Anundshög

Scandinavia is full of burial mounds, runestones, and other ancient graves. Similar to the Egyptian pyramids, great rulers were honored with these grand burial mounds as the correct ritual was important for the deceased to reach the afterlife.

At 30 feet (9 meters) high and 200 feet (60 meters) in diameter, this area has the largest burial mound in Sweden, which is often associated with Anund; a semi-legendary mid-7th-century Swedish king from the House of Yngling.

This entire site can be described as Viking memorial though, with the oldest monuments dating back to the 3rd-century. Numerous graves and markings can be found across the grassy complex, with 12 burial mounds, 10 stone circles, 14 monoliths, a runestone, and five stone ships - the largest of which is 175 feet (53 meters) long and 53 feet (16 meters) wide.

The mounds and ships were damaged during the 19th century and, prior to that, were partially damaged by looters looking for riches. But today, the site is the country’s most visited ancient burial ground as well as its best maintained.