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Trelleborg (Slagelse)
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Trelleborg (Slagelse)
The Trelleborg (or Trælleborg), west of Slagelse on the Danish island of Zealand, is one of seven known Viking ring castles. When built, the fortress was situated on a peninsula that jutted into the swampy area between two rivers. The swamp was connected to the Great Belt by a lake and could be navigated by Viking ships. Trelleborg is believed to have been ordered by King Harald Bluetooth in the year 980 AD and it might have commanded the Great Belt and its sea traffic, between the islands of Zealand and Funen.
Trelleborg is the best preserved of the Viking ring fortresses. Since 1995, the Trelleborg Museum has presented the story of this particular fortress and the nearby area. Some of the artifacts found in connection with the archaeological excavations are on display at the museum, while others are on display at the Nationalmuseet in Copenhagen.
Along with four other Viking ring fortresses in Denmark, Trelleborg was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023 because of its unique architecture and testimony to the strategic and military power of the House of Knýtlinga (Jelling Dynasty).
Similar to the other Viking ring castles found so far, the Trelleborg at Slagelse was designed as an exact circle with two roads crossing at right angles in the geometric center, leading to four gates with two gates always opposite each other. In each of the four quarters stood four almost identical longhouses arranged in a square. Unlike other ring castles, Trelleborg was extended with a sort of bailey. The whole fortress may have supplied room for some 1,300 people.
Along with Aggersborg, Fyrkat, Trelleborg is the only ring castle to have been fully excavated. As a result, many conclusions about it are tentative and may change with further excavation of other sites.[citation needed]
The circular main castle was surrounded by a 5 m high rampart, 17.5 m wide at the base and with a diameter of 137 m. The outer walling was made of oak. Two rows of poles were supported by slanted beams from the outside and the room in between the poles was filled with loam and stones. The inside walling was also clad with wood and the two facades were reinforced by beams connecting the two. In the east, there was a 5 m broad berm protected by a ditch with a pointed profile, 17 m wide and 4 m deep. The ditch was not filled with water and had a palisade at its base. The two roads were covered with wood, and the four gates lined with stones on the inside. As in Fyrkat, there may have been a circle path along the inner side of the ramparts.
The fortifications encircled a total of 16 longhouses arranged in four squares 29.42 m long each. The houses had a somewhat ship-like form as the long walls were bulging outwards. Each house had four entrances, two at the short ends and two in the long walls, and was divided into three rooms with a large central hall (18 x 8 m) and two smaller rooms at the ends. The doors were protected by porches. Besides the large longhouses, there were also smaller houses to the north of the north eastern quarter, two small houses in the inner yard of the northeastern and southwestern quarter and a little square hut, each near the northern and western gates.
The bailey of the fortress is unique, as other ring castles do not appear to have a bailey. The bailey was protected by a rampart of its own to the east. The 14 longhouses of the bailey, each 26.33 meters long, were placed with their axis through the length of the buildings pointing to the center of the main castle.
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Trelleborg (Slagelse)
The Trelleborg (or Trælleborg), west of Slagelse on the Danish island of Zealand, is one of seven known Viking ring castles. When built, the fortress was situated on a peninsula that jutted into the swampy area between two rivers. The swamp was connected to the Great Belt by a lake and could be navigated by Viking ships. Trelleborg is believed to have been ordered by King Harald Bluetooth in the year 980 AD and it might have commanded the Great Belt and its sea traffic, between the islands of Zealand and Funen.
Trelleborg is the best preserved of the Viking ring fortresses. Since 1995, the Trelleborg Museum has presented the story of this particular fortress and the nearby area. Some of the artifacts found in connection with the archaeological excavations are on display at the museum, while others are on display at the Nationalmuseet in Copenhagen.
Along with four other Viking ring fortresses in Denmark, Trelleborg was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023 because of its unique architecture and testimony to the strategic and military power of the House of Knýtlinga (Jelling Dynasty).
Similar to the other Viking ring castles found so far, the Trelleborg at Slagelse was designed as an exact circle with two roads crossing at right angles in the geometric center, leading to four gates with two gates always opposite each other. In each of the four quarters stood four almost identical longhouses arranged in a square. Unlike other ring castles, Trelleborg was extended with a sort of bailey. The whole fortress may have supplied room for some 1,300 people.
Along with Aggersborg, Fyrkat, Trelleborg is the only ring castle to have been fully excavated. As a result, many conclusions about it are tentative and may change with further excavation of other sites.[citation needed]
The circular main castle was surrounded by a 5 m high rampart, 17.5 m wide at the base and with a diameter of 137 m. The outer walling was made of oak. Two rows of poles were supported by slanted beams from the outside and the room in between the poles was filled with loam and stones. The inside walling was also clad with wood and the two facades were reinforced by beams connecting the two. In the east, there was a 5 m broad berm protected by a ditch with a pointed profile, 17 m wide and 4 m deep. The ditch was not filled with water and had a palisade at its base. The two roads were covered with wood, and the four gates lined with stones on the inside. As in Fyrkat, there may have been a circle path along the inner side of the ramparts.
The fortifications encircled a total of 16 longhouses arranged in four squares 29.42 m long each. The houses had a somewhat ship-like form as the long walls were bulging outwards. Each house had four entrances, two at the short ends and two in the long walls, and was divided into three rooms with a large central hall (18 x 8 m) and two smaller rooms at the ends. The doors were protected by porches. Besides the large longhouses, there were also smaller houses to the north of the north eastern quarter, two small houses in the inner yard of the northeastern and southwestern quarter and a little square hut, each near the northern and western gates.
The bailey of the fortress is unique, as other ring castles do not appear to have a bailey. The bailey was protected by a rampart of its own to the east. The 14 longhouses of the bailey, each 26.33 meters long, were placed with their axis through the length of the buildings pointing to the center of the main castle.
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