The Viking Fortress
Hobro a 1000 years ago
by Anne Mette Gielsager
Around 980 AD one could find a Fortress very nearby the present day Hobro.
In the inner most part of the fiord right where it narrows down completely and
meats with the small river coming from the inland, Harald Bluetooth had a fortress
built. The fortress was well placed on this inlet since it was protected on
all sides either by water or swamp. If one had an errand at the fortress one
had to either pole or pull ones ships or boats from the fiord and all the way
into the fortress itself. The water was presumably only around 0.5 meters or 19.69 inches deep.
That depth made it impossible to sail in with the square sail up. The inhabitants of the
fortress would have had more than sufficient time to evaluate their visitors
from the top of the fortresses’ ramparts, before they arrived at the fortress.
The fortress was excavated during the period from 1950 to 1960. Before excavations
began one could only just make out where the ramparts had been. Over the centuries
farmers, farming the area, had ploughed over the spot, where the fortress was
located, time and again.
The fortress consisted of a circular rampart with an inner diameter of 120 meters
or 393.70 feet. That diameter makes Fyrkat the smallest of the four known
fortresses; Aggersborg, Nonnebakken, Trelleborg and Fyrkat. The rampart was
about 12 meters or 39.37 feet wide and was made out of a wooden box filled
with turf. On top of the rampart walls there was a palisade and across the
gates bridges were built. The gates faced north, south, east and west.
There were sixteen houses inside the ramparts. The houses were placed four by four
in each quarter making up four perfect squares. The curved walled long houses
were 28.40 meters or 93.18 feet long. Arrowheads, lance heads, lance tips and
sharpening stones were found inside the ramparts on the fortress area. They
were all made from Norwegian slate. Apart from these, pots made out of soapstone,
some jewelry, keys and other common every day things were found.
Northeast of the fortress a small graveyard was found. It held about 30 graves. In the
graves were found men, women and children. However who these people, living
at the end of the fiord, really were is much harder to determine.
When the fortress was first excavated archaeologists assumed that Fyrkat was a military
installation – some kind of base – where soldiers could practice
for war. However as the examinations took form more and more doubt as to the
military usage crept in. Only about half of the houses were equipped with fireplaces
and could therefore not be used for habitation. Two of the houses had been used
as smithies and another two houses had been used for casting silver and perhaps
gold. No other weapons apart from the arrowheads and the lance tips were found.
Nevertheless the many sharpening stones, about 150 in all, would indicate that
swords had been sharpened here. They just never were found!
All in all it looks like the fortress was only inhabited for a few years, perhaps
only ten to twenty years, before it was abandoned.
Today, archaeologists are assuming that the fortress was inhabited by the king’s
personal housecarls. The housecarls were most likely sons of magnates, who had
entered the king’s service and were now living at the fortress with their
wives and children. Their job could have been to uphold law and order and to
collect taxes for the king. Harald Bluetooth wrote on “the Jelling Stone”
that he was the first king to reside over all of Denmark; “The Harald
who won himself all of Denmark”. This leads to the conclusion that Denmark
had previously been ruled by several kings or chieftains, who ruled smaller
parts of the country. It would therefore have been a great need for Harald to
demonstrate, that he was now the sole ruler. He made this known by building
large constructions such as the fortresses and the bridge over Ravninge Enge
near Vejle in the southeastern part of Jutland. The bridge dates back to around
980 AD just like the fortresses. The bridge was approximately 800 meters or
0.49 mile long and so wide that two horse carriages could easily pass one another.
This large bridge made traveling around the country much easier and it also
meant that the king could get from Jellinge to his fortresses in the north much
faster than before.
At Fyrkat there were no fields for growing crops or stables for cattle. The inhabitants
would have to procure provisions from the farms in the surrounding areas. Maybe
such provision was bought or maybe it was considered to be part of the taxes
paid by the farmers. It was common practice that the king would fill his coin
coffers by collecting taxes from people. In return these people would receive
protection from the enemy, permission to sell the goods at the market places
and if they came from outside the kingdom, to travel through his country. Perhaps
the inhabitants at the fortress lived from the taxes they collected. That would
help explain why there are so many houses without fireplaces- because taxes
didn’t get paid in cold currency but was paid in kind such as silver,
grain and meat.
Such payments would need storage space inside the fortress hint the many houses without fireplaces.
We can imagine that the fortresses were build in order to demonstrate the king’s
power, at the same time they could be used to raise money for new constructions,
wars and other expensive activities the king had in mind.
In conclusion we can say that at this particular place located at the bottom of
the fiord a center of power could be found almost a thousand years ago. Travelers
with their goods and craftsmen with their services came to this place. Festivals
was celebrated here and large feasts were held, more than likely religious ceremonies
were also performed here, whether they were of Christian origin or given to
the Asa gods of the Nordic religion. Some of the inhabitants from the fortress
settled in the immediate vicinity of the fortress and remained here even after
the fortress was abandoned and fell into disrepair. From the farms and these
settlements the city of Hobro emerged.
