Portal:Denmark/Selected picture/2011/10

The golden horns of Gallehus.

The golden horns of Gallehus were two golden horns, one shorter than the other, discovered in near Tønder in 1639 and 1734. Both horns were believed to have been created in the fifth century (Germanic Iron Age). The original golden horns were stolen in 1802 and subsequently destroyed by the thief, Niels Heidenreich, who subsequently served 37 years in jail. A replica set was created in the 1860s, and two additional sets were created in 1980.

The oldest set of replicas were stolen from the Kongernes Jelling museum on 17 September 2007. The Danish National Museum states that the replicas have little monetary value as they are made of gild silver in contrast to the originals that were solid gold. They were recovered by Danish police on 19 September 2007.

Photo credit: Malene Thyssen