24T23 Haithabu: Viking power on the Schlei

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E22

Haithabu, Heiðabýr: “colony/settlement on the heath”.

Hedeby, or Haddeby.

Established in the early 9th-century CE, until its abandonment and destruction in the 11th-century, Vikings set up a village in the Schlei inlet inbound from the Baltic Sea, at an easy-to-ford location at the narrowest part of the Jutland peninsula over to the North Sea. At its height, the village was one of the largest Nordic towns during the Viking age. Later, Danish king Harald Bluetooth ordered in the 10th-century the construction of fortifications to protect the village, Northern European crossroads, and trade centre. The settlement also paved the way for the Christianization of Denmark.

The town and the surrounding Danevirke fortification received inscription as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018.

ᚼᛁᚦᛅᛒᚢ “hitabu” (rune in Younger Furthark). Hey, how about that: the rune for “b” is the modern symbol for Bluetooth technology.

The Vikings got very good at making boats. They were “jetting” around the North and Baltic Seas.
Sailing around Cape Skagen vs. sailing to Haithabu and fording over to the Treene and Eider rivers to reduce valuable travel time between the Baltic Sea and North Sea.
Squeezed between Frisians, Danes, Slavs, and Franconian Saxons, the Vikings sure found a sweet spot on the peninsula.
Viking sites as UNESCO World Heritage Sites: L’Anse aux Meadows 🇨🇦 (lower left); Haithabu 🇩🇪 (lower right).
One of many finds: a Christ symbol.
One of many finds: a steer symbol for St. Luke.
Grave number 33. Needed the zoom to pick out the cross.
Grave number 147.
Grave number 25.
“A meeting of cultures” (and one of many finds): multi-sided non-cubic dice. Plus runes and Vikings, equals live-action early-medieval D&D to the death.
One of many finds: fine gold pieces.
For almost 1000 years, a part of a Viking ship lay buried in the Haddeby Noor (“lagoon”) near the Haithabu site.
About 1km south of the museum is the estimated location of the village and recreation of 7 example houses.
Recreated dock/jetty into the nearby Haddeby Noor (lagoon) to launch boats, and receive trade goods from the sea and faraway lands.
“Welterbe seit 2018.”
World Heritage Site since 2018.

The Viking Museum Haithabu is located about 30-minutes by bus south-southeast from the centre of Schleswig. Open daily from 9am to 5pm, the 11€ charge includes admission to both museum and the houses (about 1.5 km walk to the south). The museum also has a great café.

I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 30 May 2024. I received neither sponsor nor support from any organization. This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.

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