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Royal Jelling

The Viking Age was a transitional period between two religions. On the one side there were the old Norse Aesir (gods) and on the other side the Christian God. One of the most important monuments to this schism is to be found in Jelling in Southern Jutland.

Here stand two gigantic mounds, and between the mounds two runic stones have been placed. The larger of the two is decorated on one side with the Vikings’ distinctive ornamentation, in which a mythological beast rises up, while the other side is decorated with an image of Christ and an inscription in which King Harold Bluetooth proclaims that he has converted the Danes to Christianity.
At Jelling, Kings Gorm and Harold, Denmark’s first two monarchs in an uninterrupted thousand-year dynasty, created a unique monument with pagan roots. Jelling seems to be one of the places where we can come closest to the spirits of our ancestors, a place of worship, Denmark’s birth certificate and an ancient beginning to a new era. For these reasons Jelling has been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
The Jelling monuments consist of the remains of the world’s largest ship tumulus, the North Mound with the burial chamber, the empty South Mound, the two runic stones and a church, which has had three wooden predecessors, all of which burned to the ground. The first of these wooden churches was built as a sepulchre for a person of very high status, probably King Gorm, who died in 958 or 959. It is thought that his body was moved from the pagan grave in the North Mound to the site under the new church, when King Harold adopted the new faith around 965.
The Jelling monuments hold many secrets that are not immediately revealed to the visitor. The new Royal Jelling exhibition building explains the significance of this unique site. The exhibition traces the history of the monuments from their beginnings more than 1000 years ago right up to the present day. The two runic stones stand at the centre of the exhibition as sources that cast light on the history of the 10th century, the unification of the kingdom and the introduction of Christianity.
Royal Jelling tells us about the significance of the Jelling finds for the exploration of Denmark’s past. Children’s Jelling is dedicated to play, activities and contact with the world of the Vikings.

Author: Vibe Nørgaard