Adventures in Almindingen: Rytterknægten and fortress ruins

The day after my little misadventure in Almindingen, trying to get to the Echo Valley, I decided to venture into the large forest again. I still had some things that I wanted to see in the west part of the forest, so there was nothing to do but to head back there!

After a long day of work at the excavation, I was feeling extremely tired. After having dinner with Lula, I had a quick nap before deciding to get up and go on that adventure! I wasn’t really feeling up to it that day, but I knew that I would regret it later if I didn’t get to see everything that I want here on Bornholm.

So off I went to Almindingen, this time on the correct road, although I did make a wrong turn once or twice. It was nothing like the day before though, where I had to carry my bike for two kilometres along a foot path!

My first stop on the trip was Gamleborg, located just a few hundred metres from the very eastern part of the Echo Valley.

Gamleborg is the oldest fortress on Bornholm. It was built around 750 AD and was the seat of the kings during the Viking Age and the early Middle Ages. Around 1100, many alterations to the fortress were made, but it was abandoned not long after in favour of Lilleborg Castle, which I visited later that day!

The Echo Valley

The ruins of Gamleborg

From Gamleborg, I decided to walk to Rytterknægten, which was only a mere 1,5 kilometres away. Rytterknægten is the highest point on Bornholm at 162 metres above sea level. It’s a royal memorial tower, which was designed in 1851 and built in 1856 for the visit of Frederik VII of Denmark.

The view from the top was just as amazing as I remembered it to be from my last visit back in 2009. I’m pretty sure that I could see most of Bornholm from up there!

Rytterknægten!

From Rytterknægten, there was only approximately 1 kilometer to Lilleborg, my last stop for the day. I decided to also walk there and then walk back to my bike. But for some unexplainable reason, I took a wrong turn as my map wouldn’t update my position while walking in the forest, and I ended up at the Echo Valley, where my bike was standing… It was as though I was destined to get back to that bike!

So, instead of walking there, I biked to Lilleborg. On the way, I came past Åremyr Lake, which was beautifully reflecting the surrounding trees of Almindingen.

A few minutes later, I arrived at Lilleborg, by the Borgesø Lake.

Lilleborg is a ruined fortress, built in the middle of the 12th century. It replaced the much larger fortress of Gamleborg, most likely because most of Bornholm had been surrendered to Eskil, archbishop of Lund, in 1149, and as a result, King Svend Grathe wanted to establish his own seat of power on his remaining part of the island.

While King Svend Grathe built Lilleborg, Eskil built the much larger and much more famous Hammershus in the north of Bornholm, which I’ll be revisiting on Sunday!

When I was done exploring Lilleborg, it was already 9.30 PM, meaning that the sun would set just 10 minutes later. I jumped up on my biked and rushed all the way back to Åkirkeby Camping, 7 kilometres along the main road, and I miraculously made it just before it got too dark for me to see!

With this adventure, I’ve finally finished exploring the west part of Almindingen, and I still have the east part to see with the Rocking Stone and the Hills of Paradise!

But first, I’m off to Jutland tomorrow morning to attend my brother’s wedding, before heading back to Bornholm on Sunday morning, and then our teacher Rune is taking all four of us on a field trip to the north of Bornholm!