Viking Ship Museum, Roskilde, Denmark

The Viking Ship Museum (Vikingeskibsmuseet) is the Danish national museum for ships, seafaring and boatbuilding in the prehistoric and medieval period.

Around the year 1070, five Viking ships were deliberately sunk at Skuldelev in Roskilde Fjord in order to block the most important fairway and to protect Roskilde from enemy attack from the sea. These ships, later known as the Skuldelev ships, were excavated in 1962. They turned out to be five different types of ships ranging from cargo ships to ships of war.

The Viking Ship Museum overlooks Roskilde Fjord and was built in 1969 especially to exhibit the five newly-discovered ships. In the late 1990s excavations for an expansion of the museum uncovered a further 9 ships including the longest Viking warship ever discovered, at 36 metres.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Mike B (2 months ago)
If visiting Denmark, it is not far from Copenhagen. Overall a nice size museum, plus outdoor activities for children and even active restoration of Viking ship. We did not do the sailing, but it looked quite nice, reservations are needed in advance.

Pietro Splatters (9 months ago)
Not very big or with many things to see, but good text and story to read. It's worth a visit, if you've 1 hours free here around.

Riikka V (10 months ago)
I would highly recommend the guided tour, it was the highlight of our visit. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and casual which made it very enjoyable (thanks Emile!)

Piotr Król (11 months ago)
Wonderful place. Very good exhibitions and activities (take a Viking boat and try to sail through the fjord!) Perfect Tour guides!

Elisabeth Wyffels (11 months ago)
Nice museum but it could be a bit more interactive. A lot of information to read. The tour in the vikingship was a nice experience and highly recommended.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright CucombreLibre

Historic Site of the week

Gruyères Castle

The Castle of Gruyères is one of the most famous in Switzerland. It was built between 1270 and 1282, following the typical square plan of the fortifications in Savoy. It was the property of the Counts of Gruyères until the bankruptcy of the Count Michel in 1554. His creditors the cantons of Fribourg and Bern shared his earldom. From 1555 to 1798 the castle became residence to the bailiffs and then to the prefects sent by Fribourg.

In 1849 the castle was sold to the Bovy and Balland families, who used the castle as their summer residency and restored it. The castle was then bought back by the canton of Fribourg in 1938, made into a museum and opened to the public. Since 1993, a foundation ensures the conservation as well as the highlighting of the building and the art collection.

The castle is the home of three capes of the Order of the Golden Fleece. They were part of the war booty captured by the Swiss Confederates (which included troops from Gruyères) at the Battle of Morat against Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy in 1476. As Charles the Bold was celebrating the anniversary of his father's death, one of the capes is a black velvet sacerdotal vestment with Philip the Good's emblem sewn into it.

A collection of landscapes by 19th century artists Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Barthélemy Menn and others are on display in the castle.

Do you know an ancient castle or magnificent church near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory.com.

It's absolutely free, easy, and doesn't even need registration!

Upload data

Viking Ship Museum

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Landmarks of Sicily

Rhodes, The Island of Knights

Great Spa Towns of Europe

Historic Site of the week

Gruyères Castle

Looks like you are a history fan!