Get to know the Vikings in Viking Town
The Vikings; much maligned, much admired and much misunderstood. Controversial and fascinating in equal measure, we all seem to be fascinated by their story — real or fictional? You can watch Hollywood movies about them, or documentaries on TV, but Foteviken Museum and Viking Town in Vellinge is the only place on the planet that brings the true Viking story to life in the setting of a real Viking town.
Foteviken Museum, included in the Lonely Planet bucket list of 500 destinations, is an open-air museum and within its confines is Viking Town, a historically accurate reconstruction of a late Viking Age town that was built to illuminate the daily lives of the Vikings who lived in this area and to promote and develop maritime archaeology in the region. Job done — it does both beautifully and realistically with a population of Vikings; well, members of the local Viking society who re-enact scenes from their daily lives actually. If you want to know about Vikings this is the place to come.
Forward-thinking local municipality, Vellinge allocated land for the project and its activities back in the mid-1990s and we should all be glad it did because Viking Town is world unique and a must for anyone who wants to experience how the Vikings really lived their lives.
“Foteviken Museum was established as a municipal museum in Vellinge in 1995. The purpose of the museum is to shed light on the Viking Age in the area and the maritime history along the coast and coastal waters,” says Björn M Jakobsen, whose idea it was to create the museum and who has been living in the area since 1981. He continues; “In 1996 work started on the planning and design of the Viking town in an open-air, archaeological museum format — so far the world’s first and only attempt to recreate a late Viking Age town, reconstructed using the materials and techniques of the time — as historically accurate as possible — based on the available archaeological and historical source materials. And visitors actually get to meet Vikings here who live and work in the town. Lonely Planet has included Fotoviken Museum on its bucket list of 500 destinations and there really is something for everyone here who is interested in culture. We still get some people, mostly Americans, who believe that we are a real Viking reservation and ask how many of them we have in Sweden!”
So, what can we learn about the Vikings at Viking Town? How about slow-food, unique handicrafts, shipbuilding, architecture, wood working, jewelry making, metal working…It’s an authentic Viking town after all and the people here are busy living their lives. There are no glass display cases and no long descriptions of exhibits to read here. You can browse the market, dress like a Viking, eat like a Viking, behave like a Viking; no pillaging or plundering though! The museum puts on a bundle of cool activities for big kids and small and a visit or stay here just might be the highlight of your holiday.
There’s a lot to admire about the Viking lifestyle, as you will find out at Viking Town and perhaps some lessons for how we should live our lives today.
“My interest in the Vikings was rekindled when I started working on an archaeological dig on five Viking ships and through that I found myself following their journeys in Scandinavia. I also studied marine archaeology and was fascinated by the fantastic design and characteristics of their ships.” He continues. “I have browsed their markets, sailed on one of their ships and lived in a Viking dwelling and a tent. Everyone knows that the Vikings come from the north and sailed around Europe trading, pillaging, fighting and conquering as they went. But we should remember that as well as being expert seamen, they were very good craftspeople and farmers.”
Foteviken Museum is not your average weekend away — it’s much better. Just 30 minutes from the trendy and eco-cool city of Malmö, compare the authentic lifestyle of the Vikings with the modern Swede; the Vikings are their ancestors after all.
Visit
Foteviken museum, Höllviken
The museum is open during the summer season. For opening hours visit
http://www.fotevikensmuseum.se/d/en
