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Vikings

The Viking Age was the years between 750 – 1100 when people from Norway, Sweden and Denmark made a name for themselves and became a political force to be reckoned with throughout Europe. From their travels in Europe, they adopted new ideas, cultural impulses and a new religion – Christianity.

The Vikings are best known as pirates and warriors, but they were also sailors, merchants, craftsmen, farmers, fishermen, poets, explorers and nation-builders. The Scandinavian national states were founded during the Viking Age. And it is now the Northerners develop a vessel that better organized and wealthier societies on the Continent don’t have; The Viking ship. It was the seaworthiness of the Viking ships, together with the sailors’ knowledge of navigation and seamanship, which made it possible for them to conquer the ocean .

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Viking Farm

The Viking Farm is situated a ten minutes’ walk from the Middle Age church at Avaldsnes. You will find it on a small, forested island, just inside the rocks where king Olav Tryggvason in 998 drowned a group of wizards.

In the farmyard you will find a longhouse, a boat house for a Viking warship, a roundhouse and several smaller buildings. Outside the farmyard there are paths through the forest for those who will just seek some peace and tranquility.

In the summer season the Viking Farm is open for tourists. All year in the evenings and in weekends it is possible to rent the longhouse for guided tours and banquets. Each year in June there is a Viking Festival at the Viking Farm. Then Vikings from many countries set up their tents among the reconstructed buildings.

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The sagas tell that king Olav Tryggvason opened several burial mounds at Avaldsnes. (Photo Ørjan Iversen) The sagas tell that king Olav Tryggvason opened several burial mounds at Avaldsnes. (Photo Ørjan Iversen)

History Centre

Nordvegen History Centre tells the story about how Avaldsnes became The First Royal Throne of Norway. Harald Fairhair, the king who unified Norway into one kingdom, will present you for princes and kings who ruled the “North Way” from Avaldsnes.

Some of these rulers we know from the sagas of the Norwegian kings, the heroic sagas and old skaldic poems. Others have become known to us through archaeological digs.
You will also get a glimpse into the magic world that people once believed to be true and meet sorcerers, shield maidens and Norse gods.

At the Nordvegen History Centre, we tell these stories of old using films, sound clips, lights, figures and objects. WELCOME TO AN EXCITING VISIT!

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