Viking Denmark
Viking Denmark
There is, apparently, no place in Denmark where one can be further than 50km from the sea – a perfect homeland for the Vikings, whose impact was widely felt in Europe and beyond between the 9th and 11th centuries.
Adept seamen and shipwrights and able to muster considerable bodies of armed men, they travelled as far as Newfoundland in the west, and the Caspian sea in the East, taking their rich traditions of artistic expression, story-telling and building skills with them.
There is, apparently, no place in Denmark where one can be further than 50km from the sea – a perfect homeland for the Vikings, whose impact was widely felt in Europe and beyond between the 9th and 11th centuries.
This journey through their homelands will start at their southern land defence, the Danevirke, and will explore the evidence for their towns, their burial monuments and, perhaps most importantly, the remains of their ships, including the chance to sail in a replica at Roskilde. John Hines is particularly knowledgeable about the Viking legends and sagas, and he will weave these into the archaeological journey.Whilst the focus of the tour is the Vikings, it would be hard to pass by some impressive discoveries dating to earlier periods, such as the famous Iron Age bog bodies, preserved by the wet terrain, and the richly decorated Gundestrup cauldron of the 1st century BC (in the National Museum).
We also see fine examples of more recent traditional architecture, such as Roskilde’s lovely cathedal.