Norway
IN SEARCH OF VIKINGS
BY MARI DE ARMAS
FROM CUNNING SEAFARERS TO MERCILESS WARRIORS, THE MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF VIKINGS HAVE CAPTURED THE IMAGINATION FOR GENERATIONS. IT IS DOCUMENTED THAT THEY REACHED FARAWAY SHORES FROM NEWFOUNDLAND TO CONSTANTINOPLE, YET NOWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD CAN YOU TRULY GET A SENSE FOR THEIR FASCINATING WAY OF LIFE THAN IN NORWAY.
using tools and construction methods authentic to the Viking Age. Nearby, an archaeological team has also uncovered five Viking longhouses at the site of Gjellestad, where a Viking ship was once discovered. These were the typical homes of the Iron Age, and its size was reflective of the social status of its owner. They were constructed out of basic materials and their roofs slightly resemble the bow of a ship. Among these longhouses found at Gjellstad is one of the largest ever to be recorded in all of Scandinavia. VENTURE BEYOND Inspired by the Vikings’ passion for travel, you may find yourself continuing your exploration of Norway in Stavanger. There, you can really get a sense for the way Vikings lived. Long before its o²cial founding as a city, the sheltered area
and helmets, as well as oxen or horses for them to use in the afterlife. However, at the time of this writing, the facility was undergoing extensive renovations. The Norwegians plan to reopen this attraction in 2026 with an expanded space nearly three times the size of the current museum. FURTHER AFIELD If you plan to visit before the reopening of Viking Ship Museum, an hour south of Oslo you can see a replica of the intricately carved bow of one of the excavated ships at The Slottsfjell Museum. Additionally, the museum’s Viking Hall displays Norway’s fourth Viking ship — The Klåstad ship — the only preserved ship outside of Oslo. It is well worth the trek, as this is the area where the burial mounds were first discovered. Plus, you can see an actual replica of the Klåstad in the harbor of Tønsberg, which was built
NORSEMAN’S CAPITAL Today’s Oslo buzzes with energy from modern neighborhoods, cutting-edge food and the most technologically advanced way to board a Viking ship. The Viking Planet is Norway’s first all-digital museum that combines 4D and virtual reality to transport you back thousands of years to the Viking Age. Through innovative and fascinating exhibits, you can learn about shipbuilding and navigation, weapons and wars, religion and mythology, and much more. You can even interact with holograms of Viking warriors to boot. For a more analog experience, you may be inclined to visit Oslo’s popular Viking Ship Museum, home to three burial ships that were found as part of archaeological finds. It was the practice of Vikings to bury individuals of status within a ship and surrounded by ornate gifts, like swords
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