North Jutland

Sometime around the year 980, the Danish Viking king Harald Bluetooth built a large Viking ring fortress at Fyrkat in North Jutland. (A similar fortress was built at Trelleborg on Sealand, see below.) The perfectly circular fortress originally included 16 buildings. This oak house from the fortress was reconstructed by hand using Viking carpentry techniques and tools. There's also a reconstructed working Viking farmstead on the site.

Jutland

The large runic stone erected at Jelling more than 1,000 years ago by King Gorm the Old contains the first written mention of the nation called “Denmark.” (Danes sometimes call this Denmark's "birth certificate.) A second stone, erected by Harald Bluetooth, marks the coming of Christianity to Denmark and the end of the Viking era. The Jelling Stones are one of Denmark's three UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

North Jutland

On this peaceful hillside is the largest Viking burial ground in Scandinavia. Almost 700 graves have been found here, some dating back as far as the 5th century. There's also a museum with Viking artifacts on the site.

You will also find a burial site and habitation centre from the Germanic Iron Age and the Viking Age (4th-11th centuries). 682 graves, 150 ship settings (graves).

In the 1950s, the museum excavated several dwellings and burial sites from the Iron Age and Viking era, located at Lindholm Høje, just north of Aalborg in Nørresundby. Many of the discoveries are presented in the museum’s unusual exhibits. Today, Lindholm Høje is recognised as Scandinavia’s largest Viking burial ground with more than 700 graves.

Jutland

In Ribe, the oldest city in Denmark, you'll find Ribe's Vikings, one of the finest Viking museums in the world, built on the site of an ancient Viking market.

Ribe Viking Centre is a living history site that recreates three aspects of Viking life: the farm, the town and the market place. Costumed interpreters tend the flocks, build the town, and work at Viking-age crafts, but they’re never too busy to answer questions.

Sealand

A preserved fortress from the reign of Harald Bluetooth, Trelleborg was probably built around 980. The circular compound is remarkable for the mathematical precision of its construction.

Roskilde

More than a thousand years ago, a cache of Viking ships was submerged in the fjord beside Roskilde as a trap for would-be invaders plotting to attack the town. Today the remains of these fantastic vessels are displayed in the main hall of the Roskilde Viking Ship Museum (Vikingskibsmuseet), along with information about Viking seafaring history and skills. Don't miss the fascinating film that describes the process of finding, raising and restoring the ships.