ChinChin Jones and the Temple of the Dead!

I now present the, possibly long-awaited, post that I promised last time!!!

Recently I went to Roskilde, a small town about 30 minutes away from Copenhagen that is apparently famous for three things, four if you count the fact that it used to be the capital of Denmark. The first is an annual summer music festival that, if my sources are to be believed, is on a par with Glastonbury. The second is a Viking Ship Museum and the third is a rather impressive Church. The Roskilde Festival is not held till late June, but I did check out the other two things.

Place of Interest #1: The Viking Ship Musuem (I warn you, there is a history lesson embedded here)

I read about this in a pamphlet that I had foisted upon me at an orientation meeting, and thought I might go have a look-see. The building itself did not look like a museum at all, and had it not been for the flags outside and a nearby street sign pointing to it, I may have been tempted to ignore it. To me, it looked like the sort of building that might house a public swimming pool. Yes, that dull.

Smaller Trading Vessel Circa 1040AD

Confusion aside, the museum was quite interesting if somewhat lacking in ambience. Quite a number of years ago some historians received information that in the Roskilde Fjord that the town overlooks there were possibly some Viking ship remains dating back to around 1040AD. The theory went that they were scuttled to prevent the Norwegians from traversing one of only three passages through the fjord. The reason there were only three was because there was an elaborate barricade system across the fjord (and the reason for that is because all the Nordic cultures were at war with each other at some point in time). The barricade system no longer exists though. At any rate, historians went looking and found the remains of a staggering five ships which were raised from the bed, preserved and put on show.

A small trading vessel also

One of the ships was the classic longboat and the rest were shorter, broader trading vessels. I learnt a lot about the Vikings and how far they travelled. Apparently they got to America before the Southern Europeans ever did but a) had difficulties with the natives and b) found nothing there that they couldn't get back home so a permanent settlement was never created (how different might the world be if they had stayed?) Also, most of the main towns on Ireland's east coast, including Dublin, started out as Viking settlements (hence the preponderance of blonde hair and blue eyes in the Dromgool family).

From what I gathered, the museum is much more interesting in Summer because they have made modern reconstructions of a number of Viking boats based on the info they gleaned from the scuttled ships, and you can go sailing on them.

I have added some photos for your enjoyment.

Place of Interest #2: Domkirke (aka the Temple of the Dead (my title incidentally))

The other big attraction in Roskilde (and I am not kidding, it's huge!) is Domkirke. It is the main Cathedral in Denmark and also the place where every King and most of the Queens of Denmark have been interred. This Church dominates the Roskilde skyline and is built nearly entirely of red brick. There were apparently two Churches there before it dating back to the 1200s but this is the most recent and is about 300-400 years old.

I can't really tell you much else in words so the rest of this post will be a photo essay of snaps from inside the Church.

Church Front

Cool Silhouette effect

Tomb of Margrethe I, the most venerated Queen.

His and Hers Granite and Marble Tombs

Marble Tombs

Church Interior

My final note regards three big urns that I found on the way back to the train station. A local saw me taking a photo so decided to give me a brief history. Apparently they cost NZ$250,000 each, had to have special ovens built to fire them and are made of liver-paste. I can't help but feel that that last point may have suffered a translation error. Or it could be true. In which case, those urns are both innovative in terms of material, and slightly disturbing for the same reason.

Farvel!