Hedeby (Haithabu) was a Danish commercial counter rested by the king Gotfrid in 808/809, in the south of the Denmark, close to the Carolingian border. The rivers give him access to the Baltique and the the North Sea. The city is protected by a rampart from ground which has 5 more to 10 m height and delimits a surface of 24 ha. A wood palisade protects the port from the maritime attacks. The rectangular wood houses shelter workshops of many craftsmen, divided into dedicated groups, which work glass, the bone and the horn and found bronze. Hedeby exports artisanal objects on the spot manufactured. It is a significant market with the slaves. A space is reserved to the merchants, who camp in same the place of the market. The old texts agree to present Hedeby (also called Sliaswic or Sliesthrop) like the most populated city of Scandinavia.

The counter of Hedeby is plundered and burned in 1050 by the Norwegians of Harald Haardraade. Sliaswik (Schleswig) assumes from now on its role in the area.