Take A Tour of Bygdoy And Discover The Viking Museum, Oslo

Visit the Viking Museum and find some of the lost Viking culture

Surrounded by a rose garden, the Viking Museum is one of the most visited museums in Oslo. This museum is located in a very pleasant area, only a 2 minute walk from the sea, with a terrific view of the Oslo Fjord.

The museum was built during the early XX century, and hosts some of the main findings from the Viking era. Here you can admire the Oseberg ship, Gokstad ship, Tune ship, and several artifacts, such as sledges, horse carts, wood carvings, and many others. Near the main entrance you can also enjoy the shop area with several nice souvenirs related to the Viking culture.

Find one of the last examples of Viking ship in the world, Oslo

The Oseberg ship is one of the best preserved Viking ships in the world. The ship was found by Knut Rom in 1903. Knut Rom, a farmer from Slagen, Vestfold, had dug into his property and found what he believed was a ship.

Professor Gabriel Gustafson took care of the finding process, and discovered that the ship was a Viking ship dating back to the IX century A.C. The restoration work lasted 21 years, and after working hard, slowly, yet precisely, came the result of this whole wooden carved ship that you can see in the picture above.

The Oseberg ship was a burial ship where two old ladies were buried in 834 A.C. Besides their remains, archaeologists found carved animals, artifacts, personal effects, tents, carpets, and many other findings.

Admire the Gokstad ship and discover its story

In 1879 two teenagers, sons of the farmer of the Gokstad farm in Sandefjord, were bored and started to dig into a mound on their property. It’s easy to imagine what they found.

The Gokstad ship was built around 850 A.C, and probably used to sail. The ship is made of oak with 16 oar holes on each side; meaning there would have been a crew of 34 units.

Also this ship was used as a burial ship, indeed it was found with the remains of a middle aged Viking warrior, who probably died in a fight around 900 A.C. This man, figured to be in his 40s, was about 181 to 183 cm tall, and probably a relevant person since archaeologists also found scraps of silk interwoven with gold thread.

Sink into the Viking culture discovering its artifacts

In the final part of your visit at the Viking Museum you will reach a wide artifacts area. Here you can admire artifacts from the Viking era, such as wooden carved sledges, wooden carved animals, utensils,golden jewels, a tent and many others. Near this area it’s also located a little room where you can see old Viking wovens such as carpets,clothes and tents. Beside these findings, you can also read some information in the English language, and learn more of the Viking history.