The Jelling monuments consist of two mounds, a ship setting and two rune stones from Danish prehistory and the Viking Age, located around Jelling Church.
The Church
Between the two Viking Age mounds lies one of the oldest stone churches in Denmark. In the 10th century, Jelling was the main seat of the kings Gorm the Old and Harald Bluetooth. When Harald became Christian around the year 965, he had the first church in Denmark built in Jelling (if one overlooks Ribe and Hedeby). The current church was not built until around the year 1100, when it replaced three different wooden stave churches, all of which had burned down.
The Kongernes Jelling museum tells the story of the two Danish Viking kings Gorm the Old and Harald Bluetooth - who had their seat in Jelling - and their time in a new, modern and exciting way.
De to jellingesten fortæller hver deres historie. Den lille om første gang navnet Danmark blev nedskrevet med runer i Danmark, mens den store sten fortæller historien om dengang, da Danmark blev kristen og Harald Blåtand samlede hele Danmark og Norge. De to høje er i deres nuværende form ligeledes fra kongernes tid i 900-tallet.
