I now crossed over to Denmark after having traveled to Norway and Sweden
Since then I encountered a viking fest here and have now discovered a magical place...
It starts with the Rune Stones of Jelling located in the middle of Denmark. These are massive stones from the 10th century AD. The older and smaller of the two 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. This conversion to Christianity is a very interesting historical fact and shows how deeply entwined religions and cultures can be and marks the starting point of Denmark's Chrsitianization. I was lucky enough to have visited these stones before they were put into a glass casing, although this was the right thing to do as the elements are constantly eroding these stones.
The houses here are quite beautiful often having large lawns. The people here also like to raise their national flags although I have often seen other depictions. Seems like a great place to live... and then there are often little lakes nearby and the occasional sheep!
The next day I traveled a bit further by train and got off to see some some more stones... Although these stones were different. These were not rune stones per se, but "normal" stones that had been arranged in a symbolic significance. At first glance, standing on these grasslands one might just see some stones. But on a closer look one starts to see some patterns!
Here you can see it more clearly: a ship! Or I guess that is what I saw, perhaps you see something else... If it is meant to symbolize a ship, the people here arranged these stones for some special significance. Why? Maybe to simply recreate some vehicles of the time, but probably there is more to it. In all likelihood there was some religious meaning attached to these stones and how they were arranged. Ships are often seen as carrying the dead to the other realm after one dies (like in Egypt). Could something similar be the case here?
I think the place here is mostly open for personal interpretation as the creation of this stone field goes back many thousands of years (although dating is difficult). It is clear that carrying and arranging them in this manner was no easy task. While they may look small, they are quite heavy and it would have taken a communal effort to place them here.
What is your interpretation? Let me know in the comments!
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