Kongehallen receives the Carpentry Award 2020

Honored with award: Viking Hall is crazy craftsmanship

The Viking Hall takes up quite a bit of space in the landscape. At more than 60 meters high, it sits at the top of the hill in Lejre Land of Legends, where it has been recreated. And everyone who has passed by since Her Majesty the Queen cut the red cord with a single-edged Viking sword in June and declared the King’s Hall open has been impressed.

The same goes for Mads Raaschou, who is an elder of the Copenhagen Carpenters’ Guild.

-“The Vikingswere divine carpenters, and in the new King’s Hall, the Vikings’ impressive wood carvings have been brought to life in a way that impresses everyone who sees them today – even an experienced wood craftsman like me,” he says and explains that the Carpenters’ Guild has chosen to award the building with one of the most prestigious awards for wood craftsmanship in Denmark: the 2020 Carpentry Award.

The Carpentry Prize is donated by the Kirsten and Freddy Johansen Foundation and has been awarded since 2018. The prize, which was founded to support and raise awareness of Danish projects with innovative solutions in modern woodwork of the highest quality, comes with DKK 150,000, says Mads Raaschou and elaborates:

-“The new King’s Hall in Lejre Land of Legends is a commendable example of carpentry that is both technologically innovative and characterized by great respect for craft traditions that go back even further than the history of the Copenhagen Carpenters’ Guild – all the way back to the Viking Age,” he says and explains that it is precisely this – the combination of innovation with the old craft traditions and unsurpassed quality – that makes the recreated Viking Hall the winner of the award this year:

-“The King’s Hall – both the original and the new one built by Lejre Land of Legends – is undeniably ambitious. It tells stories of power, lifestyle, history, craftsmanship and beauty,” he concludes and explains that the award ceremony will be held in Lejre Land of Legends on Friday, August 27.

Back in Lejre Land of Legends, in front of the front door to the new King’s Hall, stands Lars Holten, a beaming happy and not least proud director:

-“We are proud! This is an award that we at Lejre Land of Legends accept with great joy and great humility. The work of recreating the country’s largest royal hall from the Viking Age in fully timbered Danish oak has been a unique process. Through our archaeological research and strong collaboration with today’s most skilled craftsmen, foresters and architects, we have gained new understanding and enormous respect for the unknown carpenters, joiners and sculptors who conceived, created and decorated the original royal hall in the 700s, says Lars Holten and continues:

-“The fact that the people behind the Carpentry Award have chosen us for an award for craftsmanship makes us feel that we have succeeded in closing a beautiful ring between past and present, and between tradition and innovation – both when it comes to materials and when it comes to execution. It gives a pride that can be felt right down to the toes, both on behalf of the joinery profession and cultural heritage, and is in a way also a fine tribute to our distant Viking ancestors who broke new ground in building fast longships and designing monumental building architecture.

Alderman Mads Raaschou, wearing the Guild of Carpenters’ alderman chain during last year’s award ceremony Photo: Mew at Egeværk

Carver Sanne Seipelt at work carving the detailed Viking patterns in one of the CNC-milled door portals at Kongehallen. Photo: Lejre Land of Legends

Architect Kasper Lyneborg, CNC expert & Master Joiner Niels Henning Bystrup and Director of Lejre Land of Legends Lars Holten after the first test with Viking ornaments in the large CNC milling machine. Photo: Lejre Land of Legends

For further information contact:

Director Lars Holten on Tel. 4642 4940

Development Manager & Executive Assistant Charlotte Frantzdatter on Tel. 4642 4958

or Communications Officer Christine Roederer Tel. 4642 4959

This year’s award ceremony takes place in Sagnlandet Lejre, Friday, August 27

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