|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
From May 2008 there is an extra good reason to visit Copenhagen: the National Museum of Denmark’s permanent exhibition Danish Prehistory is reopening in a new, modern design – an absolute ‘must-see’ with free admission into the bargain! Highlights like the Vikings’ gold and silver hoards, the 3400-year-old and quite unique Sun Chariot and the contemporary Egtved Girl, with her knee-length cord skirt, have been given a central placing. So even if you only have time for a ‘flying visit’, you can get a fine overall impression of Danish prehistory from the first Ice Age hunters to the Viking campaigns.
Denmark’s – and the world’s – prehistory
The new exhibition puts Danish prehistory into a global context with lots of “windows” out to the surrounding world. It isn’t only in recent centuries that Denmark has had close links abroad. Sounds, belts and seas were the freeways of the distant past, so since the Stone Age Denmark has had particularly good access to the rest of Europe, and sometimes all the way to the Middle East. In fact several of the highlights of the exhibition have found their way over great distances – for example the great silver vessel, The Gundestrup Cauldron, comes from what is today Romania or Bulgaria.
New design
Modern Danish design has been given its place in prehistory: the highly respected Danish architectural firm schmidt hammer lassen has designed the exhibition. In Danish Prehistory the light – including daylight – has been used to create moods from room to room. Some of the rooms have a special ‘stage design’, so that the sensory experiences vary throughout the exhibition.
Easy to find your way around
Much has been done to help the visitor’s orientation in the new exhibition. Highlights are emphasized so you can’t miss them. Supplementary finds and brief texts make it possible to dip further into history, and seating invites you to sit down and enjoy the atmosphere or particularly beautiful exhibits. With the continuous timeline you can always check on where you are in history – 1000 years pass quickly!
And if you need a break among the many impressions, the restaurant offers refreshments, while the museum shop tempts you with its selection of quality souvenirs.
Further information
Communication Director Nils M. Jensen, ,
+45 33 47 30 02
PR & Marketing Coordinator Jesper T. Møller, , +45 33 47 30 06
Photos: See also http://www.natmus.dk/sw50414.asp
Highlights from Danish Prehistory
With an absolutely world-class prehistoric collection it can be hard to single out one highlight over another. Here are a few of the quite central ones, but more can be seen at www.natmus.dk
The Sun Chariot – unique and sacred
There is nothing else like the Sun Chariot – at least nothing similar has appeared since it emerged from Trundholm Bog in 1902. It is the National Museum’s absolute highlight. The Sun Chariot was made in the Bronze Age, c. 1350 BC, and shows the sun on its eternal journey, drawn by a divine horse. The elegant spiral ornamentation on the golden sun disc reveals its Nordic origin. The Sun Chariot still holds an almost magical attraction. And its message is universal: it reflects existence in an eternal cycle of alternations between light and darkness.
The Egtved Girl – the teenager in a cord skirt
Who was she, the girl from Egtved? A young woman, around 160 cm tall and slender-waisted. She had fair, very short hair. Her costume was neat but not luxurious. A small yarrow flower was laid on the edge of her coffin before the lid was laid on one summer’s day in 1370 BC – perhaps a last greeting from someone close to her. Only hair, teeth, nails and a little skin are left of her body. But her short tunic and knee-length cord skirt are amazingly well preserved. The visitor gets a moving glimpse of how caringly she was laid to rest on a calf-skin more than 3000 years ago.
The Gundestrup Cauldron – a precious greeting from the east
In 1891 a large, costly silver vessel appeared during peat-digging. The cauldron has been laid out on the open bog surface – an extremely valuable sacrifice to higher powers. The images on the cauldron draw the viewer into an alien universe far from the people who laid it out on the North Jutland bog: elephants, lions and foreign gods in complex patterns show that the cauldron originally came from faraway regions. The cauldron was probably made around 150 BC by the Thracians, who lived in Bulgaria and Romania.
Only the gods know how it ended up in Denmark!
The world’s largest collection of Roman swords
Many people will probably be surprised to hear that Denmark has the world’s largest collection of swords from the Roman Empire. This is because the people of the time were particularly eager to sacrifice war booty and gifts in lakes and bogs – places that have preserved the objects so wonderfully that not only mighty sword blades of iron, but also whole wooden shields, spears, horse harness and gaming pieces of bone can be studied in detail – it’s like looking over the shoulders of the armies of the past.
|
 |
|
