Cycle route: Runestones and other monuments of the past

Address

Start, for example, at Gassum Church
8981 Randers
Distance: 12,04 Km

Contact

Website

In Randers Municipality alone, there are around 350 visible and protected monuments of the past: Burial mounds and stone mounds from the Stone Age as well as burial mounds from the Bronze Age. From historical times, it concerns – in addition to runestones – e.g. ramparts and church grounds from the Middle Ages.

Length of the trip: 60,8 km

Worth knowing about your bike trip

Parking: E.g. at the churches on the route.

Nature of the route: Asphalt and gravel

Estimated driving time: Approx. 5 hours (at 12 km/h)

Traffic conditions: Major roads are crossed in some places.

The first historical sources

The rune stones from the end of the 900th century and the beginning of the 1000th century are the first historical sources where we can get an impression of our ancestors' achievements in writing. As a rule, the runic inscriptions are short and mention only the names of those who erected the stones and those who have been honored in this way. But Denmark's history begins long before the runestones; from the time we call prehistoric times, a large number of remains are found. This tour, which starts and ends in Hvidsten, takes you past some of the most exciting monuments of the past in the area north of Randers.

White stone

Hvidsten is primarily known for its royally privileged Hvidsten Inn, which dates back to 1634. Since 1884, the inn has been owned by the Fiil family, and it is run today by the fourth generation. The Croman Marius Fiil formed the Hvidsten Group in 1943, which was responsible for receiving dropped weapons for the Danish resistance movement during the German occupation (see more under the route "the Hvidsten Group")

Asferg Church

Asferg Church is a Romanesque church that can be dated to approx. 1080 and thus to the end of the Viking Age. The building style is Anglo-Saxon-Norman and reflects that the Vikings encountered the Christian faith on their voyages to England and then brought Christianity with them to Denmark. The very special thing about Asferg Church is that the tower is as old as the rest of the church; the vast majority of village churches in Denmark only got their tower in the late Middle Ages. The artist Erik Heide has decorated Asferg Church with modern art both inside and outside. Erik Heide has, among other things, designed both east window, crucifix and altar. In the park-like cemetery there are also sculptures by Erik Heide and Peter Brandes.

Dandy

At the end of the blind Ejstrupvej lies Dandiget, which dates from the early Iron Age (approx. year 0). The dyke is up to 2 meters high and has been preserved over a stretch of approx. 1,2 km. The dyke must have been named after the legendary king Dan, and it is assumed that the rampart once marked the border between the kingdoms of two Iron Age kings. Øster Tørslev Church In the church's porch is a runestone that dates to around the year 1000. The inscription reads: "Halle raised this stone, Lette's son, after Asulv(?), his brother". The stone is one of a total of 30 rune stones found in the triangle area between Hobro, Randers and Viborg.

Glenstrup

Glenstrup Sø, which is approx. 4½ km long, is the largest lake in North Jutland. With a depth of almost 31 metres, it is one of Denmark's deepest lakes. At the end of the 1000th century, Benedictine monks founded a monastery on the hill south of the lake. North of Glenstrup Church springs the water-rich Mariekilde, which was a holy spring in the Middle Ages. Until 1552, an annual spring market was held at the source, which attracted people from near and far. Two runestones have been found in Glenstrup, one of which is today in the church's porch. Like the church in Asferg, the large church in Glenstrup dates from the end of the 1000th century and may have been intended as the monastery church of the Benedictines.

Fyrkat

In the years around 980, the Danish Viking king Harald Blåtand built a series of circular castles according to exactly the same template, namely Aggersborg, Trelleborg, Nonnebakken in Odense, Borrering by Køge and Fyrkat. The inner diameter of the castle is 120 m, and there was room for 16 longhouses within the rampart. The rampart can still be seen in the terrain, and it is possible to see a reconstructed longhouse. Close to Fyrkat is the Viking Centre, which is housed in a reconstructed Viking farm.

Katbjerg

Close to the road not far from Katbjerg is a series of graves from the Stone Age. Kongehøj is a 52-metre-long oblong with two burial chambers, while Ormhøj is a giant's room with a beehive. The best-known grave is the giant's house Jordhøj, and the three graves all date from the period 3.300-3.000 BC. When the archaeologists excavated Jordhøj in 1890, they found a completely untouched burial chamber. On the floor were chopped planks from wooden coffins, flint daggers and clay vessels, and the excavation showed that the Stone Age people were able to build a completely sealed burial chamber with a dry indoor climate.

Randrup Kirkeruin

A footpath leads to the foundation remains of Randrup Kirkeruin and the ground plan of a church or chapel from the 1200th century. There is virtually no information available, either about the construction of the church or its function. It is also not known when it was demolished, but perhaps it became redundant after the Reformation in 1536.

See more cycle routes in and around Randers right here.