Frendrup Nihøjestien

Frendrup Nihøje, with its location on a ridge 103 m above the Limfjord, is an icon of the landscape of the Bronze Age. The burial mounds can be seen from a great distance, so in addition to serving as a burial site for a powerful clan, they also marked the territory of this social elite. The mounds were constructed between 1700 and 1100 BC. Today, only seven of the mounds have been preserved, and they have not been examined by archaeologists. We can therefore let our imagination run wild regarding what they might contain. Start your journey by walking up to this impressive burial monument. Imagine that two to three meters beneath your feet lies a hollowed-out oak trunk with the deceased. On top of the coffin, the mound has been built up by stacking tens of thousands of peeled heather and grass turfs on top of each other. Each time one of these mounds was built, a large area of fertile grazing land equivalent to a whole football field was destroyed over a lengthy period. Apart from being a practical and durable way to build a mound, it was presumably a signal to the outside world of surplus, willingness to sacrifice, and power. The marked path continues through the protected Vokslev Hede, along the old, now-defunct Hobro – Nibe road, through overgrown heath resembling primeval forest, and over a spring brook to the heath. Here, numerous sunken roads can be found. In the western part of the heath, traces of ancient fields from the Iron Age can be seen.