Most Well Known Viking Ship Museums In Scandinavia
There are two main Viking Ship Museums in Scandinavia: the first one is located in Oslo, Norway and the second one in Roskilde, Denmark. The Viking Ship Museum from Oslo is located on the western side of the city, on the Bygdøy peninsula.
The Roskilde Viking Ship Museum is located at a distance of 20 miles west of the capital city of Denmark, Copenhagen, on the Zealand (Danish: Sjælland) island. In order to enter their official websites please click on the following two headlines.
The Oslo Viking Ship Museum
The Oslo Viking Ship Museum is reputed for its many attractions stemming from the Viking Age, including the fully intact Oseberg ship. Aside from the Oseberg ship, there are also two more ships almost intactly preserved, specifically the Gokstad ship and the Tune ship.
The Oseberg ship is the best preserved Viking era longship found to date. It was discovered on a site of a farm in the proximity of Tønsberg, southern Norway, during a series of excavations that took place between 1904 and 1905 by Norwegian archaeologist Haakon Shetelig and Swedish archaeologist Gabriel Gustafson.
The second one, the Gokstad ship, was discovered near Sandefjord, located in the same county as Tønsberg, namely in Vestfold, southern Norway. Last but not least, the third ship, the Tune ship, was discovered in the municipality of Tune, in Østfold county.
The Oseberg and Gokstad ships date back to the 9th century, whereas the Tune ship is dated circa 900. Of all three, the Tune ship is the only one incomplete. Aside from the ships proper, there also several other Viking Age artefacts on display in the museum such as tent components or various grave goods.
The Oseberg ship at Kulturhistorisk museum (Viking Ship Museum), Oslo, Norway. Image source: Wikimedia Commons
The Roskilde Viking Ship Museum
The Roskilde Viking Ship Museum houses the Skuldelev ships, a group of 5 sunken ships recovered 20 kilometres north of Roskilde. These ships date back to circa 1000 when the people of Roskilde decided to deliberately sink them in the Roskilde fjord in order to protect themselves from the Vikings‘ incursions.
Viking Age replica ships near Roskilde Museum, Denmark. Image source: www.pixabay.com
Other Viking ship museums:
- Ladby Viking Ship Museum (Ladby, Denmark)
- Birka Viking Ship Museum (Stockholm, Sweden)
- Lofotr Viking Ship Museum (Borg, Norway)
I’ve seen the one in Norway. It is breathtaking.
Lucky you! 🙂
Too bad you don’t tell a little more about the Viking ship museum in Roskilde. Here you can see, among other things, how viking ships were built in real life in the shipyard, sail in reconstructions of some of the five Skuldelev ships, as well as seeing the original Skuldelev ships inside the museum. You get to see ,and board, the largest reconstructed Viking age ship, warship‘Havhingsten’, the beautiful merchant ship, the Knarr’Ottar’ as well as the smaller equally beautiful warship ‘Helge Ask’.
Hello Annmette,
First of all, I apologise for the long delay but I will do my best to edit this article in the future to also include information on the Roskilde Viking Ship Museum.
All the best,
Sincerely,
Victor
I had the chance to see the Roskilde 6 Viking Ship when it was on tour outside of Denmark. It was such an experience to see the longest Viking ship ever found. Thanks for the view and report of these ships.
You’re most welcome, Marc! Thank you for your readership! 🙂