Træ-cirklerne ved Birkendegård (Danmarks Stonehenge)

A hidden ritual landscape on the Kalundborg plain

East of Kalundborg, the farmland around Birkendegård looks ordinary at first glance: rolling fields, a rounded hill, and wind sweeping across the open plain. Yet beneath this quiet landscape lies one of Denmark’s most intriguing prehistoric monuments. Around the hill known as Overdrevsbakken, archaeologists have identified three huge concentric circles that once formed a ritual enclosure in the Neolithic era. The outer ring is thought to have stretched close to a kilometre in circumference, making the monument far larger than it appears when you stand here today. Instead of obvious megaliths, you see gentle contours and agricultural land, but the scale becomes easier to imagine once you picture the circles wrapping around the base of the hill like a vast ceremonial fence.

From aerial photograph to archaeological sensation

The story of Træ-cirklerne ved Birkendegård begins in the 1960s, when an aerial photograph taken over the fields revealed faint circular patterns in the crops. An archaeologist studying the image recognised the tell-tale marks of buried structures: arcs of darker patches forming near-perfect rings around Overdrevsbakken. Subsequent excavations confirmed the interpretation. Archaeologists uncovered rows of stone and post holes, evidence for several hundred uprights forming multiple circles. These would have required careful planning and huge communal effort, suggesting that Birkendegård was an important ceremonial centre within the wider Neolithic landscape of northwestern Zealand.

Reconstructing a vanished stone circle

No great stones stand here today because the original blocks were likely quarried away long ago, many reused in medieval church building after royal decrees demanded the removal of pagan monuments. What remains are the traces: impressions where timber or stones once stood, now recorded through archaeological survey and aerial photography. Standing by the hill, you must reconstruct the monument in your mind. Visualise two to three hundred stones weighing several tons each, encircling the slope. The rings would have created a powerful theatrical setting, channelling movement, sound and sightlines as people processed, gathered or watched the sky. The absence of visible structures adds a certain poignancy, inviting quiet reflection on how landscapes preserve memory even when monuments have been dismantled.

Sun, seasons and possible solstice rituals

Researchers have noted alignments suggesting that parts of the complex pointed towards the midsummer sunrise, hinting at a strong connection with the sun’s annual cycle. Although the details of any ritual calendar remain uncertain, it is likely that gatherings here marked key turning points in the year, such as solstices and harvest. With the hill rising gently above the plain, the site offers broad sky views. It would have been an excellent natural observatory, where the changing position of sunrise and sunset could be tracked against the horizon. For modern visitors, this connection is still palpable on clear days, when the light over the fields shifts dramatically with the passing clouds and seasons.

Visiting an almost-invisible monument

Today Træ-cirklerne ved Birkendegård is a subtle destination, best suited to travellers who enjoy imagination, archaeology and big skies rather than dramatic stone silhouettes. There may be simple information on site or in the wider Kalundborg area, but much of the experience lies in using maps, sketches or pre-visit reading to interpret the landscape. Comfortable shoes are useful, as you will likely walk along field tracks or grassy edges around Overdrevsbakken. The setting is peaceful and rural, with wind turbines and farm buildings in the distance underscoring how the land continues to be used and reshaped. Allow time simply to stand, trace the invisible rings in your mind and consider how people here once watched the same sun rise over the Kalundborg plain thousands of years ago.