Nonnebakken was built as the only one of the fortresses near a city. The fortress is important for Odense’s development into a central Viking city. The town has roots in the Viking Age, as the name Odense means ‘Odin’s Vi’ – a sacrificial grove to Odin. It is also in Odense that the last Viking king, Canute the Holy, is killed in 1086 in the St. Alban’s Church and later canonized. The skeleton of Canute the Holy and his brother Benedict is today located in the cathedral’s crypt, which is open to the public.

Since the 1700s, several spectacular finds have been found. A focused research and excavation effort over the past decade has shown that the fortress is well preserved under the city’s pavements. Nonnebakken-Odense is the only place where Harald’s ambitions to gather the kingdom through power centres succeeded.

At the town museum Møntergården is a special exhibition about Nonnebakken with several authentic finds, just as here are exhibitions about the Viking Age. Also get the experience of Odense as a Viking city through a short Viking walking route that takes you to various Viking localities and to Møntergården. The walking route is guided by podcasts and signs.

Additional info: https://museumodense.dk/viden/nonnebakken-odenses-vikingeborg/, FB: Møntergården