Viking City and World Heritage Site
Testimonies to the Viking era, Danewerk as a border structure and Haithabu as a trading centre worldwide are exceptional phenomena. Thus in 2018 UNESCO added Haithabu and the medieval rampart to its list of unique World Heritage Sites.
In the 9th and 10th centuries Haithabu developed into a rich and powerful city. In the 10th century it was integrated into the defence system of the Danewerk. The sites’ great significance mainly arose from their geographical position: The Vikings realized its unique potential for the trading routes between northern and western Europe at the time, with its position at the end of the Schlei, next to land and water routes in the centre of their trading networks.
Whether Haithabu or Danewerk, the Viking Festival, the Lollfußer Myth Path, the Viking Tampen Trekken, the Viking hustle and bustle in the city, the Viking Cheque or the “Sleswigsons" - in Schleswig the Northmen’s ancestors’ life is present everywhere and becomes even more alive at the historical Viking sites – in an informative, exciting, playful and sometimes also in a funny and entertaining way.
Make the acquaintance with the Vikings in Schleswig - as wild robbers and fearless explorers, as good settlers, skilled craftsmen and capable merchants.
Schleswig’s own currency:
Check out the Viking cheque!
In the Viking age goods usually were exchanged for goods.
However, in addition various means of payment circulated in the market. A proficient trader therefore kept several currencies in his leather bag - coins made of silver sheet, beads made of glass, or silver bars which were chopped up to meet a specific price.
Nowadays the currency of the modern Viking city of Schleswig is the Viking cheque. The cheques – with possible values of 5, 10, 20 or 50 Euros - are accepted for payment at more than 60 trading points and shops in Schleswig - and makes a wonderful idea for a present!