Ørnehøj

Facts

Passage grave quarried

By Lars Bjarke Christensen (11 stories)

In Corselitze Østerskov on Falster near the sheer cliffs facing Hesnæs Vig and the Baltic Sea, you'll find Ørnehøj passage grave. It was built during the Peasant Stone Age about 5,000 years ago - one of the communal graves that were popular at the time. Building the passage grave must have kept many people busy, as countless stones weighing tons apiece were used. In more recent times, several of the stones have been removed and broken up. Several centuries ago, large stones were valuable raw materials for building roads, for example. If you look closely at the stones that still form part of Ørnehøj, you can see traces of quarrying.

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The grave digger prince

Story written by Lars Bjarke Christensen

Time / Periode -3400 -3000

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" One of the gable stones surrounding the passage grave has a royal crown monogram, the date 1843 and letters "F. C. C." engraved on it. This was when the Crown Prince – later King Frederik VII – indulging his passion for archaeology, paid the owner of the Corselitze estate a visit and helped him excavate Ørnehøj. The result of the investigation is unknown and we do not know if he found any Stone Age grave gifts either. All we know is that the owner of the estate decided to have a lasting reminder of the royal visit engraved in stone. The three letters are initials that stand for F. C. Classen; the name of the owner of Corselitze. The Classen family is especially famous for founding a powder mill and cannon foundry during the 18th century in Frederiksværk. In 1768, the family bought the Corselitze estate from Prince Carl of Hessen, and moved to Falster. "