Go on a historical day trip around the Vejle area. You'll travel through the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Viking Age.
Written by: Emil Thesbjerg
The Vejle area holds a wealth of historical highlights. You can dive into unique Bronze Age discoveries, experience life in the Iron Age, and get up close to the grand structures of the Viking Age. Pack your backpack and join a Danish history day trip back to ancient times.
In 1921, a sensational discovery was made near Egtved. A farmer stumbled upon an oak coffin while removing the remnants of a burial mound on his field. Inside the coffin, the remains of a young woman aged 16-18 from the Bronze Age were found — the oak coffin was dated to 1370 BC. Her skin was well preserved, though no bones remained. She was dressed in a brown wool blouse and wore a bronze ring on each wrist. Additionally, she wore a skirt made of wool strings and a distinctive bronze belt buckle. Beside the woman, later named the Egtved Girl, bones of a 5-6-year-old child were found, along with a bucket of honey beer and yarrow flowers.
The Egtved Girl is now exhibited at the National Museum in Copenhagen, but if you visit her grave in Egtved, you can explore a free exhibition featuring a replica of her clothing and oak coffin.
From the Bronze Age discovery in Egtved, the journey takes us forward to the Iron Age. In Vingsted, you can gain a unique insight into life during the Iron Age at one of Denmark's largest reconstructed Iron Age environments, complete with houses, fields, a smithy, livestock, and a sacrificial site.
The Iron Age environment is always open for self-guided exploration, and during events, you can enter the various houses and watch actors perform authentic Iron Age crafts. Here, history truly comes to life.
70 meters above the Vejle River Valley lies Troldborg Ring, a so-called refuge fortress from the Iron Age. Here, local people could seek protection during hostile attacks. The fort is located in a beautiful natural setting, strategically positioned with a view over the valley and Ravning.
It was built as a ring fort with a high rampart 60 meters in diameter and a moat. The fort likely dates back to around 100-200 AD, a time of unrest in Jutland with conflicts between rival tribes. A true Iron Age fortification ready for you to explore on an adventure.
From the Iron Age, the journey continues to the Viking Age. The standout attraction from this period is, of course, the Jelling Monuments and Kings' Jelling, which are UNESCO World Heritage sites, telling the story of Denmark's first kings and the transition to Christianity. However, there are other remarkable Viking Age relics to discover on an adventure in the Vejle area.
Around 980 AD, the Danish Viking King Harald Bluetooth built Ravning Bridge across the Vejle River Valley—Denmark's longest bridge until the inauguration of the Little Belt Bridge in 1935. Constructed from oak with a length of 760 meters and a width of five meters, the bridge was a remarkable achievement for its time. Ravning Bridge was likely part of a military strategy that allowed troops to be quickly moved southward from the royal seat in Jelling.
Today, you can see a reconstruction of the bridge foundations and experience the dimensions of this massive structure where the old bridge once stood. There is also a small exhibition where you can view some of the original oak posts from the bridge.
If you are looking for historical secrets, we at VisitVejle have a few recommendations you might not know about. Explore the Vejle area, where you will find hidden treasures such as runestones, burial mounds, and ruins.
Experience "Store Rygbjergstenen", a rune stone from the 10th century, which stands on a small burial mound at Frederikshåb near Egtved. The rune stone is called Denmark's first love poem. The stone stands on a small barrow and bears the inscription: "Bryden Tue rejste denne sten over Thorgunn sin lege. Disse stave vil leve længe" (Bryden Tue erected this stone on the grave of Thorgunn. These stakes will live for long.) The rune stone was once split in two, but has since been erected in its original place.
Firehøje is located a short distance north of Randbøl Church along Hærvejen south of Gødding Skov, and the four burial mounds from the Bronze Age are located in way that you can easily spot them. From the top of the four blueberry-covered mounds there are good views to several other mounds. At Randbøl Church, King Rans Høj is located in the cemetery.
On udinaturen.dk you will find maps and more information about the mounds.
From the motorway rest area Skærup Øst, a staircase leads up to a 3400-year-old Bronze Age burial mound. The mound is built on top of an old Stone Age barrow. The barrow was found in 1992 near the village of Tårup during the construction of a new motorway section from the Little Belt Bridge to the E45 and then moved to Skærup.
Read more about the pre-historic monuments on the displays next to the barrows.
The fortress Trindvold, also called Trindhøj, are the remains of an old Viking Age fortress at Brejning, which together with other fortresses from the Middle Ages, could protect against enemy attacks from the sea side. The fortress mound has a small foundation and is the nation’s best preserved fortress.
Visit the rampart on a fresh hike in the area close to Vejle Fjord by Kellers Park.
