Roskilde – The City of Springs

Today, eight visible and very different springs can still be found in the heart of the city. With your phone in your pocket and a pair of headphones, you can listen to Danish actor Thure Lindhardt tell the story of each individual spring. Start with the short film here, which in just 2.5 minutes introduces the great stories hidden in the water.

You can follow the Spring Path (Kildestrøget) and begin at Holy Cross Spring, whose waters once reportedly healed King Frederick IV of Denmark. Continue from here to Rector’s Spring, a small and discreet spring where the foundations were laid for Roskilde’s role as a centre of education.

Close to Rector’s Spring you will find Maglekilde, the most powerful of them all. Here, the water flows with such force that it laid the foundations for Roskilde’s early industry. From Maglekilde, the water continues to St Hans’ Spring, another holy spring where many sick people once found healing – or at least sought hope.

On the diagonally opposite side of Byparken (the Town Park), you will find St Ibs’ Spring, which served as a gathering place for pilgrims and flows in front of St Ibs Church. The church was built as early as the 12th century from a local material known as spring limestone (kildekalk).

St Ibs’ Spring lies just outside the old town ramparts – as does St Gertrude’s Spring, which today forms part of the entrance to Byparken. It was once covered over in an attempt to contain it, but the underground water could not be subdued. The spring still flows today.

The same is true of Lovise Spring, named in the 19th century after the conventual lady Lovise von Wimpfen.

Download the map to your phone before you begin your walk.