Explore The inland

Join a vivid journey back to the 14th century as one of the guides at Bornholms Middelaldercenter leads you through the village and opens the door to a world of people, crafts and stories. The tour is not about grand performances, but about the stories that bring the buildings and people of the past to life in your imagination.

Together with the guide, you visit the village’s different houses and workshops, where you hear about the lives of the blacksmith, the potter and the dyer, as well as the sense of community and celebration in the guild hall. Using the authentic surroundings as a backdrop, the guide brings everyday life, work and the people who might once have lived here vividly to life.

The tour also takes you inside the palisade to the impressive fortified manor, where the elite of society lived. Here you can explore the cookhouse, the kitchen building and the magnificent hall, whose wall paintings are inspired by the decorations in Østerlars Round Church. You will also visit the house of worship and the peaceful monks’ garden with medicinal herbs and plants, while the guide tells stories about faith, power, food, illness and daily life on medieval Bornholm.

Along the way, you gain a fascinating insight into the differences between rich and poor, the crafts of the period and the many small and large stories that together shaped life in a medieval village. Surrounded by tarred timber buildings, herb gardens and historic settings, the past feels remarkably close and alive.

This guided tour is the perfect introduction to Bornholms Middelaldercenter and gives both children and adults an engaging, sensory and thought-provoking encounter with life as it might have looked almost 700 years ago.

What does it feel like to hold a medieval bow in your hands? At Bornholms Middelaldercenter, both children and adults can try archery at the range, with a guide there to help along the way. You get the chance to draw the bow yourself, take aim and discover just how much concentration and control it takes to make a good shot.

The bow is part of the story of medieval weaponry. By around the 14th century, the period represented by the centre’s fortified manor, the crossbow was beginning to take over the bow’s role as a weapon of war in Denmark. At the archery range, however, you can try the older type of weapon for yourself and get a real sense of the challenge involved in using it.

During the Medieval Gathering in week 29, you can also meet bowyers and get a closer look at the craftsmanship behind the weapon. The archers make their own bows and are happy to share tips at the range – an extra experience for anyone curious about how a bow is made.

A hands-on activity where you take part yourself and experience a small piece of the Middle Ages with a bow in your hands.

“It’s bloody dangerous!” That sets the tone as the guides at Bornholms Middelaldercenter take the audience into the medieval world of gunpowder and cannons. The language is refreshingly direct, the humour is infectious, and both children and adults quickly become part of the show.

At the same time, there is plenty of history and knowledge behind the fun. The fearsome black-powder weapons are brought to life as the air fills with the smell of sulphur and gun smoke, and the tension slowly builds towards the blast that can be felt through both the ground and your chest.

You see how the cannon is loaded, while the guides explain the early firearms that helped change warfare forever. You hear about the history of the weapons, the archaeological finds behind the reconstructions and the technology that impressed, frightened and fascinated people more than 500 years ago.

The centre’s cannon is a replica of a ship’s cannon dating from around 1400, discovered in the sea off Anholt. It also holds a very special place in the history of Bornholms Middelaldercenter itself. Before the village houses and the fortified manor were built, it all began with a travelling cannon and a group of history enthusiasts.

As the fuse approaches the touch hole, anticipation builds among the crowd. A flash of fire, a thick cloud of white smoke and a thunderous bang give you a very real sense of medieval gunpowder weapons. This is history you do not just see and hear – you feel it.

After the firing, you can get a closer look at the weapons and ask the guides questions about medieval gunpowder weapons and how they were used.

Extra firing demonstrations during school holidays: During selected holiday periods, the centre also demonstrates handheld hook guns, which fire their own impressive salutes and offer an even closer look at medieval firearms.