Roskilde - The Viking Ship Museum

The Viking Ship Museum
The other main tourist attraction in Roskilde is the Viking Ship Museum. I have visited a number of Viking attractions over the years so I wasn't sure if this museum would offer anything more of interest. I was pleasantly surprised. It was very different, and very interesting as the museum is focused on the history of Viking ships, especially the five original vessels from the 11thC which had been unearthed from the local harbour. They are known as the Skuldelev Ships.

The Vikings were seafarers who sailed up and down the coast of Europe and throughout the North Atlantic area. Ships were vital to their existence.

In the late Viking Age (around 11thC) Roskilde was already a city of importance but they needed to control the sea route into Roskilde against enemy attacks. So they took five old Viking ships filled them with stones, towed them to the narrowest part of the fjord and sunk them, creating an effective barrier and protecting the city. This occurred on several occasions from a little after the middle of the 1000s. https://shorturl.at/YEwel

In 1962, the National Museum commenced the challenging task of excavating these five ships which had been sunk in two meters of water. This was a complex task and they were not sure that it would be successful. After much research and preparation on 6 July 1962, after having dammed the area, they turned on the pumps to remove the water from where the ships lay. This is considered to be one of the most groundbreaking archaeological excavations in Danish history.

After uncovering them they had to measure, register and number each piece, painstakingly remove thousands of ships parts, record and document everything, and a thousand other tasks required to preserve the items for conservation. For those who are interested, the complete and amazing process is recorded here https://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/visit-the-museum/exhibitions/the-five-viking-ships/the-excavation

They unearthed five ships – an ocean going trader, a great longship, a coastal trader, a small longship and a fishing vessel. Amazingly, by 17 October 1962, everything was back to normal in the harbour.

The Viking Ship Museum overlooking the inlet of Roskilde Fjord was built in 1969 with the main purpose of exhibiting the five newly discovered ships. The Museum’s shipyard has constructed examples of these ships, and during the summer season they are located in the Museum harbor.

The Museum is also an active experimental archaeology research centre with its own shipyard. Craftsmen, academics and seamen work together to research and learn more about their maritime cultural heritage.

The researchers identified that the great longship (No 2) was built around 1042 in Glendalough, Ireland. It was made of oak, carried a crew of 65-70 men, with 60 oars and could travel at a top speed of 13-17 knots. It was the longest of the ships at 30m. It was an ocean-going warship and was possibly the ship of a chieftain.

This ship has been totally reconstructed. They first drew each part to scale 1:10 and constructed it in cardboard. They then built a wooden model based on the cardboard construction. It was then built using the materials, tools, and methods of the Viking age. It is the largest and least well preserved ship to be constructed. As can be seen in the photo, it would not have been a very comfortable experience for the crew.

It has been named The Sea Stallion of Glendalough and has successfully completed a trial voyage from Roskilde to Dublin and back. The Sea Stallion from Glendalough is on display in the museum harbour.
https://web.archive.org/web/20120321163023/http://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/exhibitions/the-skuldelev-ships/skuldelev-2/

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Coincidentally, when Chas and I visit Ireland in 2012 we visited the ruins of a monastery in Glendalough. It is a beautiful area in County Wicklow. The monastery was founded by St Kevin, one of Ireland’s most revered saints, in the sixth century. http://monastic.ie/history/glendalough/...

Aaron, Rikke & Olivia on The Sea Stallion ..

Skuldelev 2 - The great longship

Variety of different Viking ships in the harbour

Looking over the bow of Skuldelev 2 to the harbour

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We definitely recommend a visit, if you find yourself up this way someday.

We had a lovely time. Here are some happy snaps of our trip .. 😃

Delicious Indian evening meal in Roskilde

Delicious brunch, Roskilde -- nobody went hungry !

Many such evening meals on the deck in the summer light.

Beautiful clear water for swimming.

Picnic at Moesgaard Beach
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Traditional fisherman's cottage at the beach

Giber Creek which runs through Moesgaard forest

Marker which guides people through the forest

Moss covered tree stump

Viking day at Moesgaard ... two Viking ships taking visitors for a traditional trip

10pm twilight - summer time

Aaron and Rikke actually swimming in Aarhus harbour - 8pm

Sounds we don't hear very often in Australia. While this was a Sunday, the bells are also often heard at other times.

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A hard day on the job for the lifeguard at Moesgaard Beach. A Viking day was being held further up the beach with lots of fun activities for the kids. The sound is not so good, but you will understand what I mean