Hedeby-Danevirk, Archaeological complex and nature reserve in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Hedeby-Danevirk is a 41-hectare nature reserve designated in 1950, stretching about ten kilometres along the Danevirke ramparts, the walls around the Viking settlement of Hedeby on the Haddebyer Noor, part of the wooded Hochburg and a section of the Kograben. It also takes in the Tweebargen, two burial mounds north of the Kograben. Much of it is sand grassland and bristle-grass turf, with small patches of dwarf-shrub heath; the Margarethenwall east of the A7 and the walls around Hedeby are covered in oak coppice woodland.

The nature reserve was designated on 5 July 1950 and entered as number 39 in the Schleswig-Holstein register, covering just under 41 hectares. It protects the earthworks of the Danewerk along roughly ten kilometres, from the Krummwall and main wall to the Margarethenwall, together with the ramparts around the Viking settlement of Haithabu on the Haddebyer Noor. The wooded Hochburg, part of the Kograben west of the Ochsenweg and the two Tweebargen burial mounds were included as well.

The place was for centuries a meeting point between Scandinavian and Western European cultures. Visitors can today understand how people from different regions came together here and exchanged goods and craft techniques.

The outdoor museum is relatively open and accessible, with marked trails and information panels distributed across the site. Connected exhibitions and facilities offer a good overview of archaeological finds and allow for a deeper understanding of the history on location.

The Danevirk defensive line shows a mosaic of different eras, where earthen ramparts stand beside stone structures and medieval brick constructions. This mixture documents how defensive systems were repeatedly renewed and expanded across generations.