In 2009 The Danish Art Foundation assigned 12 different artists, each in their field of activity, to create art experiences along Hærvejen – an ancient Danish route, which runs along the water divide of Jutland in Denmark and passes through Germany to Holland.

In the days before cars and railways this trackway was used by traders and
their ox-drawn carts, cattlemen with their herds, highwaymen and pious pilgrims. Well, it was not just one road – rather a system of many small paths.

Today Hærvejen is more of a hiking, biking and riding path. Large parts are asphalted, but you can still find stretches of the old track and get a sense
of history from the old churches and barrows spread along the way.

The Danish Art Foundation invited the designer Ole Jensen to contribute to
the art project and work on the theme water. The trip along Hærvejen is not
as strenuous or dangerous as in the Middle Ages, but water is still an issue for
an outdoor person. You drink it, when you get thirsty, and you need to protect yourself from it, when it’s pouring from the sky.

Having gathered inspiration and ideas Ole Jensen created a rain cloak, which
he describes as a piece of useful merchandise for modern pilgrims, cyclists
and hikers along the path. Or perhaps even a kind of Haute Couture.

The rain cloak is shaped as a long piece of cloth of breathable micro polyester with a mail collar and a conical hood. It protects against water and wind,
has an extra extension for backpacks and an integrated reflector tag. Wearing the rain cloak, even though it is a modern piece of clothing, it functions as
a medieval sign in the landscape. As a thing for the trip. As a sign of the trip.
As a memory of the trip.

The rain cloaks can be bought at tourist agencies, hostels and museums along Hærvejen and were launched in the summer of 2010 by a group of hikers during
a two-day walk.

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