The vanished church

When I stand in Albani Square, I'm reminded that I'm standing in the middle of Danish history. One of the country's earliest churches once stood here, and traces of the 1,000-year-old building still lie a few metres beneath the square's paving stones. You can see these traces marked in the pavement by circles of iron representing the wooden posts that once formed the church's walls and columns. This church was the setting for a dramatic event when the Danish king Cnut was killed by rebellious noblemen.

Cnut was later canonised as a saint, becoming Cnut the Holy, and he came to play a hugely important role in the small Viking town of Odense, which grew into one of the largest cities in the kingdom. Every year on 10 July, people celebrated Cnut with markets and processions, carrying his golden reliquary through the city's streets. Those must have been days full of life, colour and spectacle.

Can you picture it?

Kirstine Haase
Head of Research