Wednesday, 5 May 2021

One Day Silkeborg @ Denmark

 “If you want to understand today,                    you have to search yesterday.” 

Silkeborg, located at the eastern part of Jutland, 2.5hr train journey from Aalborg. This city is renowned for its stunning natural landscapes which are families friendly for outdoor activities. So why are we here today ? We are going to visit the museum of Silkeborg, there is something very special that it really attracts my attention... Read on.. 

This is our 1st time taking a train from Aalborg, we are very excited about it. 


The whole cabin is very clean with carpeted flooring. Big leg space, seats are well cushioned, and each seat come with an electricity point to charge our phones or laptops.

Very comfy scenic ride with free wi-fi onboard. Foldable side table is clean and big


We were given seat separately, all passengers are seat by the window, I think this is social distancing because of the Covid. 

There are zones for you to choose - family or quiet. We choose the quiet zone therefore your silence is very much appreciated. 



Here we are at Aarhus station, waiting for transit train. Aarhus is the second biggest city in Denmark after Copenhagen.    

This is a very old station which has been in operation since 1862. It has been very well conserved throughout the years of effort. I only managed to walk around the platforms as the next train is coming in 20 minutes time. 







From the photos here, you can see that the doors to the toilet cubicles are locked. It will unlock automatically once you slot in 2kr coin. 


This is our train to Silkeborg, a small train that is free seating. It will be another 45 minutes ride. 

Here we are in Silkeborg now. The first thing brought to my attention is, the bus terminal is just right outside of the train platform.

Constructed in 1871, the building is well preserved and still in use today. 





So, what's bring us here ? We are here to adore a well preserved 2000 years old mummy and the Nazi's bunker in the WW2. Read on for more details. 

It is barely 10am when we arrived Silkeborg and the museum open at 11am so we decided to explore the City Square: The old city square (Torvet) is the center of Silkeborg and is together with the surrounding streets a pedestrian area. 



The city square is surrounded by the Hotel Dania (Silkerborg's oldest hotel, founded in 1848). I use this hotel as the landmark while doing research on this city. Hotel Dania is the building in yellow color. 


On Saturdays, the square hosts the city's weekly market. Today is Sunday and most shops are closed so we end up at an old school cafe for a cup of coffee. 






Silkeborg Museum Hovedgarden: The oldest preserved building in the city is Silkeborg Manor constructed in 1767. This building is now Silkeborg Museum whose collections tell the history of the local area over a period of thousands of years. The exhibitions at Hovedgården where the place tell us about aspects of life from ancient times to present. The center of gravity in the dissemination of ancient times lies in the Iron Age and the world famous mossy Tollundman and Elling woman. Both are naturally mummified corpses dated more than 2000 years ago and that is what I am here for. 



Admission ticket for per person is 75kr.

The Elling Woman is a bog body of more than 2000 years ago. She was found in 1938 50 m from the spot where Tollund Man appeared 12 years later. Elling Woman had also been hanged, and we presume that she was also sacrificed to the god. She was estimated aged 25 at the time of her death, radiocarbon dating also suggested that Elling Woman lived during the Iron Age of northwestern Europe, between the 4th and 2nd centuries BC. Though she is not that well preserved like The Tollundman but her discovery is still a great news to the modern world.  


The body was discovered by a local farmer, Jens Zakariasson, who at first believed that the remains were of a drowned animal. The body was wrapped in a sheepskin cape with a leather cloak tied around her legs. The face of the woman was poorly preserved, and there were no traces of organs inside of the body. Based on the skin rope that was found with her, it has been established that Elling Woman was hanged to death. This rope has a sliding knot, which made it suitable for hanging. In addition, Elling Woman’s neck has got a furrow left from the hanging, further supporting this point of view.


These below photos are grabbed from google, the first one is a clear image of her and the second one is after the reconstruction of her hairstyle and cape.

In more recent times, women around the world have taken an interest in the mystery of the Elling Woman and also found inspiration in her Iron Age hairstyle. Videos and tutorials on how to recreate her ancient hairstyle can be found across the internet.

The Tollund man who lived during the 4th century BC. The naturally mummified corpse that was found buried in a peat bog in Denmark. He is quite well preserved and said to have dated back to the pre-Roman Iron Age, dating back more than 2,000 years ago. In fact, he was so well intact that the men who found the corpse in 1950 believed it was the body of a recent murder victim. The actual circumstances surrounding his death aren’t entirely clear. He was found lying in the fetal position with his eyes closed wearing nothing, but a pointed cap made of animal hide and wool. Scientists are inclined to believe that he was a human sacrifice. And this is what marked my trip here, since I first read about the Tollund Man in an article, I was so fascinated about the findings, and I am glad today I have the chance for a personal study and a face-to-face encounter. 












A much clearer photo of the Moss from the Goggle.


This is The Tollundman himself, sleeping is peacefully. 

Here we go into the details of his story.

On 6 May 1950, the local police of Silkeborg received a call with regards of a newly found corpse. 2 farmers discovered the body while collecting peat( a brown deposit resembling soil, formed by partial decomposition of vegetables matter in the wet acidic conditions of bogs( very soft, wet muddy ground) and ferns and often cut out and dried for the use as fuel & in gardening) The body looked fresh, and they thought it was a recently murdered victim. Upon initial investigating, there were no sign of recent digging, therefore the police concluded that the corpse was impossible to be a recent victim. Puzzled by the "fresh" appearance of the corpse, experts were called, and they recognized that the corpse is from an ancient burial. Thereafter more studies were performed on this corpse. 

The name "Tollund" comes from the name of the village of the discovery. Tollund Man is like other "bog people" which are mummified body found in the Western Europe. They are believed to be a human sacrifice who loved during the 4th century B.C. Human sacrifice is a common tradition during that time to ensure a bountiful harvest. 

The Tollund Man is a well-preserved bog body from Prehistoric times. The corpse is mummified and preserved from peat bogs. The acid from the peat along with the lack of oxygen in the underground as well as the cold climate preserves the human body naturally. An autopsy was done, and the doctors concluded that the Tollund Man about 40 years old died of hanging, a common ritual sacrifice from prehistoric times. The noose is still found hanging around his neck.

When the Tollund Man was first discovered, he was in a fetal position and buried under 2 meters of peat, 50 meters away from the firm ground. The body was naked with a leather cap fastened around his chin and a wide belt around his waist. His hair was short and there were grains found on his lips and chin. The man's last meal was porridge made with 40 different kinds of seed and grains.  In my general introduction - The Tollund Man was found with a smile on his face and look like he is having a sweet dream from his sleep.

The investigation of The Tollundman at the National Museum in 1950 revealed an unusually well-preserved body of an adult male, about 30-40 years old. Tollund man is probably the most well-preserved ancient man in the world. Only the side of the body that had turned upwards in the peat pit bore traces of decomposition. On the right side, which had turned downwards, the skin was well preserved, but the body itself had shrunk so that the skin lay in folds. Measurements showed that at the excavation he was 161 cm long, but he probably shrunk a bit during his stay in the bog. Arms and hands were almost skeletal and partially destroyed because of peat digging in the bog - only the feet and a finger were completely undamaged. Almost shockingly well preserved was the head. The eyes were closed and the mouth as well - the facial expression was calm and serious as that of a sleeping person. His hair was short cut to a length of 1-2 cm - when the color of the hair today is red, it is due to the influence of the mash water. We don't know the original hair color. His head hair was covered in a sewn- out, pointed leather hat made of sheepskin. It was fastened using 2 thin strips of skin, which were placed at the temples and went down under the chin.  

It was quite clear that he must have been hanged. The rope, which still sat tightly around his neck, did not leave much to the imagination. The head and torso were X-rayed at the hospital. Here it turned out that the acidic environment of the bog had descaled the bones so significantly that they did not appear quite clearly in the photo. However, it did not appear that the cervical vertebrae were broken because of the hanging. Incidentally, it was clearly saw that the brain had shrunk, but otherwise well preserved. The body's internal organs were then taken out and examined. It turned out that he was as well preserved inside as the outside. All the organs were present and well preserved, albeit slightly flattened. Special interest was there about the digestive tract - the stomach and intestines. Here we managed to extract about 1/4 liter of stomach contents, which must have constituted his last meal. Most of the contents were found in the colon, and it shows that he had his last meal 12 -24 hours before he was hanged.

After completing the examination, the head was separated from the body to try to preserve the head, while the dismembered body was placed for shrinkage and drying out. After six months of preservation, Tollundmand's head turned out now that the head had been preserved perfectly: all facial features were preserved, but the head had shrunk about 12%. Unfortunately, the body was not preserved, but dried out, so almost only the bones remained. And Silkeborg Museum has chosen to recreate the body so that the head is now on display along with a reconstruction of the body. It gives a much better sense of what he looked like when he was found, and it makes it possible to focus more on his amazing head than wonder where the rest of him is.




The next museum we going to visit is 20 minutes' walk from the Silkeborg bus terminal. If you missed your bus on the weekend, the next bus will come in the next hour. So, we decided to walk to towards it as strolling is a common activity here in Denmark. 

Lake Ornso

All of us know there was 2 strong alliances behind the WWII which are The Allied and The Axis. 
The Allied Power was formed by many countries of the world led after by America, Russia, and United Kingdom whereas the Axis Power was made up by Germany, Italy and Japan and some other countries. The Bunker Museum that we are visiting next is in Silkeborg which served as headquarters for the Axis German troop during WWII. 



What is a Bunker ? 
A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs or other attacks. Bunkers are mostly underground, which were used extensively in World War 1, World War 2 and the Cold War for weapons facilities, command and control centers, and storage facilities. Bunkers can also be used as protection from natural disasters, explosions, nuclear protection (shock waves & radiations)
The general features of a bunker are : 1) The doors must be at least as strong as the walls. The usual design is now starting to incorporate vault doors. To reduce the weight, the door is normally constructed of steel, with a fitted steel lintel and frame. Very thick wood was also used, and they are more resistant to the heat because it chars rather than melts. If the door is on the surface and will be exposed to the blast wave, the edge of the door will usually counter-sunk in the frame so that the blast wave or a reflection cannot lift the edge. A bunker should have two doors. Door shafts may double as ventilation shafts to reduce digging.

The occupants usually stay in the bunkers for a prolonged period; therefore, ventilation or air conditioning are the keys to survive inside the bunker. Ventilation openings in a bunker must be protected by blast valves.  A blast valve is closed by a shock wave, but otherwise remains open. To expedient blast valve, the treads of a flatted rubber tyre were nailed or bolted to the frames which is strong to resist the maximum overpressure. 


This is the photo of the facade which I took from the Goggle. This Bunker Museum is now located in the park, facing a beautiful Lake Ornso which Carlsberg used the water for bottled spring water for many years..


During the German occupation of Denmark which was between 1940 - 1945, the Germans setup their HQ in the year 1943 at Silkeborg. All the exhibits present here are original artifacts from those years and some are found in the woods nearby years after the war. This Bunkermuseum tell us about the lives of the German force while staying in this bunker. 

This museum is housed in a Germen's bunker which was built in March 1943 that exhibit the original artifacts from the period from 1943 - 1945, items include uniforms, weapons, furniture etc.  
Admission ticket is 50kr per person and the professional curator will be guiding you throughout in a Nazi's uniform. I remembered he told me his supposed vocation as per the uniform is a "signaler ".

Entering the bunker now, the feeling was amazing as this is my first time to visit an Axis member of the West. In Singapore, we learned about Axis Japan of the East from our school books and the museums in the region. 

With regards to below photo, except for the white and yellow notes pasted, everything were from those days like the metal gate, cabinet and the concrete steps. 


This is our handsome curator in German's uniform, behind him is how the first room look like, there are 10 beds, 5 at each side. It show us the daily lives and activities of the soldier during that time. 

Here are more detailed photos on this room for your better understanding. These pictures speak billions words. Original displays from that period of time. 






















At the second room, it displayed a commanding table,  their uniforms, and artifacts from the Hey-Day. 
















As per advised by the curator, this uniform was the usual clothes the German wore to the war fields. 

The uniform for the lady officer of the German force. 


This is the uniform of the high ranking officers. The more badges pinned on the uniform, the higher ranking the officer was. The photo of the Commander-in-chief of the Army is hanging behind this high ranking uniform. 

These 3 photos here were the bosses of this bunker during those days. 


This newspaper of original content of the day "The German surrendered".


We have finished our tour in this bunker. Indeed, educated me further on WWII. Here we are with the curator before we leave the place.  


Here are some of the information of the 3 commanders of this bunker during those days. 

General Hermann Von Hanneken

1) General Hermann von Hanneken was in the office during 05 Nov 1943 - 27 Jan 1945.
He was relieved from all duties as he was accused of corruption, and subsequently sentenced by the German national court martial to eight years imprisonment. He was, however, pardoned by Adolf Hitler who thought that they could not afford the luxury of letting von Hanneken sit in jail. Instead, von Hanneken was demoted to Major and sent to the front. At the end of the war, he became an American prison where he was extradited to Denmark and held awaiting trial which he was acquitted on 9 May 1949. He was expelled from Denmark and lived a low-profile life until his death in 1981 aged 91.

Georg Heinrich Lindemann

2) Colonel-General Georg Heinrich Lindemann replaced General Hermann von Hanneken from 1 Feb 1945 until the end of the war at 04 Jun 1945.
Lindemann was a prisoner of war with American forces until 1948. He has not been charged with any war crimes by either the Allies or Denmark. After his release, Lindemann retired to West Germany. He died on 


Lieutenant Gustav Jessen

3) Lieutenant Gustav Jessen took over the headquarter from after the war, he oversaw the organizing of the repatriation of German occupation troops. 


The history of the former German military headquarters at Silkeborg lasted for 1 year and 8 months. In total, they left 24 bunkers nestled in the forest bed in many places in Denmark. 


Our One Day in Silkeborg end here, please look out for my next blog when we go to other cities where we look forward spending some great time touring around.  
If you have more time to spare, I would like to invite you to check out further on the rest of my blogs when we are in Denmark. 

1) Relocation from Singapore to Aalborg, Denmark

2) Exploring Aalborg - At the resident's view

3) Exploring Saeby @ Denmark



For my daily life in this beautiful country, I will keep everyone update on my Facebook page Followblueginger & Instagram Page followblueginger. Therefore, kindly please like & follow my Facebook & Instagram Page.  

Meanwhile, if you are keen to know more about the trips I had made, please browse through the content on the main page. 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃

Cheers and Good Luck 💓


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