Freya’s Valley
A humble alchemist shop in Esby on Helgenaes.
About Tolkien, Nordic Mythology, Denmark, magic, mystery and myths.
Esby Bygade 16, 8420 Knebel, Denmark
When the sign is out by the road, the shop is open 🙂
Helgenaes – The Holy Ness
According to the etymology, Helgenaes means “The Holy Ness”. The word “naes” (næs in Danish and in Norse “nes”) is used i.a. about a peninsula, and Helgenaes is precisely a peninsula only connected to the mainland via the “umbilical cord” Dragsmur. Incidentally, you also find it in English in the word “ness”.
So Helgenaes is a holy peninsula – a holy place where, in the late Iron Age and in the Viking Age, sacrifices were made to the Nordic god Frey (Freya’s brother) and bonfires were lit on top of the Elvenking Mountain (Ellemandsbjerget).
In addition to being part of Syddjurs Municipality, Helgenaes is both part of the region of Central Jutland to the east and at the same time located in the middle of Denmark (Jutland, Funen, Zealand and the South Seas).
With a little caution, we could call Helgenaes the country in the middle; “Middle-Earth” in Tolkien’s universe and Midgard in Nordic Mythology and thus Denmark’s heart 🙏
Midgard is the world of men and Asgard is the world of the gods.
Frey’s Mountain
“Ellemandsbjerget” is actually Frey’s Mountain, as ceremonies for the elvenking have been held there. With the introduction of Christianity, people have been made to refrain from continuing to worship the old gods by renaming the elvenking “the elven man” and making him a dangerous troll. But maybe you can still feel and even see the elves around and inside the mountain?
Freya’s Valley
Esby lies down in a valley with hills all around for approx. 10-15 min. walk from Frey’s Mountain. We can therefore NATURE-likely call Esby Freya’s Valley – the feminine counterpart, and thus take the story a step deeper into the world of myths and magic. In the etymology, Esby means – the town with the aspen/aspen trees and/or ash trees.
Yggdrasil
And when we now move around Esby and in Norse mythology with the ash tree Yggdrasil, which is the Tree of Life, from which everything springs, it is natural to call Esby’s ash trees “Yggdrasils”. Such a tree stands i.a. on the cadastre behind Café Freya’s Valleyl and on the opposite side of the reed lake by the house Villa Villekulla.
Alchemist Café
Here you can buy a cup of organic coffee from ØNSK and a mug of organic tea from Nordic Tea.
You can get normal coffee, espresso, cappuccino, caffe latte on oat drink and various organic teas within white, green and black tea.
Tarot cards, oracle cards, books, journals, oil, salve, wind chimes, CDs and yoga mats are also sold.
Address: Esby Bygade 16, Esby, 8420 Knebel.
Opening hours: As the wind blows out here on Helgenaes.
Contact: +45 23 82 85 82
NB: Funnily enough, the wood-burning stove Asgard is inside the café, so I wonder if the name Freya’s Valley is very well chosen?
Freya’s Mead
As something very special, the very finest currant mead is sold from Tarp Bryggeri, which has also been Denmark’s champion in mead brewing several times. The mead is called Freya, and the name was created in collaboration with Tarp Bryggeri. In 2024/25, it has been voted Denmark’s best mead. The label briefly tells about the connection between Helgenaes, Ellemandsbjerget, Nordic Mythology and Tolkien.
Since the goddess Freya is especially associated with the cat, there is of course a cat on the label. According to the legend, her cart was pulled by two cats.
It is our black cat Bagheera, who is in the picture. You can read a bit about him further down.
But right now – look at the beautiful amber color the mead has, – and then it tastes as good as it looks 🙂
GEBAI Tarot cards
These Major Arcana tarot cards are created by GEBA (Gert Bach) and AI as a serious exercise in discovering how creative a tool AI can be. It’s like writing a piece of music within a certain style. Here, the AI based on completely personal prompts and own creative ideas becomes a template/a style from which you can work on and create your very own universe.
The special thing about these cards is that they contain cards 22 (The Truth) and 33 (The Open Heart), which is completely new and never seen before. They therefore play perfectly together with Lars Muhl’s book “The Sacred Numbers of Initiation”. In this way, you can now see your destiny number and your date of birth as a whole image sequence from The Major Arcana – now also if you have one of the big master numbers 22 or 33 in your sequence.
They can be bought physically here in Freya’s Valley or physically and online at Bog & Mystik in Denmark.
Tolkien and Helgenaes
Welcome to a world of magic and myth! Dive into the captivating universe of Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings, where adventures unfold and heroes emerge. Join us on a journey through Norse mythology, where gods and giants collide in epic battles. Discover the enchanting country of Denmark, with its vibrant history and picturesque landscapes. Experience Café Freya’s Valley, the mysterious alchemist shop located in Esby on Helgenaes.
Explore all the beautiful landscapes Helgenaes has to offer – from the majestic Frey’s Mountain to the holy Freya’s Valley with the legendary ash tree Yggdrasil – the Tree of Life.
Explore the land og elves and embark on a fantastic journey through mythical lands.
A fantastic tale of magic, mystery and myth
Historian and author Casper Clemmensen has discovered and visualized a close connection between the legends of the elves (elffolk) around Elvenking Mountain on Helgenaes and the elves and elvenkings in Tolkien’s author universe – i.a. in The Lord of The Rings, and likewise C.C. showed a direct connection between place names on Helgenaes, Mols, Samsoe and in Aarhus and Tolkien’s use of place names in his magical and adventurous tales. C.C’s book “Tolkien and the mythical Jutland” tells about this connection in an inspiring and informative way.
Tolkien’s fascination with the Judes and cartography has pointed him in the direction of Central Jutland, where most old maps have clearly indicated the location of Elvenking Mountain on Helgenaes. Combined with the Norse mythology about the Nordic gods, it is known that people in the late Iron Age and in the Viking Age made sacrifices to the god Frey up on Elvenking Mountain and used it to place bonfires, among other things, to signal the arrival of possible enemies. We can therefore rightly call the mountain “Frey’s Mountain”. And according to Norse mythology, Frey is the king of the elves, who rules over Alfheim – the home of the elves.
But as I said – with the introduction of Christianity in Denmark, the church will stop the pagan conditions, and people start calling the mountain Ellemandsbjerget, and the Elleman/Elvenman is a dangerous troll, who in this way gets a function to prevent people from worshiping the Nordic gods.
In Tolkien’s universe, where the elves and the elvenkings have a very central role, they typically live underground and inside mountains.
The House of Harmony
Right next to Café Freya’s Valley in Esby is The House of Harmony (Huset for Samklang). Here you can experience meditative concerts, sound healing, soundful yoga and sound therapy.
Bagheera
the black cat
Soundfulness
You will find other stories here in the form of soundscapes and sound journeys.
Landscapes of sound create stories that send you on dream journeys and inner adventures, and which affect both body, mind, soul and spirit.
Soundful-Ness on The Holy Ness
Norse mythology – the goddess Freya – the black cat – Bagheera – the elven people and the elvenking – Tolkien – Central Jutland – Helgenaes – Elvenking Mountain – Frey,s Mountain – Freya’s Valley.