Ravning Enge - The Bridge

In 980, Harald Bluetooth built a bridge across the Vejle River Valley, approx. 14km south of Jelling. Today, it’s still awe-inspiring as a bridge structure, and was not surpassed until the Little Belt Bridge was completed in 1935. It was at least 760m long and 5m wide and consisted of 280 spans, each with four pillars of up to 6m in length – a total of almost 1,800 massive oak pillars felled with axes. Most of the pillars are still there, well protected under the low embankment, but the bridge itself was probably only in use for about 50 years. The bridge was part of a sunken road network whose tracks can be seen to the left along Ravningvej. Besides making the journey to and fro the throne in Jelling much easier for man and beast, the bridge may also have been a source of revenue for the king, who could charge a toll from travellers. In military and strategic terms, the bridge meant that the king’s housecarls could move very quickly if the enemy from the south suddenly appeared, as they often did in this period. The bridge was first discovered in 1934 and excavated in two stages – the 1970s and 1990s. At the old Ravning Station there’s a small and unattended exhibition about the bridge and its excavation with one of the bridge pillars on show. A reconstructed bridge span is displayed on a lawn facing Tørskindvej, about 125m from the main entrance.