Hedeby: Prestigious Trading Center And One Of The Largest Baltic Sea Ports In Viking Age
A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - Hedeby was the southernmost Nordic town and a key trading center in the Viking Age.
Located in southern Denmark, Hedeby was founded around the year 810 by the Danish King Godfred (Godfrey) of Denmark, who arrived with his army in 604 and destroyed the Slavic market town Reric, which many historians presume is today’s modern city of Rostock.
Instead, he founded a new trading center and all merchants of Reric moved to Hedeby, at the southeastern base of the Jutland Peninsula on the Schlei Fjord and the Baltic Sea to the East.
Hedeby, (Haitha Town or Haithabu) in medieval Danish history, was a prestigious market place for Western–Eastern European and European–Western Asian trade. It became one of the earliest Scandinavian urban towns, which trade included slaves, furs, textiles, iron, and weapons.
Hedeby soon yielded high tax profits to the Danish kings and became one of the largest ports in the Baltic Sea at the time. It was in times when this area was not part of Germany, but a major Viking trading center.
The city area (today only distinguished from the surroundings by the trees that grow on it) was 6 hectares large and surrounded by a 1300 meter long city wall in a half circle around the city area.
In the early 9th century King Godfred constructed the Danevirke (Danewirk), an earthwork barrier, along the base of the peninsula south of Hedeby to protect the thriving center from Frankish incursions.
Hedeby’s city wall was directly connected to the Danevirke, which crossed the entire peninsula of Jutland with Hedeby as the Eastern edge.
Thus, Hedeby trade center of the North had its own defensive system with a chain fencing off the harbor area from the Fjord’ s side and it seemed to be well-protected.
Despite this and other protections, the Danes lost Hedeby for most of the 10th century—first to the Swedes and then to the Franks.
In 983, King Harald Bluetooth managed to regain Hedeby. He strengthened the town further by constructing a massive defensive structure, consisting of a semi-circular earthwork, around the town. From this earthwork the king’s private group of warriors, could guard and defend the town against attack. At the same time the harbor was also safeguarded with a boundary of stakes.
Unfortunately, Hedeby suffered Norwegian and Wendish Slav raids into the 11th century.
Hedeby was sacked again and probably destroyed by the attackers around 1050. Later, it was never rebuilt. By the middle of that century, Hedeby was abandoned and its all trading activities were transferred to neighboring Schleswig (ancient Sliesthorp, or Sliaswic), which began to grow both in size and importance.
Written by – A. Sutherland AncientPages.com Staff Writer
Copyright © AncientPages.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of AncientPages.com
Expand for referencesMore From Ancient Pages
-
Ancient Life-Size Marble Statue Of Hercules Discovered In Rome
Archaeology | Jan 28, 2023
-
Secret Story Of The Ancient Bak’Ti Gods And Their Battle To Gain Control Over Humanity And Planet Earth – Told By Shamans
Featured Stories | Jun 23, 2018
-
Ancient Lost Empires And Treasures Discovered In Afghanistan By Spy Satellites
Archaeology | Dec 16, 2017
-
Ancient Children Played Marbles Thousands Of Years Ago
Ancient History Facts | May 22, 2019
-
Nebuchadnezzar II – Greatest Ruler Of Ancient Babylonia And Conqueror Of Judah
Featured Stories | Jan 28, 2019
-
Manx: Ancient Dead Gaelic Language That Refused To Die And Has Been Revived Again
Ancient History Facts | Oct 7, 2016
-
Ancient Ruins Of Hovenweep: Impressive Puebloan Masonry
Civilizations | Mar 15, 2016
-
Atacama Desert Reveals More Ancient Secrets
Archaeology | May 8, 2018
-
Mysterious Mermaid Mummy Investigated By Scientists
News | Feb 22, 2022
-
Nakano Takeko – Courageous Female Samurai Who Died Tragically While Defending The Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle
Featured Stories | Apr 24, 2021
-
Palace From The Time Of The Kings Of Judah – Unearthed In Jerusalem
Archaeology | Sep 5, 2020
-
Sacred Ancient Texts Reveal Who Really Aligned The Oldest Monuments To The Stars
Civilizations | May 26, 2018
-
LIDAR Advanced Technology Spotted Rare Pre-Columbian Florida Village – Highly-Prized Producer Of Beads
Archaeology | Nov 10, 2019
-
The Face Of The Amarakarei – Remarkable Enormous Face Caved Into Stone Cliffs In Peru
Civilizations | Nov 20, 2015
-
Gebel El Silsila: Remains Of Long-Lost New Kingdom Temple Found
Civilizations | May 19, 2015
-
Carved Statue Of God Nefertum Unearthed In Egypt’s Saqqara Necropolis
Archaeology | Oct 3, 2020
-
Magnificent Hochdorf Chieftain’s Grave – Resting Place Of The Celtic Tutankhamun
Featured Stories | Aug 19, 2019
-
Unexpected Discovery 130,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Stone Tools In Poland
Archaeology | Oct 30, 2023
-
Lost Knowledge Of Energy And Crystal Technology In Ancient Egypt
Ancient Technology | May 17, 2019
-
Secrets Of The Cathars – Mysterious Manuscript Of Jesus And His Pre-Flood Language
Civilizations | Jan 18, 2019