The wolf grave

In Ulsted east of the church is one of Denmark's last preserved wolf traps - also called the "wolf grave". Wolves in the area were not a rare sight, which Ulsted, which used to be called Ulvested, may suggest. 

 

Wolf hunting used to be normal throughout Denmark in the 1500th century. The wolves were considered thieves, because they stole the population's livestock and the King's game. The punishment of wolves is already mentioned in Saxo's Danish Chronicle, where King Frode Fredegod had by law ordered that two-legged and four-legged robbers be punished equally.

A wolf hunt typically took place by building wolf traps, digging a deep hole that was covered with branches and small twigs. Bait in the form of dead animals or live geese was placed in it. Bounties were also promised to the area's hunters when they could present a severed wolf leg as proof of the deed.

200 years without wolves

The last major wolf hunts in the Ulsted area were carried out in the middle of the 1700th century, and on February 3, 1757, the last wolf was spotted. By a stroke of luck for the wolf, the gunpowder in the hunter's rifle had become wet from rain, and therefore could not be fired! The wolf wisely chose to prefer, and has not been spotted again until after 2012.

Updated by: Destination NORD | info@destination-nord.dk