On Saturday 15 June 2019, Her Majesty The Queen of Denmark will open a cultural-historical exhibition at the Kiek in de Kök Fortifications Museum in Tallinn. The exhibition has been jointly arranged by the Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle and Tallinn City Museum.

The exhibition tells the story of the time when Danish kings ruled in Estonia, from the Battle of Lyndanisse (now Tallinn) in 1219 – where legend has it that Dannebrog fell from the sky – through to 1346. The exhibition shows how Dannebrog was subsequently used as a symbol in both Denmark and Estonia. From the time of the Valdemars and up until today, Dannebrog and the three lions have been emblems of Denmark in both countries and are helping to strengthen ties between the two nations.

In honour of the anniversaries, the Carlsberg Research Laboratory has brewed a collaborative beer for the Saku Brewery in Tallinn and the Jacobsen Brewhouse in the Carlsberg City District of Copenhagen. The beer, which has been named “Dannebrog Brew 1219-2019”, will be served at the opening of the cultural-historical exhibition.

Brewmaster Tarmo Tappo from the Saku Brewery, founded in 1820, chose honey, birch sap and cloudberries for the brew, while brewmaster Morten Ibsen from the Jacobsen Brewhouse chose the special red barley and the hops. The Jacobsen Brewhouse is located in a wing of Brewer J.C. Jacobsen’s original Carlsberg brewery.

Dannebrog Brew 1219-2019 has been brewed by Carlsberg Research Laboratory’s brew master Erik Lund. According to Erik Lund, the beer has a lovely red colour from the use of red barley. The taste is fruity with a hint of red berries followed by a slight sourness from the cloudberries and rounded off with a pleasant hop aroma.

“It’s an honour to be allowed to celebrate the 800th anniversary of Dannebrog and the 100th anniversary of Estonian independence in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen with a fantastic exhibition on the special connection between Denmark and Estonia, and with a collaborative beer brewed by the Carlsberg Research Laboratory that illustrates the excellent relationship between our nations,” says Professor Flemming Besenbacher, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Carlsberg Foundation and Chairman of the Carlsberg Group.

“I’m delighted that, at the same time, the Carlsberg Foundation will be launching a research project in which two postdoc scholarship recipients, one Estonian and one Danish, will spend the next two years jointly researching the Danish-Estonian common history at the two museums – the Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle and Tallinn City Museum – who have set-up the exhibition we are opening today,” says Professor Flemming Besenbacher.

The project has been named “HM Queen Margrethe II’s Distinguished Research Project on the Danish-Estonian Common History” and the two researchers will be officially presented with their scholarships by Her Majesty The Queen at the opening of the exhibition. The Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle and Tallinn City Museum, who will jointly host the research project, will sign a collaboration agreement on the day.

The activity schedule for the opening of the exhibition at Kiek in de Kök Fortifications Museum and the celebrations of the 800th anniversary of Dannebrog and the 100th anniversary of Estonian independence can be found here: http://estland.um.dk/en/about-us/events/eventdisplaypage/?eventID={932061B1-FAEE-4C43-9A02-FB1C5AEFC40E}