Everything about The Danevirke totally explained
The
Danevirke (
Old Norse,
Danavirki ; modern
Danish,
Dannevirke ;
German,
Danewerk – all meaning "Danes' works") is an important linear defensive earthwork which was constructed across the neck of the
Jutland peninsula during
Denmark's
Viking Age. It was last used for military purposes in 1864.
The Dannevirke stretches from the marshes of west Jutland to the town of
Schleswig, which lies beside the
Schlei (Danish:
Slien) on the
Baltic Sea coast, near the former Viking trade centre of
Hedeby. Another wall, between the Schlei and the town of
Eckernförde, defended the
Schwansen peninsula.
According to written sources, work on the Dannevirke was started by the Danish King
Gudfred in
808. Fearing an invasion by the
Franks, who had conquered heathen
Frisia and
Saxony over the previous 100 years, Godfred began work on an enormous structure to defend his realm, separating the
Jutland peninsula from the northern extent of the Frankish empire.
Archaeological excavations in 1969-75 established, with the help of
dendrochronology, that the main structure of the Dannevirke had been built in three phases between
737 and
968 AD. It is, therefore, contemporary with
Offa's Dyke, another Germanic defensive structure of the late 8th century.
Recent investigations suggest, that Danevirke wasn't only and not primarily built for military desire. The archeologist Henning Hellmuth Andersen found, that in an early stage the main "wall" consisted of a trench between two low dams. The historian argued that the
Kograben (Danish: Kovirke) south of the main wall consists of am dam accompanied by a trench on its northern side, which would have been counterproductive for a Danish fortification. So the main wall, in its earliest stage, and the
Kograben rather would have been shipping canals. The shortcut between Baltic sea and North sea via Schlei in the east and Treene and Eider in the west is unquestioned. But for a long time historians believed, that between Schlei and Treene all boats had been moved on rolls.
The Dannevirke is about 30 km long overall, with a height varying between 3.6 and 6 m. During the
Middle Ages, the structure was reinforced with
palisades and masonry walls, and was used by Danish kings as a gathering point for Danish military excursions, including a series of
crusader raids against the
Slavs of the south Baltic. In particular, the
12th century King
Valdemar the Great reinforced parts of the Dannevirke with a brick wall, which enabled a continued military use of the strategically important structure. The reinforced parts of the structure are consequently known in Danish as
Valdemarsmuren (
Valdemar's wall).
During the prolonged nineteenth century political and military struggles between Danes and Germans over possession of the territory variously known as
Sønderjylland or
Slesvig by the one side and
Schleswig by the other, the Danevirke was used as a potent symbol of Danish nationalism. Specifically, it was a symbol of the Danish historical claim for the whole of this territory - nonwithanding that during the centuries since its construction the linguistic frontier has moved gradually northwards, so that in the 19th century the territory for a considerable distance north as well as south of the Danevirke was predominantly German-speaking. The fiefdom itself remained as a Danish
fief.
The last military use of the Dannevirke was during the
Second War of Schleswig in 1864. Due especially to the above-mentioned emotive nationalist symbolism, public opinion in Denmark had expected the coming battle to take place here, and the Dannevirke was already under siege, although no battle actually took place there, as the Danish commander in Chief,
General de Meza, withdrew to the trenches at
Dybbøl. His arguments for doing so rested on the threat of being outflanked, the Schlei and the wetlands between the Dannevirke and
Husum having frozen solid; also, the territory immediately in front of the Dannevirke had already fallen into German hands. This retreat came as a surprise to the Austro-Prussian army, and almost all of the Danish army succeeded in completing the evacuation. It resulted, however, in the abandonment of important pieces of heavy
artillery, and it remains a matter of historical debate why the railway to
Flensburg was never properly used for the evacuation. News of the retreat came as a great shock to Danish public opinion which had considered the Dannevirke to be impregnable, and General de Meza was promptly relieved of his command.
Stages in the building of the Dannevirke
See the map at *http://www.danskmiddelalder.dk/dan-oversigt.gif. The stippling on the map marks water and marsh areas, including some (such as those along the Rheider Au) which have since been drained.
Dannevirke 1 – Hovedvolden ("the main
rampart"), Nordvolden ("the north rampart"), Østervolden ("the east rampart")
Building work started about 650, according to
carbon-14 dating. Work said to have been started by
Angantyr, and continued by "Siegfried" (=
Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye?), and ended by
Guðfrið about 737.
- Hovedvolden: From (now called Rheider Au) to a small lake called Dannevirke Sø. It was the main segment of the dannevirke. About 2 m high and 12 m wide.
- Nordvolden: From the northeastern side of Dannevirke Sø, and further north about 7 km.
- Østervolden: About 3.3 km long, and protecting Schwansen.
These ramparts had one simple palisade of wood.
Dannevirke 2 – Kovirke ("cow-work")
Built either by Guðfrið or by
Harald Bluetooth (if it's the work mentioned as newly made in the
Frankish royal annals in 808, then Harald didn't build it). It stretched from the Rheide Å about 7 km to a south extension of the
Schlei which has now been drained. Its palisade was about 3 m high, and was a little more solid than that on the first ramparts. The bank of earth behind the palisade was about 2 m high and 7 m wide. It had a V-shaped
moat, 4 m wide and 3 m deep.
Dannevirke 3 – Hovedvolden, Krumvolden ("the curved rampart"), Buevolden ("the bow rampart"), Dobbeltvolden ("the double rampart"), Forbindelsesvolden ("the connecting rampart")
Hovedvolden was expanded, so that it was now about 5 m high and about 20 m wide. Krumvolden was built through the Rheide Å, and overlapped with Hovedvolden. Forbindelsesvolden closed a gap between Halvkredsvolden ("the semicircle rampart", a bank that protected
Hedeby) and Hovedvolden near Dannevirke Sø. Buevolden and Dobbeltvolden protected an important road junction. Most of the building work is attributed to
Harald Bluetooth. Arild Hvitfeldt's "Danmarks Riges Krønike" adds a little detail to the extension of the the Danevirke in that time period. "Then summoned (Queen) Thyra (wife of Gorm the Old) Danes from all the kingdom's regions to meet at the border and under her supervision they built a wall of earth and timber from Slien over the moors to Trene. The men of Skåne received the western section from Karlegat to Trene. Zealanders and Funen dwellers received the section east from Slien to Karlegat. Jutlanders provided provisions to the whole army." This would place Thyra's extension sometime before 940. Forbindelsesvolden was attacked by Germans in 974.
Dannevirke 4 – Forbindelsesvolden, Krumvolden, and Hovedvolden
Under
Canute IV of Denmark (1080-1086) Denmark was at war with the German empire. The Dannevirke was strengthened at the beginning of the 12th century: the moats were deepened and the ramparts were made higher. A granite boulder palisade wall was built on a part of Hovedvolden.
Dannevirke 5 – Hovedvolden and
Thyraborg)
Valdemar I fortified the rest of Hovedvolden with the famous "Valdemar-wall", a 7-m high wall of stones in mortar on a granite boulder base, propped up with buttresses and covered with tiles. This was a large reinforcement, and doubtless deterred many who tried to send an army northwards through
Jutland. It was the last true reinforcement of the ramparts. Later Thyraborg castle was built.
The Dannevirke began to lose its purpose in the 14th century, owing both to the expense of manning it and to the development of
ballistas,
trebuchets, and similar siege engines.
The Dannevirke in World War II
Following the Allied invasion of
Normandy during
World War II, the
Wehrmacht feared that a second Allied invasion might take place through Denmark, and contemplated converting the earthen wall into an anti-tank trench to counter this threat. Had the proposal been implemented, it would have destroyed the structure.
Hearing of the plans, Danish archaeologist
Søren Telling – aware that all archaeological investigation was under the ultimate jurisdiction of
SS chief
Heinrich Himmler – immediately telephoned both the head of the SS's archaeological department,
Amt für Ahnenwerte, and Himmler himself. Telling argued strongly against the destruction of an important remnant of "
Aryan civilization" and Himmler authorized him to stop the construction of the anti-tank trench. He informed Telling that a written order would be dispatched but that it would take several days to arrive. Telling then drove to the site and ordered the commanding Wehrmacht officers to immediately stop the construction process. When the local Wehrmacht commander refused, Telling threatened him with reprisals from the SS. Construction was called off and Himmler's written order arrived two days later countering the Wehrmacht's original instructions. Telling later settled near the site and considered himself a custodian of it until his death in 1968.
The Dannevirke in popular culture
As a symbol of Danish autonomy from Germany,
Dannevirke was adopted as the title of several Danish journals during the nineteenth century. The most notable of these was published by
Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig from 1816-1819.
The town of
Dannevirke in
New Zealand was founded by
Danish,
Norwegian and
Swedish settlers in
1872, when the site's loss to the Germans was a recent and very painful memory.
Further Information
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