Dodekalitten, Lolland

Circle of Giants Above the Sea

Dodekalitten rises from a grassy hilltop on northern Lolland like a modern myth made solid. Twelve monumental granite figures stand in a wide circle, their carved heads turning inward as if locked in a timeless council. Each stone is between seven and nine metres high and weighs roughly 25 to 45 tonnes, yet the composition feels strangely light against the huge sky and distant horizon. From here you look out across the Smålandsfarvandet, with small islands scattered like stepping stones across the water. The name comes from Greek and means “twelve stones”, but this is no simple stone circle. It is a deliberate fusion of sculpture, landscape and sound, created to feel both ancient and futuristic. The site sits a few hundred metres from the coast, high in the gently rolling “Lolland Alps”, so wind, clouds and shifting light continually rewrite the backdrop, even while the granite remains still.

Art, Sound and a Fictional People

The concept was developed by sculptor Thomas Kadziola together with composer Gunner Møller Pedersen, later joined on the musical side by Wayne Siegel. Behind the artwork lies an invented legend of a people who supposedly came to Lolland thousands of years ago after their homeland vanished beneath the sea. That imagined migration feeds into the figures’ solemn expressions and their silent gathering above the water, as if they are still listening for echoes of their lost world. From discreet loudspeakers hidden among low sitting stones in the centre of the circle, electroacoustic music plays throughout daylight hours. The score is programmed to respond to conditions such as season, light and weather, so the soundscape is never exactly the same twice. Sometimes it is a low electronic hum, at other times a more melodic wash of tones, but always composed for this very spot, turning a visit into an enveloping, multisensory installation.

In the Company of Ancestors

Dodekalitten does not stand alone in the landscape. Just beyond the hill lie the passage grave Glentehøj and several Bronze Age burial mounds, reminders that this ridge has attracted ritual structures for millennia. Walking between the modern granite council and the older grassy mounds, it is easy to imagine a conversation across time between prehistoric builders and today’s artists. The surrounding area is a designated landscape of fields, small patches of woodland and open views. From the circle you can trace the curve of the coastline and spot ferries and pleasure boats threading through the Smålandsfarvandet below. On clear days the light can be razor sharp; in mist or drizzle the figures loom like ghosts, which only underlines the work’s play with memory and myth.

Moments of Stillness and Play

Despite its scale, Dodekalitten invites unhurried, intimate encounters. You can walk right up to each figure, studying the chisel marks, facial features and differences in posture. Some faces seem serene, others almost stern. The low stones in the centre encourage you to sit, listen and let the slowly shifting music and the wind work together. Many visitors use the space for quiet reflection, informal meditation or simply a long pause between journeys. The hilltop setting also lends itself to simple pleasures: children can explore the ring and nearby paths, families spread out picnics on the grass, and photographers chase changing light and dramatic silhouettes. Because the work is outdoors and open year‑round with free access, it feels more like a lived‑in part of the landscape than a fenced‑off monument.

A Living Work in Progress

Since the first stone was shaped in 2010, Dodekalitten has evolved gradually, with figures added and refined over the years and the soundtrack continuously tuned. This incremental approach reinforces the idea that the monument is alive rather than finished, a long unfolding conversation between artists, stories and the Lolland countryside. From time to time, the circle becomes a stage for concerts and cultural events that build on the site’s atmosphere instead of competing with it. Yet even on an ordinary weekday, with only the sound of wind, distant birds and the subtle electronic score, the hilltop has a distinct presence. It is at once an artwork, a viewpoint and a quiet outdoor room where past, present and imagined futures overlap in stone and sound.