ÆRØ’S PAST AND HISTORY
PASSAGE GRAVE AT LINDSBJERG STONE AGE You will find fascinating traces of ancient times in many places on Ærø. Giant bur ial mounds, galley graves and dolmens testify to the presence of our forefathers over a period measured in thousands of years. For example, next to Rise Church stands a large Stone Age dolmen in the shape of a ship, while Lindsbjerg and Kragnæs are the site of well-preserved galley graves.
THE VIKING AGE Until just a few years ago, the Viking Age was an almost unexplored chapter in the history of Ærø, but the discovery of an ancient trading post at Havsmarken on the south-east coast of the island has shed new light on this period. The dis covery clearly positions Ærø as a key point on the most important trad ing route in the world at that time. In 2021, archaeologists from Langeland Museum began another excavation in
Havsmarken, where finds indicate that shipbuilding was already an industry on Ærø in Viking times. At Vejsnæs Nakke, you can still see t races of St. Albert’s Church. The re-created installation consists of a 3-metre-deep trench and a sturdy earthwork emplace ment which has been dated to the Viking Age, around 1000 AD. The location took on a new function in the 1300s, when a church was built on the site. Around 50 graves have been unearthed in the immediate vicinity of the church, including a great many children’s graves. MORE RECENT HISTORY From the fourteenth century to 1864, Ærø was variously united and divided into a series of enclaves under German duchy rule. Ærø was positioned outside the toll limits of the Danish realm, which created a fertile basis for a smuggling industry that was actually the way of life for a large number of Ærø residents. Ærø was unified as a single administrative unit in 1750, and a memorial stone at Olde Mølle mill marks the unification.
SØBY VOLDE (EMBANKMENT) 38 > Ærø Guide 2022
WANT TO FIND OUT MORE? Visit the island museums and read more at visitaeroe.com/prehistoric.
