EntityQ689454· pop 37· linked from 397 articles

Danevirke

The Danevirke or Danework (modern Danish spelling: Dannevirke; in Old Norse: Danavirki, in German: Danewerk, literally meaning earthwork of the Danes) is a system of Danish fortifications in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. This historically important linear defensive earthwork across the neck of the Cimbrian peninsula was initiated by the Danes in the Nordic Iron Age about AD 650. It was later expanded multiple times during Denmark's Viking Age and High Middle Ages. The Danevirke was last used for military purposes in 1864 during the Second War of Schleswig.

Key facts

Military installation.name: Danevirke
Military installation.location: Schleswig-Holstein
Military installation.image: Danewerk.JPG
Military installation.caption: The Danevirke today
Military installation.map_type: Germany#Schleswig-Holstein
Military installation.type: Walls, ramparts, trenches
Military installation.built: Before 500 AD. Multiple later expansions.
Military installation.builder: Unknown initiator. Expanded by King Gudfred, Harald Bluetooth, Canute IV, Valdemar I and others.
Military installation.controlled by: Danes (historically the Germanic tribe)
Military installation.materials: Earth, timber, stone, bricks
Military installation.height: 3.6–6.0 m
Military installation.used: 974, 1848, 1864.
Military installation.condition: Ruin
Military installation.open_to_public: Yes
UNESCO World Heritage Site.child: yes
UNESCO World Heritage Site.image: Danewerk Krummwall.jpg
UNESCO World Heritage Site.caption: Wall
UNESCO World Heritage Site.location: Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

via Wikipedia infobox

Article

12 sections

Contents

Symbolism
Archaeological record
Size
Stages in the building of the Danevirke
First and Second Schleswig Wars
First Schleswig War
Second Schleswig War
In World War II
See also
Sources
References
External links

The Danevirke consists of several walls, trenches and the Schlei Barrier. The walls stretch for 30 km, from the former Viking trade centre of Hedeby near Schleswig on the Baltic Sea coast in the east to the extensive marshlands in the west of the peninsula. One of the walls (named Østervolden), between the Schlei and Eckernförde inlets, defended the Schwansen peninsula.