Lejre
Encyclopedia
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, kommune) on the island of Zealand in east Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. It belongs to Region Sjælland
Region Sjælland
Region Zealand is an administrative region of Denmark established on January 1, 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which replaced the traditional counties with five larger regions. At the same time, smaller municipalities were merged into larger units, cutting the number of...
. The town's Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
name was Hleiðra. The municipality has an area of 240 km² and a total population of ca. 26,603 (2008). Its mayor is Mette Touborg, representing the Socialist Peoples Party . The municipal seat is Kirke Hvalsø.
Municipality
The current municipality was established on 1 January 2007 as a result of Kommunalreformen ("The Municipal Reform" of 2007), merging the former Lejre municipality with BramsnæsBramsnæs
Until January 1, 2007, Bramsnæs was a municipality in Roskilde County on the island of Zealand in east Denmark. The municipality, lying between Roskilde Fjord and Isefjord, covered an area of 80 km², and had a total population of 9,391 . Its last mayor was Flemming Jensen, a member of the...
and Hvalsø
Hvalsø
Hvalsø is a town and a former municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand in east Denmark. The former municipality covered an area of 72 km², and had a total population of 7,856 . Its last mayor was Virginia Holst, a member of the Venstre political party...
municipalities to form a new Lejre municipality. The former Lejre municipality covered an area of 88 km², and had a total population of 8,724 (2005). The mayor is Mette Touborg, representing the Socialist Peoples Party . Neighboring municipalities were Ramsø
Ramsø
Until January 1, 2007 Ramsø was a municipality in the former Roskilde County on the island of Zealand in east Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 76 km², and had a total population of 9,320 . Its last mayor was Poul Lindor Nielsen, a member of the Social Democrats political party...
and Roskilde
Roskilde municipality
Roskilde municipality is a municipality in Region Sjælland, 30 km west of Copenhagen on the island of Zealand in east Denmark....
to the east, Bramsnæs
Bramsnæs
Until January 1, 2007, Bramsnæs was a municipality in Roskilde County on the island of Zealand in east Denmark. The municipality, lying between Roskilde Fjord and Isefjord, covered an area of 80 km², and had a total population of 9,391 . Its last mayor was Flemming Jensen, a member of the...
to the north, Hvalsø
Hvalsø
Hvalsø is a town and a former municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand in east Denmark. The former municipality covered an area of 72 km², and had a total population of 7,856 . Its last mayor was Virginia Holst, a member of the Venstre political party...
to the west, and Hvalsø
Hvalsø
Hvalsø is a town and a former municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand in east Denmark. The former municipality covered an area of 72 km², and had a total population of 7,856 . Its last mayor was Virginia Holst, a member of the Venstre political party...
to the south. Most of the old municipality's northern border was defined by the waters of Roskilde Fjord
Roskilde Fjord
Roskilde Fjord is the fjord north of Roskilde, Denmark, and is located at . It is a long branch of the Isefjord.-Cities:The cities Frederiksværk, Frederikssund, Jægerspris, Jyllinge and Roskilde, , all have coastline at Roskilde Fjord...
. It belonged to Roskilde County.
History
Lejre was the capital of an Iron Age kingdom, the Lejre Kingdom, which was, according to legend, ruled by kings of the Skjöldung dynasty; it is assumed to be the predecessor of medieval DenmarkDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. The legends of the kings of Lejre were written down in the 12th century Chronicon Lethrense
Chronicon Lethrense
Chronicon Lethrense is a small Danish medieval work from the 12th century, written in Latin.-Themes:...
. Lejre is assumed to have been the location of Heorot
Heorot
Heorot is a mead hall described in the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf as "the foremost of halls under heaven." It served as a palace for King Hroðgar, a legendary Danish king of the sixth century. Heorot means "Hall of the Hart"...
, the royal hall mentioned in Beowulf
Beowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
and other myths that are set around the year 500
500
Year 500 was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Patricius and Hypatius...
. Archeological remains of large halls from this period have been found, as well as a sculpture supposed to depict Odin known as the Odin from Lejre
Odin from Lejre
Odin from Lejre is a small cast silver figurine from approximately 900 C.E., showing a person sitting on a throne. The figurine has inlay of black niello and some gilding. The height is 18 mm and the weight is 9 grams...
.
Attractions
The municipality is home to the Land of legends (Sagnlandet Lejre)Land of legends (Sagnlandet Lejre)
The Land of Legends, Centre for Historical-Archaeological Research and Communication is a 106 acre archaeological open air museum situated in the Lejre Municipality, few kilometres west of Roskilde . It was founded in 1964 by ethnologist Hans-Ole Hansen...
, a center for experimental archaeology
Experimental archaeology
Experimental archaeology employs a number of different methods, techniques, analyses, and approaches in order to generate and test hypotheses, based upon archaeological source material, like ancient structures or artifacts. It should not be confused with primitive technology which is not concerned...
and education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, which includes reconstructions and recreations from different periods of Denmark’s history— from pre-history to the time of the Vikings. The centerpiece of the facility is an Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
village reconstruction, complete with sacrificial bog. The center is open to the public.