Dannewerk combines UNESCO World Heritage with trails that reveal traces of history in the landscape. The municipality is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site it shares with nearby Haithabu. Defining features include the Danevirke, the Ox Road, the Tweebargen and prehistoric burial mounds along the Ox Road. In the wider Schleswig-Flensburg travel destination, more than 25 kilometres of the rampart of the Danevirke are still preserved. Local landmarks in Dannewerk make this wider context tangible at the rampart, museum and trails.

Museum, Main Rampart and Thyraburg

The Danevirke Museum is located in Dannewerk, near the Main Rampart and important structures of the early medieval fortification. It explains the significance of the Danevirke in the German-Danish War of 1864 and its use during the Second World War. The archaeological park includes the Main Rampart, Thyraburg, the North Gate and the Waldemars Wall, as well as a reconstruction of Gun Emplacement 14. The Main Rampart at Thyraburg is dated to 737 AD, placing it before the Viking Age. This timeline therefore spans from the pre-Viking Age rampart to topics from the 19th and 20th centuries. Thyraburg lies at a strategic corner of the Danevirke, at the end of the Main Rampart and beside the former Dannewerker See.

The museum offers a guided tour of the archaeological park: it runs from the North Gate along the Main Rampart and the Waldemars Wall to the reconstructed Gun Emplacement 14 and back. Confirm availability before booking.

Nature trail at the former Dannewerker See

A nature trail laid out in 2025 runs around the former Dannewerker See, combining a landscape experience, archaeology and environmental education. Information boards along the trail explain Dannewerk’s local flora and fauna, old trees, wetland habitats, and the role and development of the lake in the Danevirke’s historic defence system. The area around the archaeological park also features historical traces and rare natural habitats. While the park tour follows a route between fortification sites, the nature trail also focuses on ecological topics. Infrastructure and signage may change; check the current status of the trail and its information boards before your visit.

The Ox Road and guided routes

The historic Ox Road runs through Dannewerk and passes Bronze Age burial mounds, including the pair of mounds known as Tweebargen. It is ideal for hiking among historical traces and for outdoor archaeological discovery. A guided hike nearby runs from the Danevirke Museum past the rampart and Thyraburg, through Busdorf and on to the Viking Museum Hedeby. It differs from the archaeological park tour in that it continues through Busdorf to another destination; the park tour returns to the museum.

Getting to the visitor centre

Bus routes 8 and 670 run directly from Schleswig to the Danevirke Museum visitor centre. Check the timetable before travelling if you plan to take the bus.

Discover more destinations: Selk, Fahrdorf, Jagel, Borgwedel, Geltorf, Busdorf

For the wider travel overview: Haddeby.