Lisbjerg Church

In Egådalen, north of Aarhus, archaeologists have identified several localities that controlled the good agricultural land in the Viking era. Lisbjerg was probably the most important of these, located on the main route between Aarhus and Randers, and where, coming from Djursland, you could naturally follow the Egådalen valley to Aarhus. Archaeologists have excavated an area of 19,000m2 around the church, which is located on a hilltop overlooking the Egådalen valley, and have concluded that it was the residence of an important man in the Viking Age. The area was fenced in with a strong palisade that enclosed various types of buildings, including houses and workshops. Centrally located was a hall dating back to the late Viking Age, which would have been used for festive occasions, meetings and worship of the Nordic gods. In the 1000s the hall was replaced by a wooden church, and quite remarkably, the remains of the church walls were found, which had been plastered with lime and decorated with wall paintings. This church was in turn replaced by a Romanesque church in the early 1100s. The finds from here are exhibited at Moesgaard Museum.