The Viking Ship Hall

Facts

Ships in a brutal" setting "

By Ebbe Keld Pedersen, Arkitekt MAA (2 stories)

In the 1950s, the wrecks of several Viking ships were found at the bottom of Roskilde Fjord. It was decided to build an exhibition centre for the ships on a beachfront site by the fjord. The architect Erik Chr. Sørensen won the contract to design the building, and in 1968 the Viking Ship Hall opened. The concrete structure represents a school of architecture called Brutalism. The Viking Ship Hall is the most expressive Danish representative of this trend in international architecture. The building was listed in 1998.

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The Sea Stallion from Glendalough

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Story written by Tinna Damgård-Sørensen

Time / Periode 2007

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As it takes to the sea from Roskilde in Denmark, the 30-metre Viking longship has a voyage of more than 2,000 nautical miles ahead of it. The wind is filling the 112 m2 square-rigged sail, and at the 60 oars, the crew is rowing hard. The year is 2007, and the longship is the ’Sea Stallion from Glendalough’, a reconstruction of the Viking warship known as ’Skuldelev 2’, which is exhibited at the Viking Ship Hall in Roskilde. Skuldelev 2 was built in Dublin in 1042 and testifies to the contact between Denmark and Ireland during the Viking Age. But the Sea Stallion was built as an archaeological experiment at the Viking Ship Museum’s boatyard in 2000-2004. For the reconstruction, the same materials and techniques were used as for the original longship. In 2007-2008, the Sea Stallion – manned by a crew of men and women from 10 nations – undertook a trial voyage from Roskilde to Dublin and back. Covering 2,482 nautical miles along original Viking Age sailing routes, the object was to test the reconstruction. The sea trial was a success; with excellent seaworthiness, the vessel maintained an average speed of 6-8 knots. The Sea Stallion’s voyage renewed the ancient links between Roskilde and Dublin and involved people across Europe. The project raised awareness that Viking activities influenced European history, cultural identity and self-perceptions. And that the basis for it all was the longship.