Jelling

Jelling is a village in Denmark with a population of 3,292 (1 January 2012), located in Jelling Parish approx. 10 km northwest of Vejle . The village lies 105 metres above sea level. Jelling is located in Vejle municipality and Region of Southern Denmark. The town is mainly famous for the Jelling stones , national monuments.

The Jelling stones are massive carved runestones  from the 10th century, found at the town of Jelling  in Denmark. The older of the two Jelling stones was raised by King Gorm the Old  in memory of his wife Thyra . The larger of the two stones was raised by King Gorm's son, Harald Bluetooth  in memory of his parents, celebrating his conquest of Denmark and Norway, and his conversion of the Danes to Christianity. The runic  inscriptions on these stones are considered the most well known in Denmark.

The Jelling stones stand in the churchyard of Jelling church between two large mounds. The stones represent the transitional period between the indigenous Norse paganism  and the process of Christianization  in Denmark; the larger stone is often cited as Denmark's baptismal certificate (dåbsattest), containing a depiction of Christ. They are strongly identified with the creation of Denmark as a nation state and both stones feature one of the earliest records of the name "Danmark" (in the form of accusative  "tanmaurk" ([danmɒrk]) on the large stone, and genitive "tanmarkar" (pronounced [danmarkaɽ]) on the small stone).

After having been exposed to all kinds of weather for a thousand years cracks are beginning to show. On the 15th of November 2008 experts from UNESCO examined the stones to determine their condition. Experts requested that the stones be moved to an indoor exhibition hall, or in some other way protected in situ, to prevent further damage from the weather.

Heritage Agency of Denmark decided to keep the stones in their current location and selected a protective casing design from 157 projects submitted through a competition. The winner of the competition was Nobel Architects. The glass casing creates a climate system that keeps the stones at a fixed temperature and humidity and protects them from weathering. The design features rectangular glass casings strengthened by two solid bronze sides mounted on a supporting steel skeleton. The glass is coated with an anti-reflective material that gives the exhibit a greenish hue. Additionally, the bronze patina gives off a rusty, greenish colour, highlighting the runestones' gray and reddish tones and emphasising their monumental character and significance.

Runestone of Harald Bluetooth

The inscription on the larger of the two Jelling stones reads: "King Haraldr ordered this monument made in memory of Gormr, his father, and in memory of Thyrvé, his mother; that Haraldr who won for himself all of Denmark and Norway and made the Danes Christian."

Runestone of Gorm

The inscription on the older and smaller of the Jelling stones reads: "King Gormr made this monument in memory of Thyrvé, his wife, Denmark's adornment." (Rundata , DR 41) The Old Norse  inscription in Younger Futhark  runes appears as follows:

1/6 - 31/8 Tuesday - Sunday 10am - 5pm
1/9 - 31/5 Tuesday - Sunday Noon - 4pm
Closed between Christmas and New Year.
Group Visits: Group visits out­side of the above opening hours by appointment. Info on ☎ +45 75 872350.

Free admission