The hidden ring fortress – UNESCO World Heritage

If you stand at the corner of Hunderupvej and Nonnebakken and look towards the striking white mansion of the Odd Fellow Lodge, you're looking at the remains of Odense's largest and most significant archaeological monument: a Viking fortress. Today, all that can be seen is a slope in the landscape, but it was once a vast complex measuring 180 metres in diameter, with a five-metre-high rampart topped by a palisade.

The fortress was built by King Harald Bluetooth in the late 10th century as one of five Danish ring fortresses. When I stand here at Nonnebakken, I can't help imagining how this great fortress must once have dominated the landscape of Funen. I also think about the many finds that still lie hidden and remarkably well preserved beneath the ground, offering the possibility of even greater insight into the Viking Age if they are investigated more closely one day.

Mads Runge
Director of Development, Museum Odense