Hærvejen
Encyclopedia
Ancient trackway
Ancient trackway can refer to any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity. Such paths existed from the earliest prehistoric times and in every inhabited part of the globe...
in Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
. The route runs from Viborg
Viborg, Denmark
Viborg , a town in central Jutland, Denmark, is the seat of both Viborg municipality and Region Midtjylland. Viborg is also the seat of the Western High Court, the High Court for the Jutland peninsula...
via Flensburg
Flensburg
Flensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig...
to Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, the territory of which it entered at Ochsenzoll ("oxen toll", "toll" in the meaning of "customs") and where it connected with other roads. It has been known by several other names throughout history, most importantly "the Cattle Road" (Studevejen) and "the Oxen Road" (Oksevejen / Ochsenweg).
History
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
Peninsula, similar to the ridgeway
Ridgeway (track)
Ridgeways are a particular type of ancient road that exploits the hard surface of hilltop ridges for use as unpaved, zero-maintenance roads, though they often have the disadvantage of steeper gradients along their courses, and sometimes quite narrow widths. Before the advent of turnpikes or toll...
s in England. By using this route one could avoid rivers, or ford them close to their origins where they were still shallow. As time went by this route was improved with paved fords, embankments and bridges. Concentrations of mounds, defensive ditches, settlements and other historic landmarks can be found along the road. While sections of it can be traced as far back as 4000 BC, newer road construction has erased many traces. Some of them show a width of up to 100 metres (328.1 ft). The use of the road declined during the Viking age, as transportation by ship became more convenient. New cities were constructed along the coast instead of the road.
Two of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
’s oldest settlements, Viborg
Viborg, Denmark
Viborg , a town in central Jutland, Denmark, is the seat of both Viborg municipality and Region Midtjylland. Viborg is also the seat of the Western High Court, the High Court for the Jutland peninsula...
and Jelling
Jelling
Jelling is a village in Denmark with a population of 3,248 , located in Jelling Parish approx. 10 km northwest of Vejle. The city lies 105 metres above sea level.-Location:...
are situated along the road.
In the southern, narrow part of the Jutish
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
peninsula the trackway followed the edge of western marshes and eastern moraine country. Near Haderslev
Haderslev
Haderslev is a town and municipality on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in south Denmark. Also included is the island of Årø as well as several other smaller islands in the Little Belt. The municipality covers and has a population of 56,414 . Its mayor is Jens Christian Gjesing,...
, Åbenrå, Flensburg
Flensburg
Flensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig...
, and Schleswig, it branched into western bypasses on the hills and accesses to the towns, each of them localized at the inner end of a long, narrow bay. One of the southern ends of the Ochsenweg has given its name to a suburb of Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
: Ochsenzoll is the locality of the ancient custom post.
Part of the tracks westerly bypassed Hamburg towards Wedel bei Hamburg
Wedel
Wedel is a town in the district of Pinneberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Elbe, approximately south of Elmshorn, and mile, west of Hamburg.-Foundation and Middle Ages:...
or Blankenese
Blankenese
Blankenese is a former independent town, now a suburban quarter in the borough Altona in the western part of Hamburg . It is located on right bank of the Elbe river...
, where a ferry passing the Elbe connected to Cranz
Cranz, Hamburg
Cranz is a quarter in the Harburg borough of Hamburg, Germany. It is on the left bank of the Elbe river and one of the 105 quarters of Hamburg. In 2006 the population was 857.-History:Cranz belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen...
(then Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen). An easterly bypass headed for Zollenspieker Ferry
Zollenspieker Ferry
The Zollenspieker Ferry is a ferry across the Elbe river in Germany. It crosses between Zollenspieker, a part of the quarter Kirchwerder of the Bergedorf borough of the city-state of Hamburg, and Hoopte, part of the town Winsen , in the state of Lower Saxony, and is about south-east of Hamburg...
(a Hamburg-Lübeckian condominium between 1420 and 1868), passing the same river towards Hoopte in the then Principality of Lunenburg
Principality of Lüneburg
The Principality of Lüneburg was a territorial division of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg within the Holy Roman Empire, immediately subordinate to the emperor. It existed from 1269 until 1705 and its territory lay within the modern-day state of Lower Saxony in Germany...
. From south of the Elbe the cattle tracks continued up to Westphalia
Westphalia
Westphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Dortmund, Minden and Münster.Westphalia is roughly the region between the rivers Rhine and Weser, located north and south of the Ruhr River. No exact definition of borders can be given, because the name "Westphalia"...
.
Use
The road was primarily a trade road. The most important commodity was livestock (especially the eponymous oxen), but also amber, hides, honey and fur went south. Annually up to 50,000 head of cattle came along the oxen road. Metal, glass and weapons went north. In spite of the most familiar Danish name, quite seldom it was used for military invasions, neither northwards, nor southwards. Nevertheless many defensive constructions can be found straddling the road up through Jutland.Today
Parts of it have been converted into a long-distance walking route. A popular walk known as Hærvejsmarchen takes place each year. An international cycle route has been marked from the Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
to Viborg
Viborg, Denmark
Viborg , a town in central Jutland, Denmark, is the seat of both Viborg municipality and Region Midtjylland. Viborg is also the seat of the Western High Court, the High Court for the Jutland peninsula...
.