For anyone even a little interested in Viking and Danish history, a visit to Jelling is a must.

We couldn't wait to learn about Viking history before our trip to Denmark, and Jelling Monuments was the perfect place for it.

Jelling, a small town in Southern Jutland, is home to one of the most significant historical sites we've seen in Denmark. This former Viking settlement is all about history - over a thousand years ago, during the Viking Age, Jelling was the stage for several key events by King Gorm the Old and his son, Harald Bluetooth, that shaped Denmark's future and heritage.

This is where the famous Jelling Monuments were created, marking Denmark's unification, the introduction of Christianity, and the establishment of the Danish kingdom. People often say Denmark was born in Jelling. The events that took place there had a huge influence on Denmark's future, so it wasn't a big surprise when the Jelling Monuments were added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1994.

For us, Jelling had an extra special meaning. It was our last day in Jutland, a place we fell head over heels for, and we were pretty bummed that this part of our adventure was ending. But before saying goodbye, we still had a full day of exploring ahead, with Jelling being one of the most awesome stops.

We had so much fun wandering around the Jelling monuments area, especially since there were hardly any people around.

What to See and Do in Jelling

After a short three-minute walk from the parking lot, we stood in front of the Experience Center, which was still closed because we arrived about an hour and a half before it opened. That was part of our plan - get there early to have plenty of time to check out the surroundings, which are open all day long.

We were in the Jelling Monument Area, where all the top attractions that make Jelling famous could be found. The area was flat and easy to walk around, with well-kept trails that were perfect for everyone, no matter their age or ability. Here's everything we explored during our visit there.

Jelling's Runic Stones

As we walked into this large field full of Viking and Danish history, we had to decide how to explore it - where to head and what to check out first. Lucie wanted to go to the Runic Stones first since they're the most important attractions here; plus, they were just 50 meters away, though, at the moment, still hidden by the greenery of Jelling's cemetery.

So much of Denmark's history is contained within the Jelling runic stones.

Seeing the stones for the first time, now protected in a glass enclosure, was kind of underwhelming because, after more than 1000 years, the carvings aren't as clear as they used to be. But it's the history behind them that makes them truly special.

Later on, we saw a replica of one of Harald's stones in the museum. It had been painted with the original colors, and the contrast between the vibrant colors of the replica and the faded colors of the original was pretty shocking.

The replica in the museum gives a great sense of how the runic stones originally looked.

What's the story behind Jelling's Runic Stones, and why are they so important? Around 965 CE, King Harald Bluetooth erected the large rune stone in Jelling to honor his parents, Gorm and Thyra. The inscription on the stone highlights Harald's significant accomplishments - he unified Denmark as a kingdom and brought Christianity to the Danes.

On one side of the stone, there's Christ (the oldest one found in Scandinavia), and the other side features an animal with a snake coiled around it. This large rune stone at Jelling mentions "Denmark" for the first time and clearly marks the move to Christianity.

The Jelling runestone is famously known as the 'birth certificate' of Denmark.

Evidence suggests that this process began much earlier, though, with some people already being Christians by the time Harald Bluetooth raised the rune stone. Adopting new social, political, and religious practices was a big but necessary change for the Danes to remain strong and independent - King Harald Bluetooth recognized this and wasn't afraid to make those changes.

Jelling Church

With the Runic Stones just outside Jelling Church's entrance, we decided to head inside next. The church dates back to 1100 CE, though it stands on the site of older wooden churches from the Viking Age.

Obviously, the church has gone through many renovations and restorations over the years, but it still holds its place as one of Denmark's key churches. Compared to places like Roskilde Cathedral, it's a small church, but that's not a fair comparison.

The church has a very simple interior, with a small unadorned nave and a tiny chancel decorated with religious paintings. It's like many small churches across Europe, so the most unique thing we saw here was a small model ship hanging from the ceiling, representing Denmark's Viking heritage and maritime history.

We'd never seen anything like the ship model in Jelling Kirke - who knew you'd find something like that in a church?

Jelling Church opens at 8 AM from Monday to Saturday and at 12:30 PM on Sundays. Closing times vary between 5 PM and 8 PM, depending on the season. It's still a functioning church with services and ceremonies, so it might be closed occasionally. It's free to enter.

Mounds at Jelling

Once we left the church, we finally got to check out the giant mounds that dominate the area. Known as the North Mound and the South Mound, these mounds at Jelling were once used as burial sites.

Seeing these two grassy mounds for the first time, we both commented that they looked exactly like the ones we saw in Bru na Boine during our Ireland road trip a few years back. It wasn't that surprising since they were all constructed for similar purposes.

The North Mound sits right in the middle of the 360-meter long Jelling Stone Ship, which you can see in front.

The South Mound is the taller one, standing at 10 meters high and 70 meters in diameter, and was built around 970 CE. Interestingly, it didn't have any burials. The North Mound, the older one, had a burial chamber built in 958-59 CE, though its history goes back to the Bronze Age. The Vikings only expanded it. Sadly, everything inside the North Mound, including the remains, was stolen during the Viking era.

The highlight, no doubt, was that we could climb both mounds. We soaked in some fantastic views and got a better sense of the entire former settlement and the ship setting that Jelling is known for. The tomb at this site is inaccessible, unlike some other burial mounds. But during our trip to Mons Klint, we visited Kong Asgers Hoj. It was much smaller, but we could actually enter it.

Climbing the burial mounds at Jelling is allowed, and the views up there are amazing.

Stone Ship Setting in Jelling

It was time to explore the massive ship-shaped stone monument we saw from above earlier. This monument, simply called the ship setting, is honestly one of the coolest things Jelling has. It's about 360 meters long, making it the biggest one known in Scandinavia, and it lies partly under the burial mounds dating back to the Viking Age.

The Jelling stone ship is an example of a burial tradition that was common in Scandinavia.

To really appreciate the Jelling ship setting, you have to see it from above, so make sure to climb one of the mounds for a better view - though let's face it, the aerial photos in the museum did a much better job. We had a similar situation a few years ago at the Nazca Lines, but we took a flight there, which wasn't an option here.

The ship setting was probably built this way to symbolize a journey to Valhalla, the hall of the gods in Norse mythology. The stones were arranged in a ship shape, with larger stones at the ends to create the illusion of a vessel - this was a common practice in Scandinavia, Northern Germany, and the Baltic states. Since it likely represents the voyage to the afterlife, the ship was also under the burial mounds.

You can find stone ships in a few more places in Denmark. We actually saw some earlier in Lindholm Hoje, though they were much smaller compared to this one.

Jelling Palisade

The stone ship monument was really cool, but Jelling still had more in store for us. In 2007, Vejle Museum started new excavations, and to their big surprise, they discovered that the entire area was enclosed by a huge 360x360 meter palisade from the Viking Age (around 968 AD).

The palisade was built during King Harald Bluetooth's reign and acted as a big wooden enclosure around the Jelling Monuments. Made of oak posts and planks, it formed a rhombic shape (a bit like a diamond) and enclosed an area of about 12.5 hectares. Its purpose was likely to mark and safeguard the significant royal site (and to show its power), which had the famous runic stones, burial mounds, and other structures.

Walking along the Jelling palisade was an excellent way to get some morning exercise.

Part of the southern side is now underwater in a pond, and a short part of the eastern side and the entire western side are buried under houses. It was really cool to see it with our own eyes and walk around, at least the parts that were rebuilt using the original techniques - it definitely helped us visualize how the site looked back in the day. On top of that, it was a pleasant morning stroll in a quiet place - one of our favorite ways to begin the day while on the road.

Ravning Enge Bridge

By the way, less than 20 minutes south is the former site of Ravning Enge Bridge - another of King Harald's big projects. It's believed he built the wooden bridge to help the Vikings cross the Vejle River and strengthen their influence in this part of Jutland. It's a quick stop with a tiny museum and a small replica of the wooden bridge in a large meadow. If you have time (we didn't), it might be a nice addition to your Jelling visit.

Trelleborg-type Houses

During the excavations, they uncovered the foundations of three large buildings called Trelleborg-type houses - Viking-age longhouses made of wood with thatched or turf roofs. There's no actual house left, just concrete foundations showing where they were, so don't get too excited. A few days later, we saw this type of house at Trelleborg Fortress - it was pretty cool, even though it was just a reconstruction.

Jelling Experience Center

As it got close to 10 o'clock, we made our way to the museum's front entrance. The morning was beautiful yet a bit cold, so we just chilled, enjoyed the sun's warmth, and waited for the doors to open. At 10, one of the museum employees let us in, along with a couple of other tourists and a large school trip group.

The museum at Jelling had loads of great info, but it was a bit on the expensive side.

Unlike the outside area, Kongernes Jelling has an entry fee, which we thought was quite high. We were debating if it was worth the money to go inside, but we figured we'd never know unless we bought the ticket. Plus, it was the first Viking museum that was open during our visit, so it was a perfect way to learn more about the era. There were info panels outside, but the museum itself was on a different level.

It turned out to be a great interactive museum packed with Viking and Danish history - plus, pretty much everything was in English. Some of the animations were really cool and enjoyable (also great for families with kids), providing us with a great overview of the Jelling site and Viking culture. Often, interactive features in museums are more about presentation than content, but here in Jelling, the black-and-white animations were really clever and informative.

The animations at the Jelling museum made it much easier to picture things like what Vikings wore back in the day.

King Harald and Bluetooth Exhibition

One of the coolest things about the museum was learning that Bluetooth technology - yep, that little tech we use daily - was named in honor of King Harald Bluetooth, who united various tribes with his communication skills. This exhibit was housed in a smaller room we checked out at the end, making it a fitting end to our visit.

The Bluetooth exhibition was a lot smaller compared to the Viking history section.

We never really thought about what Bluetooth means or depicts, so we finally learned it consists of the Viking letters B and H (plus tons of other info). How cool is that!

King Harald Bluetooth's actions inspired the name of Bluetooth technology, and the symbol actually features his initials.

Travel Insurance

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Travel insurance protects against theft, flight delays, injury, illness, cancellations, and much more.

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Parking at Jelling

There's free parking available in Jelling, about two hundred meters northwest of the museum. It's a spacious lot on the northern edge of town, and since we arrived early, it was pretty empty. From here, we took the paved path that starts in the southeast corner of the lot, and it took us about three minutes to get to the Jelling Monuments.

Entry Fee to Jelling Kongerness and Monuments

The good thing is that the Jelling Monument Area (all the stuff outside the Experience Center) is free to enter. The downside is that there's a pretty steep entrance fee for Jelling Kongernes, the museum area. The weird part is that the adult ticket is 120 DKK from May to October but only 60 DKK from November to April. We had to pay the full price since we arrived in September. Apparently, the museum used to be free, but that's not the case anymore.

Seeing the renowned Jelling runic stones is completely free.

Opening Hours to Jelling

When it comes to Jelling's opening times, it's much like the ticket situation. The Monument Area is open every day, 24/7, meaning you can visit anytime. The key thing to consider is the opening time of the Experience Center. Between 1st May and 31st September, Jelling Kongernes is open from 10 AM to 5 PM. For the rest of the year, except the last week in December, it's open from 10 AM to 4 PM but closed on Mondays.

What was nice is that we could check out the Jelling monuments area before Kongernes Jelling even opened.

Getting to Jelling

We drove to Jelling since it was part of our longer Jutland road trip. Besides the convenience, the biggest perk was that we could include as many stops as we wanted in our itinerary - something that would've been impossible with public transportation. Jelling is about an hour from Aarhus, 75 minutes from Odense, and three hours from Copenhagen. It's also around 15 minutes from Vejle and 30 minutes from Kolding. You can check out rental car prices in Denmark here.

Jelling is fairly well-connected with nearby cities by public transport, unlike our morning stop, Ejer Bavnehoj - Denmark's highest point. So you can get to the town from nearby Vejle or Aarhus by bus and train, and the train station is less than three minutes from the monument area.

While Jelling was one of the final stops on our Jutland itinerary before heading to Funen Island, there were still a few more places we were eager to check out. Right after Jelling, we went to Lego House in Billund, then visited Koldinghus, and finally made a stop at Christiansfeld.

The Jelling Monuments are situated right in the town of Jelling.

Where to Stay in Jelling

Jelling is a small town, and even though the UNESCO site is quite popular, you won't find any big hotels here. So if you want to stay in Jelling, small family-owned places like Birgittes B&B i Jelling or Anita's B&B are your best bet. There's also the popular Jelling Family Camping and Cottages, which is perfect for those driving around Jutland in a campervan, though they do have some cottages, too.

Just 15 minutes away from Jelling is the city of Vejle, which offers a much wider range of hotels. The Note is a modern hotel that's perfect for comfort and a central location, while Hotel Cabinn Vejle is great if you want a central location and to save some money. For those on a budget, there's the popular Danhostel Vejle in Skibet, just outside of Vejle.

Naturally, there are other towns within driving distance from Jelling, like Aarhus (we stayed in Aarhus), which has some really nice hotels like Hotel Oasia.

Travel Resources

Here you can find links to all the travel resources we use and which you might find helpful when planning your next holiday.

Accommodation: When looking for accommodation, we usually search hotels via Booking.com or Hostelworld.

Tours: Although we love to travel independently, some places are better to visit with a guided tour.

We prefer GetYourGuide for its easy-to-use interface and solid reputation. Another great alternative is Viator.

Rental Cars: When going on a road trip, we always use Rentalcars.com, a reliable site for booking a rental car in advance.

Flight Tickets: When looking for flight tickets, you can search Skyscanner to find the best price.

Travel Insurance: World Nomads and SafetyWing cover against risks of travel.

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How to Visit Jelling Kongernes and Monuments