Kimbrerstenen in Rebild Bakker

A granite monument to the ancient Cimbri

Kimbrerstenen rises from the heath of Rebild Bakker as a solid block of rhomb porphyry, its surface carved with the powerful figure of the Cimbrian bull. The inscription recalls how the Cimbri are believed to have left this region around 120 BC, setting off on the long migration that would eventually bring them into conflict with the Roman Republic. Standing before the stone, you meet a compact monument that carries a surprisingly wide sweep of European history on its rough, weathered face. Created by sculptor Anders Bundgaard, who also shaped the famous Cimbrian bull in Aalborg, the work deliberately emphasizes strength and movement. The bull’s muscular contours catch the changing light, while the stone’s natural irregularities give the piece a raw, almost primordial character. Here, on the open hillside, the monument feels less like an isolated artwork and more like a marker anchored in the landscape that formed the tribe it commemorates.

Rebild’s heather hills as a natural backdrop

Kimbrerstenen sits within Rebild Bakker National Park, an undulating heathland that spills down towards the Lindenborg valley. Heather, crowberries and juniper shape the colours around the stone, shifting from fresh greens in spring to purple carpets in late summer and warm browns in autumn. On clear days the views stretch across rolling hills, with patches of birch and the dark edge of Rold Skov visible in the distance. The national park is compact but varied. Shallow valleys, meltwater-formed slopes and narrow stream-cut gullies create a sense of movement in the terrain even when you stand still beside the monument. Sheep often graze the open areas, helping to keep the heathland clear and adding to the rural atmosphere. The setting makes Kimbrerstenen feel both accessible and slightly secluded, a landmark that you reach only after moving through the landscape it helps interpret.

Stories carved in stone and memory

The dedication on Kimbrerstenen is simple, but it opens onto a network of stories about identity, migration and the way landscapes remember their people. The Cimbri have long occupied a special place in Danish historical imagination, and the stone reflects an early 20th-century effort to root that narrative in a specific place. Its creation sits alongside other cultural initiatives in Rebild, including the nearby celebrations of ties between Denmark and emigrant communities abroad. Bundgaard’s choice of materials and motifs links the monument in Rebild to the urban sculpture of the Cimbrian bull in Aalborg. Together, they form a symbolic route from city to countryside, from modern life back to the imagined homeland of an Iron Age tribe. The stone itself remains quiet about scholarly debates over the Cimbri, instead offering a clear, poetic statement that invites you to reflect more than it instructs.

A contemplative stop on Rebild’s walking routes

Although Kimbrerstenen is modest in size, it plays an outsized role in the experience of moving through Rebild Bakker. Many walking routes in the hills naturally pass close to the monument, encouraging walkers to pause, catch their breath and take in both the inscription and the surrounding view. The open positioning means the stone can be approached from different angles, each revealing a slightly altered relationship between the sculpture and the landscape. The atmosphere here is calm rather than ceremonial. There are no fences or formal barriers, only a gentle sense that this is a spot to step a little aside from the path. In quiet weather you may hear little more than wind in the heather and distant birdsong from the valley below. Even on busier days, the wide slopes of the national park allow you to find a vantage point where the stone, the hills and the sky form a simple, balanced scene.

Seasonal moods and changing light

Kimbrerstenen and its surroundings change character with the seasons and the time of day. In late summer, the stone seems to float in a sea of purple heather under high, pale skies. On misty mornings, the monument emerges gradually from low cloud, making its historical inscription feel almost mythic. Winter light is often low and sharp, throwing long shadows across the hillside and emphasizing the carving’s depth. Because the area is open and exposed, wind and weather are always part of the experience. A bright day with passing clouds can turn the stone into a kind of sundial, its appearance altering from minute to minute. At quieter times in the shoulder seasons, when fewer people are on the trails, Kimbrerstenen feels particularly contemplative: a single, deliberate human gesture set in a landscape shaped by ice, water and centuries of grazing.