Roskilde, Denmark
Roskilde is a small city, but one with a significant historical impact. While not as important a site as its world-renowned Viking Ship Museum or as beautiful as its towering cathedral, the Roskilde Museum provides some great insight into the former Viking capital. If you are in town, as we were, using the Official Copenhagen Card, the museum can be a great place to learn about the area’s history.
One of the most unique exhibits is the Gerdup double grave. DNA analysis has determined that the man and woman in the grave were Mother and Son, dating to the 9th Century A.D. The graves were found in the village of Gerdrup, just outside Roskilde, in 1981, but this discovery has raised many questions about Viking burial customs. It is even speculated that the mother-and-son pairing is actually one in which the mom was a sorceress. Large rocks were found on the grave of the mother, and the son appears to have been hanged. It is wild to see a museum exhibit where the people in charge are unsure of what is being displayed.
Another interesting exhibit is the full skeleton of an auroch. The skeleton in the museum came from Himmelev, a residential suburban area that neighbors Roskilde. Aurochs were a large species of wild cattle that went extinct only in the 1600s. All modern cattle descended from aurochs. It was surprising to learn that there are efforts to ‘back-breed’ aurochs to bring them back to some semblance of existence in the 21st century. Overall, it is a fascinating potential solution to managing wildlife.
Another exhibit was a reminder of Denmark’s occupation in World War II. Nazi-controlled Germany distributed Signal magazine. The magazine was a high-quality periodical designed to provide propaganda for audiences in neutral, allied, and occupied countries. The magazine even included some pages with color photos, which was extremely rare for the 1940s. At one time, 2,500,000 copies were distributed every fortnight in up to 25 different languages. Modeled after Life Magazine, it is easy to see how the glossy, state-of-the-art periodical could keep so many people in the dark about the atrocities of the war. People tend to believe what they see, so remember this the next time a relative shares something they saw on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok.
In a final highlighted exhibit, we learned about the origin of the Danish Phrase, “at skyde papegøjen,” which translates as “Shooting the Parrot.” At annual shooting competitions, the target was a parrot figure sitting on a pole. Danes say this phrase when they accomplish something meaningful or big in life. Decorative papegøjen are given to people who receive great awards, and they serve to preserve and illustrate Denmark’s past.
Is the Roskilde Museum a must-see? No, but it is conveniently near the Roskilde Cathedral, and American visitors like ourselves are probably taking full advantage of the Official Copenhagen Card, so it is very convenient to visit. The museum is small, but its focus on Roskilde is greatly appreciated, and it does a good job of representing the area. It is easy to see the pride of Roskilde on display from the museum’s curators. Most visits would probably only take an hour, and many of the descriptions are in Danish and English. The current cost is 75 Danish Krone for adults, and those aged 0-17 are free. When we travel, we want to see and learn about the places we are visiting, and the Roskilde Museum is an excellent off-the-beaten-path destination.
