Hærvejen

Hærvejen (Danish, literally: the army road, German: Ochsenweg, literally: oxen way, Low German: Ossenpadd, literally: oxen path), sometimes referred to in English as the Ox Road, is the name given to an ancient trackway in Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein. The route runs from Viborg via Flensburg to Hamburg, the territory of which it entered at Ochsenzoll ("oxen toll", "toll" in the meaning of "customs") and where it connected with other roads. It has been known by several other names throughout history, most importantly "the Cattle Road" (Studevejen) and "the Oxen Road" or "Ox Road" (Oksevejen / Ochsenweg).

The road runs more or less along the watershed of the Jutland Peninsula, similar to the ridgeways in England. By using this route one could avoid rivers, or ford them close to their origins where they were still shallow. As time went by this route was improved with paved fords, embankments and bridges. Concentrations of mounds, defensive ditches, settlements and other historic landmarks can be found along the road. While sections of it can be traced as far back as 4000 BC, newer road construction has erased many traces. Some of them show a width of up to 100 metres (330 ft). The use of the road declined during the Viking age, as transportation by ship became more convenient. New cities were constructed along the coast instead of the road.

Two of Denmark’s oldest settlements, Viborg and Jelling are situated along the road.

In the southern, narrow part of the Jutish peninsula the trackway followed the edge of western marshes and eastern moraine country. Near Haderslev, Åbenrå, Flensburg, and Schleswig, it branched into western bypasses on the hills and accesses to the towns, each of them localized at the inner end of a long, narrow bay. One of the southern ends of the Ochsenweg has given its name to a suburb of Hamburg: Ochsenzoll is the locality of the ancient custom post.

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