"The Viking Bridge at Ravning" Ravning Things to Do Tip by deptlads

This is an important historical site which is not mentioned in any of the tourist literature we have seen.

The 800m bridge was constructed by the Danish King Harald Bluetooth in the 10th century to provide a crossing for the "Army Road" (the ancient North-South route through Jutland) over the marshy Vejle river valley. Although the bridge was not in use for very long, it remained the longest bridge ever built in Denmark for nearly a thousand years, until the construction of the Little Belt bridge in the 20th century.

At the site, you can see the route of the bridge as a cleared strip of land across the river valley (this is clearly visible in the picture on our Ravning Page. Just to one side there is a reconstruction of a short portion of the bridge (see picture on the right) which shows how it was constructed. There is a small "museum" in the nearby former railway building, which has lots of information about the bridge, including one of the massive wooden piles which supported it (there is also one of these at the museum in Jelling).

This is an excellent place to visit for anyone with a serious interest in the Vikings, or early Danish history.

Address: South of Bredsten on the Vejle to Billund road
Directions: Midway between Ravning and Vork.

Take road no. 28 from Vejle and turn left just before the junction with road no. 18 at Bredsten, signpost to Ravning. After Ravning, turn left, signpost to Vork and Egtved. Parking is on the right after 2km.
Website: http://www.fortidensjelling.dk/jelling12.htm