The Ancient Monuments Guide - a nationwide communication portal

Welcome to Fortidsmindguide.dk – Denmark's largest guide to protected ancient monuments.

The guide has detailed descriptions, maps, aerial photos, and driving directions so you can find publicly accessible and interesting ancient monuments in Denmark. The Ancient Monuments Guide gives you the history of each monument and the rich cultural heritage they represent.

The criteria for inclusion in the guide are clear: the site must be publicly accessible, the ancient monument must be well maintained through a regular maintenance program, and information must be provided at and preferably to the ancient monument - preferably in the form of information signs and, if possible, marked access routes.

The Ancient Monuments Guide contains three types of locations:

• "Guide sites": Marked with a Time/Type icon on the map and can be searched for in menus. Here you will find a detailed description of the ancient monument and how to access it, supported by maps, illustrations, and photos, as well as relevant literature, links, and YouTube videos. Here you can also get a PDF printout of everything for use on a trip. In some cases, you can also download a PDF copy of the information board(s) set up at the ancient monuments. Each site is also supported by relevant links and literature references, as well as a link to the ancient monument's administration and a lookup in the "Finds and Ancient Monuments" database.
• "Linked sites": Marked with a Time/Type icon on the map and can be searched for in menus. These are sites that are communicated on other websites and to which there is public access and signage. These are primarily sites from the Danish Agency for Culture and Palaces' national project "Danmarks Oldtid i Landskabet" (Denmark's Ancient History in the Landscape) as well as descriptions on municipal websites, etc. Google and Krak maps and various YouTube videos support the "Link sites."
• "Points of interest": Activated on the map by checking the "Points of interest" box under the map on the front page. These cannot be searched for in menus and can therefore only be opened via the map. The locations are taken from the book "Guide to Danish Ancient Monuments," 1994, for which the Danish Forest and Nature Agency and Danish counties collaborated to establish public access, signage, and maintenance of over 400 ancient monuments. However, the Ancient Monuments Guide does not guarantee that these conditions are still fully applicable after the municipalities and the Nature Agency took over responsibility in 2007. The Ancient Monuments Guide is working systematically to change these locations into proper "Guide locations."

Fortidsmindeguide.dk has now been in existence for almost 25 years. The guide was created in 2002 as a communication platform for publicly accessible, protected ancient monuments in Aarhus County, based on an idea by archaeologist Karsten Kristiansen, Cultural Consultant, and has since spread across most of Denmark in collaboration with interested municipalities.

In connection with the municipal reform in January 2007, the website with around 70 ancient monuments was transferred to the Danish Cultural Heritage Association (DAKUA). At the same time, the digital platform was further developed and, over the years, new sites have been added to the guide, which now includes almost 300 sites. The Ancient Monuments Guide has undergone several modernizations and updates over time—most recently in February 2016—giving it a contemporary design and layout that has optimized the guide with features such as YouTube videos and adapted it for use on both mobile and tablet platforms.

DAKUA is working with registered Danish municipalities and KulturKonsulenten to gradually develop the ancient monuments guide into an ever-larger nationwide communication portal for accessible, interesting, and visible ancient monuments.

We encourage relevant websites to link to www.fortidsmindeguide.dk and would of course be happy to hear from anyone interested.

Please also contact us if you know of any suitable ancient monuments that you think should be included in the ancient monuments guide.

Under each individual "guide location" in the ancient monument guide, it is stated who is responsible for supervision, maintenance, and any signage, as well as who administers the surrounding 100 m conservation zone. Please contact these authorities if you notice anything that is not as it should be during a visit. Please also send a copy to DAKUA or report the matter directly to us, and we will pass it on.

You can read more about conservation legislation here.

The professional responsibility for visible protected ancient monuments was also changed in connection with the municipal reform. This is now a collaboration between the country's 98 municipalities, the Danish Agency for Culture and Palaces (SLKS) and 10 supervisory museums. Regular inspections are carried out to check the ancient monuments and their immediate surroundings.

We wish you a pleasant journey of discovery into your past.

The content of the Ancient Monuments Guide may be freely used for personal use as a guide and instruction manual.

Copying, use, and reproduction of text, photos, and other illustrations and content may only take place after prior written agreement with the Ancient Monuments Guide in accordance with copyright law.

Read more about the Copyright Act HERE.
Contact the Ancient Monuments Guide HERE

Editorial team:
Jørgen Mejlsø, Chairman of DAKUA
Karsten Kristiansen, KulturKonsulenten.

Idea, text, and layout:
©KulturKonsulenten
v/ Archaeologist Karsten Kristiansen, Tværvej 5, 8544 Mørke.
Tel. 28 407 508
Photos and illustrations (unless otherwise stated): © KulturKonsulenten