Jelling Monuments

About

Over 1000 years ago, the tiny town of Jelling was the seat of the first two kings of Denmark: Gorm, and his son Harald Bluetooth. Despite its relatively small size, the site is of staggering historic importance. The two large burial mounds are believed to predate the Nordic kings, and have revealed amazing insights into pagan culture. During his reign, King Gomr made a runestone honoring his wife, which is the first known use of Denmark as a cohesive country, which has earned it the nickname “Denmark’s birth certificate.” Following his father’s death, King Herald had a large rune stone etched in honor of his parents, which bears the earliest earliest depiction of Christ in Scandinavia. Gorm and Harald are the rulers responsible for converting their country to Christianity, and the stone church Harald built here is amazingly well-preserved - you can still see the vivid frescoes from the 1100s.