Denmark: Jelling Viking Tombs & Runestones
Jelling is a small town in southern Norway but it’s known as the former Viking capital of the first Danish Kingdom back in the 9-10th century. The UNESCO site doesn’t have much in it – it consists of two large burial mounds (where supposedly the King Gorm of Denmark was burring in 10th century), two large runestones carved up with ancient Viking writing, and a white church. The stones are extremely significant for Danes as a sign of Danish statehood and the in inscriptions contain the name Denmark in the context of a of a nation state for the first time in history.
