Vikingopplevelser Archives

Borrekaupangen 2026 – Borderless trade

From 3–5 July, the 2026 edition of Borrekaupangen – Boundless Trade will take place at Prestegårdsstranda in Horten.

For three days, you can step into the world of the Vikings and meet warriors, performers, and craftspeople who bring history to life. There will be plenty of activities for the youngest visitors.

Borre vikinglag

The team is Norway's oldest Viking team, and among its members are all types of people, from archaeologists to farmers with a common interest in Viking times, history, Viking activities and the preservation of old crafts. Most of the team members make their own equipment.

The purpose is to spread knowledge about the history of Borre and Vestfold, especially in the Iron Age/Viking Age, and to expand knowledge about daily life and crafts in this period. Through practical knowledge of how the Vikings lived and active collaboration with archaeologists and professionals, history is continued. Here you can experience more than reading about history, and join in living like a Viking! The Viking team therefore makes clothes, tools, boats and equipment as the Vikings did. Through their work, commitment and enthusiasm, the image of the Viking Age is communicated to the public through activities at events and seminars. Midgard Viking Center is one of the Viking team's partners.

Vikinghike and Mead Tasting

Guided tour where you get to experience Tønsberg's rich Viking history!

Explore impressive Viking ships at Vikingodden, see craft traditions come to life, and take part in historical highlights such as Slottsfjellet and the city's iconic viewpoints.

The tour includes mead tasting – either as a break on the road or an atmospheric ending.

Duration approx. 2 hours.

Price in NOK. (With a taste of 3 different meads). Non-alcoholic can also be offered.

Sandefjord Viking Park

Just outside the town center you will find Gokstadhaugen, where the famous Gokstad ship was found in 1879. Of the four Viking ships found in Norway, three have been found in Vestfold.

The Oseberg Viking Heritage Foundation has set itself the goal of making copies of all of these. Previously, Oseberg Viking Heritage has made an archaeological replica of the Oseberg ship «Saga Oseberg» and an interpretation (as there is too little left of the original ship to make a replica) of the Klåstad ship «Saga Farmann». Now it's the biggest of them all, the Gokstad ship, that is up next.

Over the next few years, anyone can follow and / or participate in the construction of an archaeological replica of the Gokstad ship. Centrally located in both Sandefjord and Tønsberg there are construction activities. The Viking park is a part of Badeparken, between Scandic Park Hotel and the ferry terminal in Sandefjord.

Right next to the famous Whaling Monument in Sandefjord, there is a landing site for large oak logs to be split and chopped into ship planks. Various ship parts will be produced here. All work will be done with the same kind of tools and old techniques from the Viking Age. Here you can learn old traditional crafts.

The ship parts will be transported from Sandefjord to Tønsberg by Viking ship. In Tønsberg, where the Viking shipyard itself is located, the parts will be further processed and mounted on the ship. Here you will also have the opportunity to follow and participate in the construction down on "Vikingodden" in the middle of Tønsberg harbor.

Vikingodden

On a voluntary basis, Oseberg Viking Heritage has built an archaeological replica of this ship only using tools and construction methods identical to what was used in the Viking Age. The construction took place on Vikingodden on the pier in Tønsberg, and here you can also see the copy of the Oseberg ship, Saga Oseberg, and the copy of another famous find: the Klåstad ship, which has been given the name, Saga Farmann. The original Klåstad ship is now the only Viking ship you can see at a museum in Norway and it is at the Slottsfjell Museum.

Saga Oseberg and Saga Farmann can be seen on Vikingodden all year round, except when they are on a cruise.

In 2021, the construction of an archaeological replica of the Gokstad ship also began. The construction will take place both at Vikingodden in Tønsberg and at the Whaling Monument in Sandefjord. Here you have the opportunity to join and build ships with the Vikings' tools.

At Vikingodden, there are skilled guides in place on the weekends who can tell you about Vestfold's rich Viking history.

Kiosk with souvenirs and gift items.

Oseberg Viking Heritage offers Viking activities and trips with the Viking ship Saga Oseberg for groups from 10-300 people!

Read more about Oseberg Viking Heritage on the website osebergvikingarv and sagaoseberg.com

The Viking Ship Saga Oseberg

Viking Group activities 10 – 300 people

As a crew on board the Viking ship, Saga Oseberg, you can learn more about the Viking era. Meet the "Høvedsmann" (skipper) on the pier. After a small rowing-course, you will learn the words, expressions and rules on board. Then the group are ready for rowing the Tønsberg harbor and historic areas to Vestfjorden. Hear the exciting story of the Viking era, the Oseberg find, the Oseberg ship and the Oseberg women, and the construction of Saga Oseberg. Maybe there will be a rowing contest?

For large groups Saga Oseberg can be combined with smaller Viking boats and activities at Vikingodden.

Tailored programs for each group.

Mølen

Mølen is Norway's largest beach of pebbles, and it is a part of Vestfoldraet: the terrain left behind after the end of the most recent Ice Age 10.000 years ago.

The cultural landscape of Mølen, with its total of 230 cairns from the Iron Age, is one of the most majestic landscapes in Norway. The area has 16 large cairns, many up to 35 metres in diameter, with almost 200 small cairns in rows parallel to the shoreline. The cairns probably served as "sea markers" along the shipping lanes between different trading centres. This, combined with its striking natural beauty and position on the edge of the sea, makes it a must-see when visiting the area.

You can enjoy a lovely view of the sea at Mølen, and also study the beautiful type of stone called larvikite, a speciality for the Larvik area. There are actually more than 100 different types of rock at Mølen, and a total of 316 different bird species has also been found.
The arrival and departure of the migratory birds is a real treat for visitors. Twice a year the migrants visit wonderful Mølen, heading north in springtime and eventually heading back south when autumn looms.

In the summer of 2008 Mølen was officially made into an UNESCO Geopark Area.

If you want to get to Mølen by walking, the coastal path is easily accessible from either Helgeroa or Nevlunghavn.

Welcome to Mølen!

The burial area of Istrehågan

The cultural monument Istrehågan consists of five stone settings and two ship settings. The biggest one is 25 metres long and consists of 18 single erect stones.

The Istrehågan burial ground is clearly visible up on a ridge. It is strategically located along the ancient road that runs through Tjølling from Sandar over Istre and on towards Tjodalyng (Tjølling church). Along the ridge there are several burial monuments from the Iron Age. Traces of the road are still found, among other things in the form of the path east of the burial field and several so-called hollow ways, which appear as ditches in the terrain south of the stone deposits.

Archeological excavations were undertaken in the early 1960s, and the restored burial ground is considered one of the best preserved cultural monuments of its kind.

Discoveries nearby indicate that there were settlements in this area as early as the Stone Age and the Bronze Age.

Practical information
Its forbidden to have bonfires in the burial area
Camping is not allowed
Horse riding only on the path
Clean up after your self – don’t leave food or garbage
Show respect, this is a burial area and our heritage.

Thank you for showing respect!

The Viking Ship Saga Oseberg

Experience the Oseberg ship
The Oseberg Viking Inhertiance Foundation has built an exact copy of this ship on a voluntary basis. In the construction process only tools and construction methods identical to what was used during the construction of the original ship in the Viking era was applied.

You can visit the copy of the Oseberg ship at the harbor in Tønsberg.

A copy of the beautiful carved bow can also be seen at The Slottsfjell Museum.

The Klåstadship
The foundation Oseberg Vikingarv has also built a copy of another famous Viking discovery – The Klåstad ship. The original ship is located at The Slottsfjell Museum. A third ship named Saga Farmann was launched at the harbour of Tønsberg in September 2018.

In 2021, the construction of an archaeological replica of the Gokstad ship also started. The construction will take place both at Vikingodden in Tønsberg and by the Whaling Monument in Sandefjord. Here you have the opportunity to join and build ships with the Vikings' tools.

At the building site, called Vikingodden, The Foundation has a little shop where viking souvenirs and gift items are sold.

The Viking hall “Gildehallen”

When reconstructing such a hall, the first problem is that you simply do not know what they looked like.

The hall has therefore been reconstructed based on archaeological theories, and mythical sources such as e.g. the legend of Beowulf seriously when deciding on the hall's design. The result is a building that is completely unique in the world – in addition to being a delight both for the eye and for those interested in history.

On the outside, roof shavings have been painstakingly laid, and the roof is adorned with a beautiful ridge crest. The lyra is decorated with beautiful wood carvings, and the main entrance has a beautifully carved portal.

Inside, the hall is equipped with a fireplace, benches and tables with hand-carved table supports, and Odin's ravens Hugin and Munin have found themselves comfortably at home among the beams.

The exquisite wood carvings on the center pillars in the hall each tell their own story, which together form the background for the hall. The stories that are told were already myths in the Viking Age, and it is conceivable that they adorned such halls even then. The wood carvings are done by hand (a machine is used to mill down the depth), and are shaped based on the so-called Vestfold style, mainly based on finds from Oseberg.

Many of the building parts have been processed by hand with axes and planers. It has been approximately 2,800 m2 that has been given an almost contemporary surface, and we applaud the skill and soul put into the work by craftsmen over a long period of time, summer and winter. This is a building to be proud of.

Ceramics and beautiful Viking glasses for serving have mostly arrived, and leather traps from spelsau to sit on. However, we do not want to stop here, and hope to see the walls adorned with tapestries, a high seat the hall must have, and other things we can think of!

History
From archeology we know this type of hall building from the fourth century onwards. They usually consist of a large room, where the hearth served as the central source of light and heat. Artifacts found in these halls indicate that they had an official function. Common finds are exclusive glass, weapons, gold and other objects that stand out from everyday life and work. The hall can be considered a ceremonial space suitable for expressing and maintaining the family and the importance of the family line. The finds in the halls are consistent with this in the form of traces of high seats, remains of meals and drinking rituals. Weddings and funerals were most likely held here, where inheritance and property were passed on to future generations.

Borrehaugene

In the period from 600 to 900 AD, nine great mounds were constructed at Borre.

On site there are three huge piles of stone amongst the mounds, which contribute towards the monumental character of the place. Nowhere else in Northern Europe are there more large mounds in one single location. The great mounds are evidence of political power, expressed through monumental symbols. Borre was probably the ultimate place for leaders to manifest their honour, even after life. Previously it was thought that it was members of a particular family, The Ynglinge clan, who were buried here – but recent research based on DNA analysis indicates that such large burial sites tend to contain people from several families. It was likely the spot itself – as well as its connection to previous leaders – what made this place an attractive location to be buried at.

Large parts of the eastern slopes of the ridge between Åsgårdstand and Horten were agricultural areas at the time when the burial site was established. The mounds consist of lots of old cultivated soil – this as a result of the area being used to grow crops before the mounds were erected. The site is strategically located, by the entrance to the Oslo fjord. The location indicates that the purpose of building these mounds here was for them to be visible from the water.

Only one of the major mounds on the Borre site has been completely excavated, and this happened in 1852. From this excavation hail the marvellous Borre finds. Unfortunately, due to the inexpert excavation of the Ship mound in Borre, a lot of knowledge was lost in the process. The find is nevertheless considered to be in line with the ship graves from Tune and Gokstad.