Royal Jelling

Our first big stop in Denmark was the village where my great great grandmother, Appelone Nielsdatter, was born and lived: Jelling. 

Jelling is a royal village. As such it is unique, even special. But if you didn't know that, you could easily pass through Jelling yawning, and perhaps wonder why those mounds of grassed earth and that lovely old church just happened to be standing there still. 

They don't make too much of a fuss of anything in Jelling these days. The old Jelling of my great great grandmother's days seems to have all but disappeared. All that remains that she would have experienced are King Gorm's mounds, the Jelling Runic Stones, and the Jelling Church. These three things, alone, are amazing to me. I certainly had not expected them before I arrived. 

Gorm the Old was a Viking king. His empire stronghold was in Jelling. This was where he held court and where his court from Jutland, Funen and Zealand, paid homage to him. He was a loving king, and had a large memorial stone beautifully writ and raised in about 940 AD, on which he honours his wife, and his country, Denmark. He calls his wife, Thyra, 'Denmark's ornament'. This is the first mention of 'Denmark' anywhere in history.  On Gorm's stone. In Jelling. So, Thyra's stone is really Denmark's birthstone. 

When Gorm died his grieving son Harald Bluetooth (Bec believes he had a front tooth that was rotten, or had lost its nerve and turned blue) -- Harald 1 built the mounds as a memento like the pyramids of Egypt for his beloved father and, it is believed, buried him in one of them in a wooden pavilion topped with rock and covered with earthen sods. He added a second major memorial stone to his father's love-poem stone.

These two runic stones are so precious today, and form the foundation of Denmark's early history, that they are now under glass in the church grounds and the Jelling site has been named a UNESCO World Heritage site and visitors flock here. Archaeologists believe Gorm's remains were moved from the south mound and placed inside the delightful white church that still exists to this day. 

The Jelling church is plain, very simple, stuccoed white. It could be a Quaker meeting house it is so spare. It is over a thousand years old.  This is where my great-great grandmother was baptised, where she came to church with her family, kneeling to say her prayers atop King Gorm's remains. 

Outside, Appelone's friends, family and relatives were buried. The church grounds are amazing. If nothing else, Denmark has the very best cemeteries that I have yet seen anywhere in the world. They put Australian cemeteries to shame and reminds me that we really need to take greater care of our cemetery grounds. For those who come after us. 

There are large family cemetery plots all over Danish church grounds, all individually hedged with small leafy box, or miniature juniper hedge, and individually decorated to remember the family members buried here. Some have stone birds, flowers, and ponds as adornment to carry with then to the next world: one we saw has a stone tractor. There are small clumps of new tulips and little flowering azaleas everywhere at this time of the year.  Meticulously, lovingly, cared for.  These are wonderful, peaceful, forever-resting places and could not be lovelier. 

Love poem stone 

Jelling church