UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Denmark
Ankor Wat, the Great Wall or the pyramids are impressive, no question. But they are also far away and often overcrowded. Denmark has seven UNESCO World Heritage sites and the great thing is that you can go on a true UNESCO hunt because in Denmark everything is always close by.
Christiansfeld
The town planning ensemble from the year 1773 of the Moravian Brethren in Christiansfeld in southern Jutland is one of the best-preserved examples of the craft tradition and the principles of urban planning and architecture of the Moravian Brethren in Europe. It is also worth a visit if you are not so interested in culture: In the bakeries in Christiansfeld honey cakes are offered according to the old recipe.
Par force hunting landscape in North Zealand
Just north of Copenhagen, you’ll find the former royal hunting grounds where King Christian V and his court could practice hunting par force during the late 17th century. Unesco notes the forest areas of Store Dyrehave, Gribskov, and Jægersborg serve as a unique example of “a designed landscape”, including well-preserved hunting lanes laid out in a grid pattern, as well as numbered stone posts and hunting lodges such as the Hermitage.
Wadden Sea National Park
The Wadden Sea is one of the worlds top ten tidal flats, and has been granted status as a national park/naturereserve. Huge and stimulating – a place of experience and knowledge for everybody – a unique nature reserve, one of a kind in Denmark, and with a global significance.
The Viking rune stones at Jelling
A quaint little town visited by more than 150,000 tourists annually, and not without reason. Jelling boasts some of Europe’s most prominent Viking Age monuments, which in 1994 were included in the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Roskilde Cathedral – Resting place of the Danish royal family
Roskilde Cathedral is a uniquely beautiful medieval cathedral. The Viking king Harold Bluetooth (d. 985) and his son, Sweyn Forkbeard (d. 1014), conqueror of England, are buried here. This is the last resting place of almost 40 Danish kings and queens.
Stevns Klint – 65 million years of natural history
The dramatic white cliffs at Stevns Klint are 65 million years old and an outstanding visible record of the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period. Visit Old Højerup Church, perched at the top of the cliffs. It was was built by a sailor who’d been lost at sea and promised to build it if he was ever rescued.
Kronborg Castle – Home of Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Put Hamlet’s Castle, Kronborg, on your list of things to see whilst in Denmark! Whether you’re looking for things to do near Copenhagen or have more time to explore, there’s time enough to visit Denmark’s most famous castle, immortalised by Shakespeare back in the 1600s.
