Jelling Mounds, Runic Stones and Church

Jelling Mounds, Runic Stones and Church

Jelling Mounds, Runic Stones and Church
4.5
Historic SitesMonuments & Statues
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Monday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Tuesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Wednesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Thursday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Friday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Saturday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Sunday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
About
Learn where the Bluetooth technology got its name and explore the Home of the Viking Kings at the visitor centre Kongernes Jelling. The visitor centre offers a unique and modern digital sensory experience for all ages. After visiting Kongernes Jelling, you can experience “history by foot” in the large monument area. The monument area is always open to the public, and can be visited on your own – there are signs and leaflets provided on site. Take your time to discover the large area. Free admission in both visitor centre and monument area.
Duration: 2-3 hours
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  • kmz88
    Plon, Germany406 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Must see!
    A great place to visit! We had expected to spend half an hour here, but ended up spending 2h! There is a museum (free entry) that explains the history of the Jelling dynasty and the local history really well. The exhibits are interactive - I particularly enjoyed the first floor of the museum. The museum has a roof top terrace from where you can see the mounds through a time traveling eyepiece! The cafe is excellent - our group enjoyed both the Viking plate and the Vegking plate - great option for vegetarians. From the top of the mounds one can see the ship setting (the largest in the world), and the palisades. Of course, the stones are excellent as well. The church is new and I didn't find it particularly special. But the village and the area around the stones is quite nice to walk around.
    Visited September 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written September 18, 2023
  • liverpool1023
    London, United Kingdom896 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Denmark’s birth certificate
    I visited this UNESCO listed site via the town of Velje. Jelling itself comprises no more than a village surrounded by countryside and has an hourly train service. It takes 13 minutes to get to Jelling from Velje. Reminded me a good deal of Old Uppsala in Sweden with the site dominated by two mounds north and south of a small, simple church. I would start at the visitors centre - although this is most likely aimed at children and young adults it helps contextualise the site and adds richness to the experience. The visitors centre is free and has some very enthusiastic staff who are keen to provide an overview. The main stone comprises a huge boulder of granite that has been etched by figures. The carvings are a little indistinct and you need to get your eye in to what’s being depicted. I spent around two hours here enjoying the history behind this site.
    Visited March 2024
    Traveled solo
    Written March 5, 2024
  • Kristie
    Columbia, Missouri82 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Walk through Denmark's intriguing history
    My son and I (Americans) visited the Jelling Mounds and Runic Stones in Denmark with some family friends. It was absolutely delightful and far more interactive than we'd anticipated! Nestled in the Danish countryside, this UNESCO World Heritage site offers an engaging peek into the rich history and culture of the Viking Age. The mounds themselves are steeped in centuries of legend and lore. The runic stones are carved with intricate designs and ancient inscriptions, powerful reminders of Denmark's heritage and identity. Our visit to the Jelling Mounds and Runic Stones was an interesting and memorable journey through Denmark's past.
    Visited April 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written March 9, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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Kristie
Columbia, MO82 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2023 • Family
My son and I (Americans) visited the Jelling Mounds and Runic Stones in Denmark with some family friends. It was absolutely delightful and far more interactive than we'd anticipated! Nestled in the Danish countryside, this UNESCO World Heritage site offers an engaging peek into the rich history and culture of the Viking Age.

The mounds themselves are steeped in centuries of legend and lore. The runic stones are carved with intricate designs and ancient inscriptions, powerful reminders of Denmark's heritage and identity.

Our visit to the Jelling Mounds and Runic Stones was an interesting and memorable journey through Denmark's past.
Written March 9, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

liverpool1023
London, UK896 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Solo
I visited this UNESCO listed site via the town of Velje. Jelling itself comprises no more than a village surrounded by countryside and has an hourly train service. It takes 13 minutes to get to Jelling from Velje.

Reminded me a good deal of Old Uppsala in Sweden with the site dominated by two mounds north and south of a small, simple church. I would start at the visitors centre - although this is most likely aimed at children and young adults it helps contextualise the site and adds richness to the experience. The visitors centre is free and has some very enthusiastic staff who are keen to provide an overview. The main stone comprises a huge boulder of granite that has been etched by figures. The carvings are a little indistinct and you need to get your eye in to what’s being depicted. I spent around two hours here enjoying the history behind this site.
Written March 5, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

kmz88
Plon, Germany406 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2023 • Family
A great place to visit! We had expected to spend half an hour here, but ended up spending 2h! There is a museum (free entry) that explains the history of the Jelling dynasty and the local history really well. The exhibits are interactive - I particularly enjoyed the first floor of the museum. The museum has a roof top terrace from where you can see the mounds through a time traveling eyepiece! The cafe is excellent - our group enjoyed both the Viking plate and the Vegking plate - great option for vegetarians.

From the top of the mounds one can see the ship setting (the largest in the world), and the palisades. Of course, the stones are excellent as well. The church is new and I didn't find it particularly special. But the village and the area around the stones is quite nice to walk around.
Written September 18, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Belgomaster
Halle, Belgium48 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2023 • Solo
Very clean and well built up site
Information was given on info boards outside and in a adjacent museum
Interactive museum
Written September 2, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Caribbean S
Richmond, Virginia, USA140 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Solo
I expected so much more. The museum was mostly digital displays, instead of historic items on display. The outside was vast and pretty but not really all that interesting. The two positives are admission is free and there’s plenty of parking.
Written August 16, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Reslysten54
Vienna, VA2,068 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2023 • Couples
The impressively designed modern museum effectively captures important milestones in Danish history, with an emphasis on the transition from paganism to Christianity from the late 900s and onwards.

The museum makes use of engaging modern technology in illustrating images on demand. The exhibitions are quite varied, and creative, and even kids find something they can grab onto. Texts are generally in both Danish and English, although the detailed overview of the violent history of Danish monarchs was delivered in Danish only.

The star of the show is the world's largest Viking rune stone with carvings that adorn current day Danish passports.
Written July 5, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

JRAsFishBabe
Calgary, Canada1,912 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022 • Couples
The Jelling Monuments were inscribed into Unesco's World Heritage list in 1994. This site is an outstanding example of pagan Nordic culture and is considered Europes finest Viking Age monument. It consists of the Jelling Mounds, the Runic Stones and Jelling Kirke. There is a very complete visitor and experience centre, Kongernes Jelling, which goes into great detail about the history of the Vikings and their monuments. The centre is open all year, admission is free, and in addition to the museum, has a restaurant and public toilets.
There are two Rune stones, the smaller one was erected by King Gorm in honour of his wife, Thyrve. The inscription, "King Gorm made this monument in memory of Thyrve, his wife, Denmark's adornment" is the oldest reference to the name "Denmark" and the rune is referred to as Denmark's name certificate. The largest stone was erected by Gorm's son, King Harald Bluetooth. The inscription basically tells of Harald having conquered Denmark and Norway and bringing Christianity to the Danes. The stone is considered Denmark's baptism certificate. There are two burial mounds on the site, ten metres high and a diameter of seventy metres. The northern mound was presumedly built by Harald as a tomb for his father, who was later re-entombed in the church. Jelling Kirke was built around 1100 on the site of the original church built by Harald Bluetooth in the 900's AD. King Gorm was reburied in the Church's burial chamber in 2000. There is a special stone in the floor that marks the place.
We have visited many World Heritage Sites, I believe this is one of my favourites. I think that if you are in Jylland, you should definitely plan on a visit!
* Denmark hosted the Tour de France for the first three legs of the race and on July third, 2022, the bikers passed through the site.

Written June 2, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

jecepede
The Netherlands14 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2022
Aloha !

This was well worth the visit. Not just for the two stones but also for the surroundings. The graveyard is beautifull and peacefull. I guess they keep it neat for the tourists ?

The little church is nice to see as well and after we climbed up one of the mounds, we went to the museum. Unfortunatly not everything was in English and since we do not speak Danish we probably missed a few interesting things.

Cheeeeeeeers

Jecepede
Written September 28, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

TimmyN_11
Peterborough, UK62 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022 • Couples
The Museum is easy to find with ample parking on the outskirts of town. If you’re using Google maps to get there, pinpoint the car park rather than the museum as there isn’t anywhere to park outside the museum itself. The car park is on Kollegievej, near the roundabout and is free parking.
A short and pleasant walk from the car park takes you to the museum where your met by a magnificent carved and colourful stone. The museum is free to enter and there are maps available of the whole site. The people on reception are very friendly and helpful.
I was blown away by the museum. First you are greeted by very modern panoramas which are interactive and also in English too (YaY!). The panoramas take you on a journey through Viking life by superimposing on to the walls and you initiate what you want to look at. You’re then taken to some local finds Wilto h appear to be housed as every other museum does, in glass cases. However, most have the same type of visuals as the panoramas, allowing you to learn more about each piece… very cleverly done.
Upstairs leads to to more displays, pretty much about the Viking settlement itself as well as a good section on the gods. You can also walk out on to the roof to see and appreciate the entire area.
Outside, avoiding the army of robot lawnmowers that keep the place pristine, you have a large area to walk around. The palisades have been ‘reconstructed’ in a pleasingly modern way, as the stone boat has been too.
Before leaving we checked out a very comprehensive gift shop that will have something in there for you! The prices are in some cases high but in general are pretty reasonable.
We stopped for a bite to eat, pastries and drinks in the on-site cafe. Despite what the website says, you can have a sandwich made here, not just cake. Again the price was more than reasonable.
In short, a fantastic museum and you could easily spend a whole afternoon or more here. Wonderfully set out.
Written September 13, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Daniel A
Stocksfield, UK5 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022
Free to enter. Rooftop virtual binoculars were great. The museum is very interactive and the whole family enjoyed it.
Written August 7, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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JELLING MOUNDS, RUNIC STONES AND CHURCH: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

Frequently Asked Questions about Jelling Mounds, Runic Stones and Church

Jelling Mounds, Runic Stones and Church is open:
  • Sun - Sat 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM


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