Thyra Dannebod ordering the foundation of the Danevirke.

The Dannevirke (shown in red) on the 16th-century Carta Marina

The Dannevirke today

The Danevirke (Old Norse, Danavirki ; modern Danish, Dannevirke ; German, Danewerk – all meaning "Danes' works") is an important linear defensive earthwork which was constructed across the neck of the Jutland peninsula during Denmark's Viking Age. It was last used for military purposes in 1864. Dannevirke (Danes work), is a rural service town in the southern Hawkes Bay area of New Zealand. ... Danevirke, also known as Dannevirke or Danewerk, means Danes work. It is the name for the Danish earthen defense structure, which stretches from the swampy moors of west Jutland to the town of Schleswig, situated at Slien at the Baltic Sea, near the Viking trade centre of Hedeby. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... An artists impression of Thyra Dannebod ordering the foundation of the Dannevirke. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 1195 KB) Danavirki, the Danish defence wall, on an old map Photo: Arne List, 2004, taken in the Viking Museum of Haithabu File links The following pages link to this file: Hanseatic League Danevirke ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 1195 KB) Danavirki, the Danish defence wall, on an old map Photo: Arne List, 2004, taken in the Viking Museum of Haithabu File links The following pages link to this file: Hanseatic League Danevirke ... The Carta Marina (latin: the book of the sea) is the earliest map over the Nordic countries containing details and placenames. ... Image File history File links Danewerk. ... Image File history File links Danewerk. ... Old Norse is the Germanic language spoken by the inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300. ... Jutland Peninsula Jutland (Danish: Jylland; German: Jütland; Frisian Jutlân; Low German Jötlann) is the western, continental part of Denmark as well as one of the three historical Lands of Denmark, dividing the North Sea from the Kattegat and the Baltic Sea. ... The Viking Age is the name of the age in Northern Europe, following the Germanic Iron Age. ...

The Dannevirke stretches from the marshes of west Jutland to the town of Schleswig, which lies beside the Schlei (Danish: Slien) on the Baltic Sea coast, near the former Viking trade centre of Hedeby. Another wall, between the Schlei and the town of Eckernförde, defended the Schwansen peninsula. Schleswig coat of arms Schleswig is a town at the Schlei firth in the northeastern part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. ... Schlei near Kappeln The Schlei (German: Schlei, Danish: Slien) is a narrow inlet of the Baltic Sea in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany. ... The Baltic Sea is located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. ... Hedeby (Haithabu in Old Norse; Heidiba in Latin; in Germany the name Haithabu is frequently used) was a Danish settlement and trading centre on the southern Baltic Sea coast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of a narrow, navigable inlet, the Schlei (Danish: Slien) in the province of Schleswig... Eckernförde (Danish: Egernførde) is a German city in Schleswig-Holstein, Kreis Rendsburg-Eckernförde at the Baltic Sea near Kiel. ... Thumby in Schwansen Schwansen (Danish: Svans or Svansø) is a peninsula in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, protruding into the Baltic Sea. ...

According to written sources, work on the Dannevirke was started by the Danish King Gudfred in 808. Fearing an invasion by the Franks, who had conquered heathen Frisia and Saxony over the previous 100 years, Godfred began work on an enormous structure to defend his realm, separating the Jutland peninsula from the northern extent of the Frankish empire. King Godfrid (ruled 804 - 810), was a Danish or Viking king, the younger son of King Sigfred. ... Events The Abbasid capital is moved north from Baghdad to Samarra. ... Map of Carolingian Empire The term Carolingian Empire is sometimes used to refer to the realm of the Franks under the dynasty of the Carolingians. ... Satellite view of the German Bight (the Frisian Coast). ... Location Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Administration Country NUTS Region DED Capital Dresden Minister-President Georg Milbradt (CDU) Governing parties CDU / SPD Votes in Bundesrat 4 (from 69) Basic statistics Area  18,416 km² (7,110 sq mi) Population 4,252,000 (11/2006)[1]  - Density 231 /km... Jutland Peninsula Jutland (Danish: Jylland; German: Jütland; Frisian Jutlân; Low German Jötlann) is the western, continental part of Denmark as well as one of the three historical Lands of Denmark, dividing the North Sea from the Kattegat and the Baltic Sea. ... A peninsula in Croatia A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered on three or more sides by water. ...

Archaeological excavations in 1969-75 established, with the help of dendrochronology, that the main structure of the Dannevirke had been built in three phases between 737 and 968 AD. It is, therefore, contemporary with Offa's Dyke, another Germanic defensive structure of the late 8th century. The growth rings of an unknown tree species, at Bristol Zoo, England Pinus taeda Cross section showing annual rings, Cheraw, South Carolina Pine stump showing growth rings Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the method of scientific dating based on the analysis of tree-ring growth patterns. ... Events Favila becomes king of Asturias after Pelayos death Births Emperor Kammu of Japan (d. ... Events Births Emperor Kazan of Japan Ethelred II of England Romanus Argyrus, later Romanus III of the Eastern Roman Empire. ... Offas Dyke (in Welsh, Clawdd Offa) is a massive earthwork, ostensibly between England and Wales, running from the estuary of the River Dee in the north to the River Wye in the south (approximately 150 miles, or 240 km). ...

The Dannevirke is about 30 km long overall, with a height varying between 3.6 and 6 m. During the Middle Ages, the structure was reinforced with palisades and masonry walls, and was used by Danish kings as a gathering point for Danish military excursions, including a series of crusader raids against the Slavs of the south Baltic. In particular, the 12th century King Valdemar the Great reinforced parts of the Dannevirke with a brick wall, which enabled a continued military use of the strategically important structure. The reinforced parts of the structure are consequently known in Danish as Valdemarsmuren (Valdemar's wall). The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Palisade and Moat A palisade is a Medieval wooden fence or wall of variable height, used as a defensive structure. ... The Teutonic knights in Pskov in 1240. ... Distribution of Slavic people by language The Slavic peoples are a linguistic and ethnic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in Europe, where they constitute roughly a third of the population. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... Valdemar I the Great (1131-1182) was King of Denmark from 1157 until 1182. ...

During the prolonged nineteenth century political and military struggles between Danes and Germans over possession of the territory variously known as Sønderjylland or Slesvig by the one side and Schleswig by the other, the Danevirke was used as a potent symbol of Danish nationalism. Specifically, it was a symbol of the Danish historical claim for the whole of this territory - nonwithanding that during the centuries since its construction the linguistic frontier has moved gradually northwards, so that in the 19th century the territory for a considerable distance north as well as south of the Danevirke was predominantly German-speaking. The fiefdom itself remained as a Danish fief. Under the system of feudalism, a fiefdom, fief, feud or fee, consisted of heritable lands or revenue-producing property granted by a liege lord in return for a vassal knights service (usually fealty, military service, and security). ...

The last military use of the Dannevirke was during the Second War of Schleswig in 1864. Due especially to the above-mentioned emotive nationalist symbolism, public opinion in Denmark had expected the coming battle to take place here, and the Dannevirke was already under siege, although no battle actually took place there, as the Danish commander in Chief, General de Meza, withdrew to the trenches at Dybbøl. His arguments for doing so rested on the threat of being outflanked, the Schlei and the wetlands between the Dannevirke and Husum having frozen solid; also, the territory immediately in front of the Dannevirke had already fallen into German hands. This retreat came as a surprise to the Austro-Prussian army, and almost all of the Danish army succeeded in completing the evacuation. It resulted, however, in the abandonment of important pieces of heavy artillery, and it remains a matter of historical debate why the railway to Flensburg was never properly used for the evacuation. News of the retreat came as a great shock to Danish public opinion which had considered the Dannevirke to be impregnable, and General de Meza was promptly relieved of his command. Combatants Prussia Austria German Confederation Denmark Commanders Friedrich Graf von Wrangel Christian Julius De Meza replaced by George Daniel Gerlach on February 29 Strength At the outbreak of war: 61,000 158 guns Later reinforcements: 20,000 64 guns[1] 38,000 100+ guns[2] Casualties 1,700+ killed, wounded... Christian Julius De Meza (14th January 1792 - 16th September 1865) was the commander of the Danish army during the Danish-Prussian war of 1864. ... Dybbøl with the historic Dybbøl Mill Dybbøl (German: Düppel) is a small settlement in the southeastern corner of South Jutland, Denmark. ... Husum is the name of at least two towns, one in Germany and one in Sweden. ... Artillery with Gabion fortification Cannons on display at Fort Point Continental Artillery crew from the American Revolution Firing of an 18-pound gun, Louis-Philippe Crepin, (1772 – 1851) A forge-welded Iron Cannon in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. ... Flensburg (Danish: Flensborg, Low Saxon: Flensborg, North Frisian: Flansborj) is an independent town in the North of the German state Schleswig-Holstein. ...

Stages in the building of the Dannevirke

Map showing Dannevirke and the Danish army road

See the map at *http://www.danskmiddelalder.dk/dan-oversigt.gif. The stippling on the map marks water and marsh areas, including some (such as those along the Rheider Au) which have since been drained. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 599 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2045 × 2048 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 599 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2045 × 2048 pixel, file size: 2. ... Hærvejen is the name given to an ancient track way in Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein mainly between the modern cities of Flensburg and Viborg. ...

Dannevirke 1 – Hovedvolden ("the main rampart"), Nordvolden ("the north rampart"), Østervolden ("the east rampart")
Building work started about 650, according to carbon-14 dating. Work said to have been started by Angantyr, and continued by "Siegfried" (= Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye?), and ended by Guðfrið about 737. Rampart may mean: A type of defensive wall consisting of a low earthen embankment topped by a parapet or palisade. ... Carbon-14 is the radioactive isotope of carbon discovered February 27, 1940, by Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben. ... Hjorvard and Hjalmar propose to Ingeborg Angantyr was the name of three characters from the same line in Norse mythology, and who appear in Hervarar saga, the Poetic Edda (the Waking of Angantyr and the Battle of the Goths and Huns) and in Gesta Danorum. ... Sigurd Snake-in-the-eye was one of the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok and Kraka, but what set him apart from the others was that he was born with the image of the ouroborous, a snake or dragon biting its own tail, encircling the pupil of his left eye. ... Most Danes know that the official line of Danish kings begins with Gorm the Old, the father of renowned king Harald Bluetooth who ruled Denmark in the 950s. ...

• Hovedvolden: From Rheide Å (now called Rheider Au) to a small lake called Dannevirke Sø. It was the main segment of the dannevirke. About 2 m high and 12 m wide.
• Nordvolden: From the northeastern side of Dannevirke Sø, and further north about 7 km.
• Østervolden: About 3.3 km long, and protecting Schwansen.

These ramparts had one simple palisade of wood. Thumby in Schwansen Schwansen (Danish: Svans or Svansø) is a peninsula in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, protruding into the Baltic Sea. ...

Dannevirke 2 – Kovirke ("cow-work")
Built either by Guðfrið or by Harald Bluetooth (if it is the work mentioned as newly made in the Frankish royal annals in 808, then Harald did not build it). It stretched from the Rheide Å about 7 km to a south extension of the Schlei which has now been drained. Its palisade was about 3 m high, and was a little more solid than that on the first ramparts. The bank of earth behind the palisade was about 2 m high and 7 m wide. It had a V-shaped moat, 4 m wide and 3 m deep. Harold Bluetooth Gormson (Danish Harald Blåtand, Norwegian Harald Blåtann) (ca 935- November 1, 986), sometimes Harold II, succeeded his father Gorm the Old as king of Denmark in 958 (or 959) and was king of Norway for a few years, probably around 970. ... Statue of Charlemagne (also called Karl der Große, Charles the Great) in Frankfurt, Germany. ... Schlei near Kappeln The Schlei (German: Schlei, Danish: Slien) is a narrow inlet of the Baltic Sea in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany. ... The moated manor house of Baddesley Clinton in Warwickshire, England Moats (also known as a Fosse) were deep and wide water-filled trenches, excavated to provide a barrier against attack upon castle ramparts or other fortifications. ...

Dannevirke 3 – Hovedvolden, Krumvolden ("the curved rampart"), Buevolden ("the bow rampart"), Dobbeltvolden ("the double rampart"), Forbindelsesvolden ("the connecting rampart")
Hovedvolden was expanded, so that it was now about 5 m high and about 20 m wide. Krumvolden was built through the Rheide Å, and overlapped with Hovedvolden. Forbindelsesvolden closed a gap between Halvkredsvolden ("the semicircle rampart", a bank that protected Hedeby) and Hovedvolden near Dannevirke Sø. Buevolden and Dobbeltvolden protected an important road junction. Most of the building work is attributed to Harald Bluetooth. Forbindelsesvolden was attacked by Germans in 974. Hedeby (Haithabu in Old Norse; Heidiba in Latin; in Germany the name Haithabu is frequently used) was a Danish settlement and trading centre on the southern Baltic Sea coast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of a narrow, navigable inlet, the Schlei (Danish: Slien) in the province of Schleswig... Harold Bluetooth Gormson (Danish Harald Blåtand, Norwegian Harald Blåtann) (ca 935- November 1, 986), sometimes Harold II, succeeded his father Gorm the Old as king of Denmark in 958 (or 959) and was king of Norway for a few years, probably around 970. ...

Dannevirke 4 – Forbindelsesvolden, Krumvolden, and Hovedvolden
Under Canute IV of Denmark (1080-1086) Denmark was at war with the German empire. The Dannevirke was strengthened at the beginning of the 12th century: the moats were deepened and the ramparts were made higher. A granite boulder palisade wall was built on a part of Hovedvolden. the death of Canute the Holy, by Christian Albrecht von Benzon Canute IV, (approximately 1043 — 1086), also known as Canute the Saint and Canute the Holy, was King of Denmark from 1080 until 1086. ...

Dannevirke 5 – Hovedvolden and Thyraborg)
Valdemar I fortified the rest of Hovedvolden with the famous "Valdemar-wall", a 7-m high wall of stones in mortar on a granite boulder base, propped up with buttresses and covered with tiles. This was a large reinforcement, and doubtless deterred many who tried to send an army northwards through Jutland. It was the last true reinforcement of the ramparts. Later Thyraborg castle was built. Valdemar I the Great (1131-1182) was King of Denmark from 1157 until 1182 He was the son of Canute Lavard, a chivalrous and popular Danish prince. ... Jutland Peninsula Jutland (Danish: Jylland; German: Jütland; Frisian Jutlân; Low German Jötlann) is the western, continental part of Denmark as well as one of the three historical Lands of Denmark, dividing the North Sea from the Kattegat and the Baltic Sea. ...

The Dannevirke began to lose its purpose in the 14th century, owing both to the expense of manning it and to the development of ballistas, trebuchets, and similar siege engines. The ballista (Latin, from Greek ballistēs, from ballein to throw, plural ballistae) was a powerful ancient crossbow, although employing several loops of twisted skeins to power it, it used torsion (instead of a prod). ... Trebuchet at Château des Baux, France. ...

The Dannevirke in World War II

Following the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II, the Wehrmacht feared that a second Allied invasion might take place through Denmark, and contemplated converting the earthen wall into an anti-tank trench to counter this threat. Had the proposal been implemented, it would have destroyed the structure. Flag of Normandy Normandy (in French: Normandie, and in Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region in northern France. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Wehrmacht   (armed forces, literally defence force(s)) was the name of the armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. ...

Hearing of the plans, Danish archaeologist Søren Telling – aware that all archaeological investigation was under the ultimate jurisdiction of SS chief Heinrich Himmler – immediately telephoned both the head of the SS's archaeological department, Amt für Ahnenwerte, and Himmler himself. Telling argued strongly against the destruction of an important remnant of "Aryan civilization" and Himmler authorized him to stop the construction of the anti-tank trench. He informed Telling that a written order would be dispatched but that it would take several days to arrive. Telling then drove to the site and ordered the commanding Wehrmacht officers to immediately stop the construction process. When the local Wehrmacht commander refused, Telling threatened him with reprisals from the SS. Construction was called off and Himmler's written order arrived two days later countering the Wehrmacht's original instructions. Telling later settled near the site and considered himself a custodian of it until his death in 1968. The   (German for Protective Squadron), abbreviated (Runic) or SS (Latin), was a large security and military organization of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) in Germany. ... Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( ; 7 October 1900–23 May 1945) was the commander of the Schutzstaffel (SS) and one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany by being second in power to Adolf Hitler in the Nazi hierarchy. ... Aryan (/eÉ™rjÉ™n/ or /ɑːrjÉ™n/, Sanskrit: ) is a Sanskrit and Avestan word meaning noble/spiritual one. ...

The Dannevirke in popular culture

As a symbol of Danish autonomy from Germany, Dannevirke was adopted as the title of several Danish journals during the nineteenth century. The most notable of these was published by Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig from 1816-1819. Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig (September 8, 1783, Udby, Sjælland, Denmark, –September 2, 1872, Copenhagen) was a Danish teacher , writer, poet, philosopher, historian, minister, and even politician. ...

The town of Dannevirke in New Zealand was founded by Danish, Norwegian and Swedish settlers in 1872, when the site's loss to the Germans was a recent and very painful memory. Dannevirke (Danes work), is a rural service town in the southern Hawkes Bay area of New Zealand. ... Year 1872 (MDCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

See also

• Götavirke (Geatish Dyke)
• History of Denmark
• History of Schleswig-Holstein
• Offa's Dyke
• Separation barrier

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Dannevirke

Götavirke (Geatish Dyke) are the remains of a defensive wall going from north to south between to villages called Västra Husby and Hylinge in Östergötland in present-day Sweden. ... This is a history of the Kingdom of Denmark and the areas comprising modern day Denmark. ... // Jutland is a long peninsula in Northern Europe, and the current Schleswig-Holstein is its southern part. ... Offas Dyke (in Welsh, Clawdd Offa) is a massive earthwork, ostensibly between England and Wales, running from the estuary of the River Dee in the north to the River Wye in the south (approximately 150 miles, or 240 km). ... Separation barriers (separation walls, security fences) are constructed to limit the movement of people across a certain line or border or to separate two populations. ... Image File history File links Commons-logo. ...

External links

• Dansk Middelalder Danish website with map, history and reconstructions. (Danish)
• [1] Danish to English autotranslater

Parts of this article are based on the articles Dannevirke and Søren Telling on the Danish Wikipedia, accessed on 23 July 2006.

Coordinates: 54°38′26″N, 9°35′03″E Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...