Lindholm Hoje

Lindholm Hoje (Lindholm Hills) is a large archaeological site housing Denmark’s most impressive Viking and Germanic Iron Age graveyard.

With over 700 graves of various shapes and sizes found in 1952, Lindholm Hoje offers a fascinating insight into burial customs of the time.

Guided tours can be arranged in advance. Lindholm Hoje also has a museum displaying archaeological finds and telling the story of the Viking and Iron ages.

History of Lindholm Hoje

Lindholm Hoje is located to the north of the city of Aaloborg, Denmark, and is considered to be Scandinavia’s largest Viking burial ground. It was used by villagers from approximately 400 to 1000 AD, with the sprawling site being home to around 682 cremation graves marked by rocks.

The lower, southern part of Lindholm Hoje dates to 1000-1050 AD, the Viking Age, while the higher, northern part is significantly earlier, dating to the 5th century AD, the Nordic Iron Age.

The first major archaeological excavation of the site began in 1952, though excavations have been conducted as early as 1889. The first excavation included 589 of the 682 graves, though it is not known how many more have been lost, with many being broken up during the 19th century for road construction.

The site was preserved by shifting sands of around four metres thick that swept over the area due to deforestation. This phenomenon also sheltered a village which was excavated in the 1950s, and included artefacts like farming equipment, a Viking long house, and even a sword.

Due to its location and transportation links, the village is thought to have been an important centre for trade, with glassware, gems, Arab coins, and an 11th century Urnes style brooch testifying to this.

Lindholm Hoje Today

Today, visitors can enjoy the tranquillity of the site, which is often accompanied by grazing livestock. Adjacent to the site is the Lindholm Hoje Museum.

It has two distinct sections: the first details what life was like inside the village, with home reconstructions, wagons, pots, stone brooches, and combs discovered during the site’s excavation on display.

The second section houses an exhibition about ancient times in the surrounding Limfjorden area, with displays including axes, daggers, arrows, and flint extracted from nearby mines. There are even real human skeletons on display that were found at the site.

Getting to Lindholm Hoje

A car from the waterfront at Aalborg’s city centre takes around 15 minutes. There is also a regular bus – the 17, 13, 2, 75, 76, ICL, 70, 71, and 200 – that departs from the city centre. For those who would enjoy a scenic walk, the site is around an hour from the same place.