Viking ships to stay berthed at Bygdøy

Norway’s famed Viking ships won’t be moved to a new museum that some historians and city officials have been promoting for years. A new study declared the ancient wooden ships to be too fragile to withstand transport from their longtime museum berth on Oslo’s Bygdøy peninsula. It was a day of news involving some of [...]

Viking ships stay berthed on Bygdøy

Norway’s authentic, famed Viking ships now seem unlikely to leave their berths in the Viking Ships Museum on Oslo’s Bygdøy peninsula, following a decision by the board of the University of Oslo to consider alternatives to another location. For years, officials at the university have been urging a move from what they claim is an [...]

Viking ship sunk near Shetland

A replica Viking ship known as Dragens Vinge (“The Dragon’s Wing”) has sunk on its way from Norway to the Shetland Islands in Scotland, with seven people needing to be rescued by emergency services. The boat, built based on methods used in the thirteenth century, left Sandnes in south-west Norway on Monday. But reports of [...]

Viking ship not just ceremonial

For years, it was widely believed that the ancient Tune ship on display at the Viking Ships Museum in Oslo was used mainly as a so-called “grave ship,” perhaps even built for the purpose of being buried in the grave of an important Viking. Now a new doctoral dissertation claims that it was not only [...]

Full-scale Viking replica to be built

Volunteers are aiming to complete and sail a full-scale replica of Norway’s famed Oseberg ship, one of the best-preserved and most celebrated Viking relics in the world, later this year. Enthusiasts working in Tønsberg, southern Norway – home port of the original Oseberg vessel – are carrying out their work in Viking dress and with [...]

Viking ships stay berthed, for now

Plans to move Norway’s precious Viking ships from the existing Viking Ships Museum in Oslo to a new, proposed museum on the other side of town have been put on ice. The government minister responsible for the ancient vessels wants to be sure, among other things, that they would tolerate being moved. “I want a [...]

New images may yield Viking ships

Archaeologists think they have found two more Viking ships buried in Vestfold County south of Oslo. The biggest may be 25 metres long, larger than any found so far. Road construction near the old Viking trading center at Kaupang has led to the discovery of two large ship silhouettes on ground radar pictures. The pictures have been made possible [...]

Viking ship for sale

Ever wanted to sail your very own Viking ship? A family in Norway’s historic whaling port of Sandefjord is offering one for sale, an exact replica of the famous Oseberg ship excavated in 1904 and on display at the Viking Ships Museum in Oslo. The newer vessel was built from 2007 to 2009 at a [...]

Great ‘museum shuffle’ plays on

The government minister in charge of building a new museum for such national treasures as the Viking ships and medieval artifacts was supposed to decide on its location in February. Tora Aasland felt forced to delay her decision, however, because of massive public debate, disagreements with city officials in Oslo and a need for more [...]

Viking ships likely to stay put

Plans to move Norway’s national treasure, the Viking ships Oseberg and Gokstad , to a new museum on Oslo’s eastern waterfront probably won’t sail. A new report advises against the move, to preserve both the ships and public funds. If any new museum is to be built, the report advises that it be built where [...]