Gørlev

History

The countryside around Gørlev - and Kalundborg Municipality in general -, is home to a number of notable prehistoric sites, including Stone Age passage graves and various Bronze Age mounds. The passage grave of Rævehøj (Fox-hill) near the hamlet of Dalby, is known for its rare rock carvings. As many other Stone Age constructions, it was also used throughout the Bronze Age as well. In Gørlev Church's entryway are two Viking Age runestones, Gørlevstenene (The Gørlev Stones), showing the entire runic alphabet known as the younger futhark. The first runestone is dated to the early 9th century, and was found on the spot in May 1921 by a bricklayer working at the church. The second runestone is dated to c. 1000, and was found in 1965 under the church tower. The only runestones in Denmark more significant than these are the Jelling stones, erected by King Harold Bluetooth c. 965 in the town of Jelling, the old Viking capital of Denmark. The nearby marshlands of Maglemose, also known as Mullerup Mose (Mullerup Marsh), is a large wetland area, which includes the lake of Tissø. Here, archaeological evidence of international importance was excavated in the years 1900 and 1902, revealing and defining the Mullerup or Maglemosian Culture that roamed Northern Europe in the Mesolithic Stone Age. They used Maglemose and the surrounding area as a summer camp for hunting and fishing. Maglemose is the oldest site of its type in the Nordic countries, and the findings bettered the understanding of the Nordic Stone Age cultures and Denmark's earliest history in particular. Two memorials commemorate the discovery site. Other attractions include Svellas Mølle (Svella's Mill), a restored windmill built in 1870 and one of Denmark's smallest mills; the agriculture museum Fløjgården; Reersø…