On the edge of the old cemetery near the cathedral, a modest stone marker indicates the legendary burial site of the Hel-Horse (Helhest) — a three-legged horse from Norse mythology associated with death and the underworld. The marker is easy to miss among the gravestones, but it's one of the more unusual small sights in Denmark and worth a look if you're already walking the cathedral grounds.
The myth of the Hel-Horse was particularly persistent in Roskilde and surrounding areas, probably because of the town's age and the density of burial mounds in the landscape — the region has more Bronze and Iron Age burial mounds than anywhere else in Denmark. The connection between old graves and old legends in this landscape is tangible.