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LOCATION
Zealand is the biggest Danish island, located between Swedish Scania and Jutland. The lowland, mainly agricultural landscape of the island is diversified thanks to the moraine hills shaped by a glacier. The southern and eastern part of the island is the highest, with cliff coasts. The rich history of the land is not limited to the Vikings who are now the symbols of Zealand. It was a densely populated area as early as in the Neolith. As far as the religion is concerned, Zealand means the history of Christian expansion by the Baltic Sea in the Middle Ages and the contemporary laicisation of the society which used to be Protestant. Picturesque Roskilde (55°39′N 12°05′E), with slightly more than 50,000 inhabitants is the main administrative centre.
photo source: own photos
SIGHTSEEING
Selected places are situated in the eastern part of the island, within 50 km from Roskilde. All of them are accessible by car down clearly marked asphalt roads. There is also a railway line connecting Roskilde and Ringsted. The temples we recommend to visit are accessible throughout the day (usually from 10 am to 5 pm). The admission to the cathedral in Roskilde is payable. The cemetery in Gamla Lejre is accessible on foot within 10 minutes from an interesting archaeological museum. You need to be fitter to descend to the sea shore, to the foot of the cliff.
ATTRACTIONS
The cathedral in Roskilde, entered into the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995, is a monumental Gothic temple with Romanesque elements, erected in 1180–1300. The church is a necropolis of 39 rulers of Denmark, with abundant medieval and Renaissance furnishings. Lejre, situated within 15 km to the west is well-known of its multicultural cemetery with kurgans and a tomb with a stone, boat-shaped surrounding. The neighbourhood teems with architectural monuments. It is here that such objects as a figurine of a Viking deity that, according to historians, is Odyn or Freya, was found. It may be watched in the local museum. Another landmark in the village is a reconstructed settlement dating back to the Iron Age. Ringsted is one of the oldest towns of Denmark, with a post-Benedictine Church, the most important medieval Danish pilgrimage centre, with the relics of Kanut Lavard, the first Danish saint. Moreover, the partly Romanesque church, the oldest brick temple in the country, there are sepulchres of Danish rulers. Tiny Hojerup, located only 50 km away of Roskilde, on the cliff coast of Zealand, is not only a magnificent cretaceous coast with its Stevns Klint cliff. A partly destroyed Early Gothic church dating back to 1300, with original polychromes, is located at the edge of the village and the cliff.
INFORMATION SOURCES
Heritage Class: [ C ]Cultural Heritage
Subclass [SR] :BLUE and GREEN believes and religions
WEB PAGES
http://www.roskildedomkirke.dk
