Viking Denmark Tour

June 16 - 30, 2004

Early Booking Price, before January 16, 2004: $3893

Regular Price, from January 16, 2004: $4375

Single Supplement $655, Deposit $600

Tour Director: Professor Peter Gravgaard

Survey of Viking History

737. - Building of first Danevirke fortification between Denmark and Germany.
772. - Charlemagne's genocide of the Saxons.
808. - Gudfred, king of Denmark, destroys Reric, the Abodrite trading center, and resettles the merchants at Hedeby in Denmark.
810. - Gudrud ravages Frisia and is later murdered.
814. - Charlemagne dies.
814-840. - Louis the Pious, Emperor.
814. - Louis the Pious invades Denmark. No success.
816. - The Danes, under Glum, invade Germany. No success.
834-5. - The Danes raid Dorestad (Holland) and Noirmoutier (Mouth of the Loire).
841. - The Danes raid Rouen.
843. - The Treaty of Verdun divides the Empire between Charles the Bald: France, Lothar: the Middle Kingdom, Louis the German: Germany.
844. - The Danes raid Seville.
845. - The Danes sack Hamburg.
845. - Regner (Lodbrog) raids Paris.
853-4. - Horik the Younger is king of Denmark.
856. - Bjørn Ironside controls the Seine.
865. - Danish "Great Army" invades England under the sons of Regner Lodbrog(?):
Ivar Boneless, Ubbi, Halfdan.
871. - They invade Wessex.
871-899. - Alfred, king of Wessex.
876. - Danes from the "Great Army" settle in England.
866-917. - The Danelaw established: East Anglia and the Five Boroughs: Lincoln, Nottingham, Leicester, Derby, Stamford.
856. - Bjørn and Hastein raid Spain, North Africa, Italy.
860. - The Swedish Vikings, (the "Rus"), attack Constantinople.
861. - Rurik rules in Novgorod (Russia).
867. - The sons of Lodbrog beat King Ella at York and (869) King Edmund, martyr and saint.
874. - Ingolf travels to Iceland.
876. - King Charles the Bald dies.
882. - Oleg rules in Kiev.
885-6. - Vikings besiege Paris.
888. - Emperor Charles the Fat deposed. Odo becomes King of Neustria.
891. - Two Danish kings die on the Dyle river in the Netherlands, and Helge becomes king of Denmark.
896. - The "Great Army" withdraws from England
900?. - Interlude of Swedish kings at Hedeby.
900?-930. - Harald Finehair is king of Norway.
907. - Rus attack Constantinople.
910. - Egil Skallagrimson born (See Egil Skallagrimson's Saga) page 3
910. - Rollo (Rolf) becomes duke of Normandy (Treaty of St-Clair-sur-Epte).
912-45. - Igor rules in Russia.
934. - Henry the Fowler invades Denmark.
935-45. - Gorm is king of Denmark.
937. - Battle of Brunanburgh: Athelstan defeats a Norse-Irish coalition.
945-72. - Sviatoslav is king of Kiev.
948-54. - Erik Bloodaxe is king of York.
938. - Egil Skallagrimson composes his "Head's Ransom" poem in York.
950. - Gorm the Old, king of Denmark, dies. His son, Harald Bluetooth, succeeds him and becomes a Christian in 960.
965. - Sviatoslav, king of Kiev, destroys the Khazar empire. The Pechenegs kill him in an ambush (972).
974. - The emperor of Germany, Otto II, invades Denmark.
974. - Hjørungavag: sea battle between Earl Hakon and the Jomsvikings.
980-1015. - Vladimir I is king of Kiev. He unites the tribes into one single state: Russia.
982. - Otto II defeated by the Saracens in Calabria.
983. - Erik the Red sails to Greenland.
983. - Svend Forkbeard conquers and destroys Otto's Slesvig fortress.
990. - Egil Skallagrimson dies.
1000. - Leif the Lucky, Erikson, discovers Helluland, Markland, Vinland in America.
1000. - Battle of Svold (in the Øresund?): King Svend Forkbeard and Swedish allies defeat and kill King Olaf Trygvason of Norway.
1014. - Battle of Clontarf: King Brian Boru of Munster defeats an alliance of the Leinster and the Dublin Vikings.
1014. - King Svend Forkbeard conquers England.
1015-35. - Knud (Canute the Great), his son, is king of England.
1019. - Yaroslav the Wise is king of Kiev.
1020. - Torfinn Karlsevne sails to America.
1030. - Battle of Stiklestad: St Olaf, king of Norway, dies.
1041. - The Swede, Ingvar the Widefarer, disappears on a journey from Sweden, via Russia and the Caspian Sea, to Serkland(?), Central Asia.
1041. - Normans beat the Byzantines in the Mediterranean.
1059. - Robert Guiscard from Normandy becomes duke of Apulia, Calabria and Capua. In 1059 he takes Messina and in 1072 he takes Palermo and Sicily
1066. - Battle of Stamford Bridge: King Harald Hardrada of Norway is defeated by King Harold Godwinson of England.
1066. - Battle of Hastings: William the Conqueror defeats and kills Harold Godwinson.
1069. - William the Conqueror's genocide of Northern England.
1085. - Robert Guiscard dies.

Itinerary

Day 1 (June 16, 2004)

You fly from the USA to Copenhagen, Denmark. Please ask your travel agent for a flight arriving at Kastrup (Copenhagen Airport) on June 13, 2004, between 08.00 and 12.00 noon.

Day 2 (June 17, 2004)

You arrive at Copenhagen Airport (Kastrup) where the tour director will meet you and take you to your hotel in Helsingør (Elsinore) where we will stay for four nights. The afternoon is free for walking through the medieval streets of Helsingor. WELCOME DINNER in the evening when the tour director will explain the tour program.

Day 3 (June 18, 2004)

Copenhagen (København as we say in Danish) means "the Merchants' Harbor" and is the major city in the new Danish/Swedish region which comprises the eastern part of Denmark and the southwestern part of Sweden. It is, of course, also the capital of Denmark. There is much to explore here, so we will spend the next three days in and around Copenhagen.

Our exploration begins in the center: the Slotsholmen, the "castle holm". Here you will see Christiansborg, the former royal castle which now houses the Danish Parliament (the Folketing) Closeby is Børsen, the Stock Exchange built by King Christian IV, with its imaginative spire consisting of four intertwined dragons' tails. He was also responsible for transforming a former anchor smithy into a church for the Danish Royal Navy (the Holmens Kirke.) You should also see the Ministerial Offices and the recently renovated Royal Library. The National Museum contains such treasures as the Solvognen (the Sun's Chariot), a circular golden desk mounted on wheels so that it could be pulled across the fields, thus spreading fertility. Other priceless treasures are the Golden Horns (massive gold horns found in Jutland which date back to Danish antiquity: the text inscribed on one of them is the earliest known example of written Danish. Also not to be missed is the Gundestrup Cauldron, which has the most important Celtic reliefs in existence anywhere. The National Museum is a treasure trove and has recently been sympathetically enlarged.

From here we continue our walk to Raadhuspladsen (Cityhall Square), one of Copenhagen's two major squares - the other being Kongens Nytorv (King's New Market). They are connected by the Strøget, Copenhagen's major promenade. The Raadhus (Cityhall) was built around 1900 by Martin Nyrop. From here we continue to Nytorv/Gammeltorv and to the nearby University and Cathedral (Vor Frue Kirke). This is the Latinerkvarteret (Latin Quarter) with its Student Colleges. We take Store Kannikestræde and pass the Regensen, built for one hundred students by Christian IV. Nearby is the Trinitatis Church with its Rundetaarn (Round Tower) built by Christian IV as an observatory for Denmark's first astronomer, Tycho Brahe. Taking Kobmagergade we reach the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Shop (beautiful things, well worth a visit). We continue our walk down Strøget to Kongens Nytorv passing the Royal Theater, the Fine Arts Academy, the Hotel d'Angleterre, the French embassy and Nyhavn, the former Red Light Area now entirely gentrified.

Next we take Bredgade to arrive at Amalienborg, the four palaces which comprise the Royal Residence of the Danish Queen. On to Langelinie, the harbor promenade with the Little Mermaid. West of here is the Kastellet (Citadel) built to support the defence of Copenhagen after the Swedish Siege of 1659. It had been a close call and the Danish King wanted to avoid a repetition.

From Copenhagen we return to our hotel in Helsingør.

Day 4 (June 19, 2004)

We begin our second day in Copenhagen with a visit to the City Museum to see how the city has developed over the centuries. We would also like to visit Kongens Have (the King's Garden) with Christian IV's lovely little castle, Rosenborg Slot, which houses the Crown Jewels. Nearby is the Statens Museum for Kunst (National Art Gallery). On to the Kunstindustrimuseet (Interior Design Museum) and so to Amalienborg Castle where it is possible to visit Christian VIII's recently restored palace.

From Amalienborg we turn to Christianshavn, the naval city founded by Christian IV, east of the Castle Island. Here you can see Vor Frelsers Kirke (Our Saviour's Church) with its interesting spire. On Christianshavn you will also see Gammel Dok, a converted warehouse which is now a museum for Danish architecture. Not surprisingly, the Orlogsmuseum (Danish Naval Museum) is nearby. It is also possible to visit Holmen, the naval station which has recently been made accessible to the public.

Since Danish kings are alternately called either Frederik or Christian, it is fitting that, having spent the morning first in Fredriksstaden (the area around Amalienborg), then Christianshavn (the naval area), our next visit is to Frederiksberg Slot in Frederiksberg Have. This beautiful Italian style palace was built by Frederik IV. The Frederiksberg Have was the favorite park of Frederik VI who loved boating on the lake here. Nearby is the Bakkehuset Museum where Mrs Kamma Rahbek held her literary salon in the early 19^th century.

During the day we will try to pause for coffee or lunch in such typical Old København cafes or restaurants as: Restaurant Els (Nyhavn), Café A Porta (Kongens Nytorv) or Café Petersborg (Bredgade). And if you are interested in Danish Design we will show you Royal Copenhagen Porcelain, Georg Jensen, Bang & Olufsen, Rudolf Rasmussen or the Paustian Furniture House. Return to our hotel in Helsingør.

Day 5 (June 20, 2004)

Today we explore North Sjæland, the area between Helsingør and Copenhagen. We begin with a visit to Gurre, once the residence of King Valdemar Atterdag who, sacrilegiously, declared, "God can keep his heavenly paradise, as long as I can keep Gurre". We drive on to Hillerød to visit Frederiksborg Slot, the great castle built by Kings Frederik II and Christian IV and, after a disastrous fire, later rebuilt in the late 19^th century by Brewer Jacobsen (of Carlsberg). In Frederiksborg the very impressive National Museum will give you a useful knowledge of Danish History which will enhance this Viking Denmark Tour.

We drive on to Jægerhuset I Holte, a lovely little restaurant which takes us back to the "Merry (Nineteen) Nineties". The atmosphere here tells you a lot about Old Copenhagen. After a great lunch we will drive to Lyngby to visit the Open Air Museum where houses from all over Denmark have been collected and rebuilt. This gives a useful survey of traditional (vernacular) building styles. From Lyngby we drive through the Dyrehaven (old royal deer-park) past the Eremitagen castle to the Beach Road from Copenhagen to Helsingør.

Day 6 (June 21, 2004)

We begin the day with a walk through the town of Helsingør (Elsinore) seeing the Churches of St Marie and St Olai and the Karmelite Manastery, the best preserved monastery in Scandinavia. The main attraction is, of course, Kronborg Castle, often erroneously referred to as "Hamlet's Castle". (Shakespeare's melancholy Dane has very little to do with the legendary - rather than historical - Prince Hamlet, who belongs to Dark Age Jutland rather than to Renaissance Elsinore.)

The Kronborg we will show you is the creation of King Frederik II of Denmark and was built 1574-85. It has, perhaps, the finest position imaginable, being built on a point into the Øresund - the waterway between Denmark and Sweden. Only Mont-St-Michel can match this.

After lunch in Helsingør we continue our journey to Roskilde where we visit the Viking Ship Museum. Here are displayed the five Viking ships which were salvaged from the waters of Roskilde Fjord around 1960. Closeby has been excavated/reconstructed a Viking harbor with living Viking shipbuilding etc. After visiting this Viking museum we take you to the center of Roskilde to visit the cathedral, whose building was begun by Bishop Absalon in 1170. Most of the Danish kings are buried here. Next we visit the great Royal Hall in Lejre (thought by some to have been where the Danish king received Beowulf). Time permitting, we will drive you past the beautiful area near Bramsnæs and Ejby before driving to Sorø where we will spend the night.

Day 7 (June 22, 2004)

Sorø is important in the history of Denmark. In 1148 Asser Rig, from the great Hvide dynasty, built a monastery here. He was the father of Esbern Snare and Absalon, the later bishop. In his household was brought up Valdemar, the later King Valdemar the Great, who was the son of Knud Lavard, who had been killed at Haraldsted in 1131.

The Sorø Monastery later became Sorø Akademi, the most famous Danish boarding school where the sons of the Danish nobility were educated, (King Christian IV sent twenty-five of his sons to be educated here!) Ludvig Holberg, historian and dramatist, whose comedies made him the father of Danish theatre, gave his considerable fortune to Sorø Academy and was made a baron as a consequence.

We will see the church (where Bishop Absalon and Ludvig Holberg are buried) and the academy buildings in the beautiful park. Later we drive to Fjenneslev to see the church built by Asser Rig. Our next visit is to Ringsted, where we want to see St Bendt's Church which was started in 1160 by King Valdemar the Great in order to house the tomb of his father, Duke Knud Lavard, later St Knud. He had been killed in 1131 and, if there is time, we will visit his chapel in Haraldsted where the murder took place.

After that we will see Tersløsegaard, the manor which Holberg bought as a summerhome and where you can visit his little museum.

From here we drive to Korsør where we cross over the formidable new Greatbelt Bridge to the island of Fyn. Finally we come to Svendborg where we will spend two nights.

Day 8 (June 23, 2004)

Svendborg and South Fyn are the quintessential Danish idylls. After a citywalk through Svendborg we will visit the harbor with the Maritime Center from which ferryboats sail to the islands in the South-Fynian archipelago. During the day we will drive to Lundeborg Harbor and to Gudme, where the earliest Danish kingdom seems to have been in existence around the time of Christ. Then south to see the Maritime Museum at Troense.

Close by we will show you the beautiful manorhouse of Valdemars Slot which was given to Prince Valdemar, a son of Christian IV, and later purchased by Niels Juel, the admiral, with the reward money he earned by defeating the Swedish Navy at the Battle of the Bay of Køge. Time permitting, we would also like to take you to Faaborg, a lovely town with a museum of Fynian Art. Also Rudkøbing on Langeland is an attractive destination. Back to our hotel in Svendborg.

Day 9 (June 24, 2004)

Today we drive from Svendborg to Odense where we see St Knud's Cathedral. This Knud had an adventurous life for a saint. When William the Conqueror gained England after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, the Danes (who had held England since King Svend Forkbeard won the country in 1013) did not give up. Their latest great king, King Knud (Canute) the Great, had ruled over the North Sea Empire (Denmark, England and Norway) from 1014 to 1035. When William of Normandy invaded England in 1066 Knud's nephew, King Svend Estridsen of Denmark (1047-74) prepared a counter attack. In 1069 he landed a navy of 240 ships at Dover to help the English rebels against William.

This war, between William's Normans and Svend Estridsen's Danes who assisted the Dano-English rebel forces under leaders such as Hereward the Wake, continued until 1071. In that year Svend Estridsen accepted Danegeld from William and sailed home to Denmark, leaving the Dano-English to their fate in Yorkshire (the Harrying of the North) and in East Anglia. Svend Estridsen's son, Knud, (the later king, St Knud) had been very active in the North: he and the Dano-English rebels had taken York in October 1069. In 1075 two rebellious Norman earls invited him back, and he obliged with a navy of 200 Danish ships; but the rebellion was crushed before he arrived. In 1085 he called the Danish fleet together for another invasion of England, but border trouble (possibly inspired by William) prevented it from sailing. The following year King Knud presented new tax plans to the farmers of Jutland. This caused such fury that he had to flee. The farmers chased him south all the way to Odense, where they killed him in the church. So St Knud was martyred by taxpayers - an example to be contemplated by the IRS. In view of modern Danish taxation this is an incredible story - how the mighty have fallen!

From Odense we continue our drive to Middelfart (the name means "the middle passage"). We will visit the charming little town and drive to see Hindsgavl, which nowadays is a pleasant manorhouse, but which, in the Middle Ages, was the site of an important royal fortress on the shore of the Little Belt. The fortress was burned and destroyed several times; the manorhouse was built 1784-5.

From Hindsgavl we drive across the Little Belt Bridge to Jutland. We will spend the night in a hotel outside Ribe.

Day 10 (June 25, 2004)

Ribe is Denmark's oldest town, perhaps going back to around 700 AD. We will visit Ribe Cathedral (from ca 1150) and also the interesting Viking Center at Lustrupholm with its reconstruction of a working Viking farm.

From Ribe we drive east to Rødding to get an impression of one of the first Danish "folk high schools" (ie the first popular university, inspired by Bishop NFS Grundtvig, whose thinking and teaching laid the foundations of Danish democracy). From here we drive to Jelling to see the collection of monuments: two mounds or barrows associated with King Gorm and his son Harald Bluetooth, between them a twelfth-century Romanesque church and two rune stones. The whole is described succinctly by Else Roesdahl in her authoritative Viking Age Denmark, (p 171):

The grandest Viking Age grave and monuments in Denmark - one can almost say in the whole of Scandinavia - are at Jelling. According to inscriptions on the two rune stones, they are associated with King Gorm and Queen Thyre, and their son Harald Bluetooth. In addition to the rune stones, the elements of the monument known today are a burial-mound (the North Mound), a mound without a grave (the South Mound), remains of a large stone setting and a large wooden church built in association with a chamber-grave. The church was succeeded by two wooden churches and lastly the present church built of calcarous tufa about the year 1100. A fragment of another rune stone was found in the churchyard and wall a couple of years ago, but that does not necessarily belong to the rest of the complex. The interpretation of all these features is still under discussion, and the newly found grave and the first wooden church are as yet unpublished. But the complex can be explained in brief as a grave for King Gorm, Queen Thyre and King Harald, and finally as a proclamation of Denmark's official conversation to Christianity.

From Jelling we drive north to Silkeborg via Norre Snede. Time permitting we will visit the Art Gallery where the work of Asger Jorn, the leading painter of the COBRA Group, is exhibited. It has been claimed (by Wieland Schmied) that he is, "together with Edward Munch, the other Scandinavian painter who cannot be overlooked from contemporary art."

From Silkeborg we drive via Kongensbro to Randers where we will spend the night.

Day 11 (June 26, 2004)

Randers is the center of a particularly fertile part of Jutland, Kronjylland (crown of Jutland), and the sixth largest town in Denmark. We will take a walk through the center and see the attractive old Baroque cityhall. Here you will see the statue of Niels Ebbesen, famous for killing Gert, "the Bald Count" of Holstein. This terminated a chaotic period in Danish history and allowed Valdemar IV, "Atterdag", to become king of Denmark. (His daughter, Margrethe I would ultimately become ruling queen of Denmark in all but name and would bring about the union of the three Scandinavian kingdoms, the so-called Kalmar Union, which lasted from 1397 to 1523.

From Randers we drive to Hobro to see Fyrkat, the best conserved "Viking fortress" in Denmark. On the way, time permitting, we would like to stop and see two beautiful and interesting manorhouses - Fussingø and Tjele.

Our next major stop is Viborg where you will see Viborg Cathedral with its remarkable paintings by Joakim Skovgaard. Next to the church is the Skovgaard Museum. There should be time for a walk through the city to see its attractive old buildings. Viborg has always been considered to be Jutland's capital. (It is to Denmark what York is to England.) Notice the statue of Queen Margrethe.

From Viborg we drive to Skive where we will spend the night. On the way we pass by Hjarbæk Fjord to see the area around Tårupgård, one of the most beautiful in Denmark.

Day 12 (June 27, 2004)

Coming to Skive we have arrived at the Limfjord, the waterway which cuts Jutland in two parts and which would have allowed the Vikings to sail from the Kattegat to the North Sea. It would also have allowed them to withdraw to defensive naval positions. Today we will visit the centre of Skive before driving east to see the fine Stårup Manorhouse which has recently been restored. Most impressive is Spøttrup, which was once the property of the Bishop of Viborg, and which is still defended with a system of double moats. This part of Northern Jutland was the scene of fierce fighting in the early 16^th century when the Peasants rebelled against the Nobility and burned the manorhouses. It is not surprising that Spøttrup needed strong defences.

From Spøttrup we drive south to Lihme with its ancient church dating from ca 1100. Then we pass Kås Hovedgård, another manorhouse which the Peasants burned.

Our next stop is the interesting Hjerl Hede Museum which shows the development of Danish village life from 1500 to 1900. Next via Vinderup to Rydhave Slot, a very fine manorhouse.

From Vinderup we drive along the Limfjord to Struer. This is a young Danish town dating from 1915. From Struer we continue to Lemvig, a small town gloriously positioned at the Nissum Bredning part of the Limfjord. Our hotel tonight is in Lemvig.

Day 13 (June 28, 2004)

From Lemvig we drive west to Ferring to see the museum of Jens Søndergaard's paintings.Then due north along the North Sea coast to Harboør and to Thyborøn where we take a ferry across the Thyborøn Kanal (between the Lim Fjord and the North Sea). Next stop is Vestervig which has the largest Danish church in the so-called "village church" style. (Why a place which must always have had a tiny population needed such a huge church is a moot point. Did it have to do with plans to invade England across the North Sea?)

From Vestervig we drive north via Norre Vorupør and Klitmøller to Hanstholm with its extraordinary harbor It was designed by a young engineer who conceived a way of using the sea currents to keep the sands away rather than depositing them here. Closeby is the Hanstholm Fortress, built by the Germans during World War II to prevent Allied landings.

From Hanstholm we drive east to Fjerritslev where we will spend the night.

Day 14 (June 29, 2004)

After a walk through Fjerritslev and perhaps a visit to the small local museum we drive south to Husby Hole. This was the site of the Battle of St Jørgen's Mountain in June 1441. The Peasants of North Jutland at first succeeded in defending their position with cavalry traps against the attacking Royal Cavalry, but the King's men returned and won the day. Some 20,000 farmers were killed here.

From Husby Hole we drive south to Aggersborg, the largest Viking Age fortress in Denmark. You have already seen Fyrkat with its sixteen longhouses - Aggersborg, with its forty-eight houses is three times bigger. If these fortresses were built to dominate the farmers, then the size of Aggersborg demonstrates the size of the task: the Jutlanders were an unruly lot.

From Aggersborg we cross over the Lim Fjord and drive to Løgstør to see the charming little Lim Fjord Museum and have lunch. On to Aalborg via Sebbersund and Nibe. We spend the night in Aalborg and have our Farewell Dinner in the evening.

Day 15 (June 30, 2004)

Today is the last day of the Viking Denmark Tour. We drive you to Aalborg Airport from where you fly to Copenhagen and from there to the USA.

Bon Voyage! Farvel og på gensyn (Goodbye and see you again)

Bibliography

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