum). The tours are available in Danish and English and last between 16 – 38 minutes. The price of an “Audio walk” is the same as a normal entrance ticket to the museum. The “Audio walk” ticket also includes entry to the museum as well, where you do not only get to know the history of Vesterbro, but the whole of Copenhagen. Please see more information on www.bymuseum.dk
The good old days weren’t really that good. Certainly not for the poor people – as was the case in Aalborg. Violence, drunkenness, prostitution and witch hunts were all part of everyday life for the city’s inhabitants about 400 years ago. It is now possible for visitors to get a look into this gloomy past. It is The Secret Theatre (Det Hem’lige Teater) a local theatre group who with a mix of historical facts, myths and performance give an insight to life in Aalborg in the ”old days”. ”Horrible Aalborg” is the tour’s name which happens in June, July and August and lasts about an hour. A guide leads the audience safely and comfortably through the turmoil along the route meeting 3 – 4 actors from the group performing as they walk along. By using role play it brings historic happenings to life. Be prepared to see personal attacks, “naughty invites” as well as watching the very strict constabulary trying to ensure law and order in the streets. In 2006 there are two historical city walks on offer: “Trade and Prostitution”, which tells the story about rich and poor. It starts off with the rich merchant Jens Bang who in 1624 built the famous stone house and which to this day carries his name. The other walk is “Witches and Executions” which are stories about woman who in Aalborg were believed to be witches and therefore burnt to death. For more information please see www.hemli.dk and www.visitaalborg.com
|
|
|
|
|