This morning is the final leg of the 2016 journey.
Just a hop, skip and jump through some more woods before I reach Viborg. To be
more precise, I need to walk about 11 kilometres before reaching my goal for
2016: the town of Viborg.

Viborg is one of Denmark’s oldest towns. The name
means “holy place on the hill”. It had its beginnings as a town somewhere
between the end of the 900’s and the beginning of the 1000’s and was already in
Viking times a religious centre in Jutland.

When Christianity came along the religious goings on
in Viborg continued. The town became an episcopal residence and the building of
the first cathedral began in the 1100’s. Not long after, because of strife
between several pretenders to the throne, the town was fortified with a rampart
and a moat and there were five city gates.

During the following centuries, no less than 12
churches and five monasteries were established. With the advent of the
Reformation things changed. Viborg was actually the place where the Lutheran
Reformation in Denmark began, in around 1529. During these years of
reformation, the citizens of Viborg tore down all 12 churches, closed most of
the monasteries, and the munks and nuns had to flee. So much for religious
tolerance.

Viborg was also a power hub in other ways. It was one
of three Danish towns where homage had to be paid to a king before he could make
a legitimate claim to the throne. This was carried out for every single Danish
king from 1027 to 1665. Viborg was also where the political assembly (“Ting” or
“Thing”) for Jutland was located. Despite the fact that a major fire in 1726 destroyed the cathedral, city hall and the major
church, Viborg today still oozes history with its cobblestone streets, old
houses and rebuilt cathedral.

Well, folks, the 2016 leg of the hike up through
Jutland is over. In 2015 I walked about 129 km and this year I managed 209 km
for a total of 338 km from the border in the south to the town of Viborg smack
dab in the middle of Jutland. My plan is to continue northwards next year and walk
towards the very tip of Jutland. I think I am approximately halfway there. I
have already bought a new pair of hiking shoes and am looking forward to new
adventures in the Danish landscape.