Viking Ship Museum

The Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde provides a glimpse into the life of the Vikings, a powerful emblem of Scandinavia. On display at the museum are five authentic thousand-year-old Viking ships.

Vindeboder 12,
4000 Roskilde

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https://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/?poditemid=5457&cHash=e50bdbedeff7b33567a3120f75dfe86a

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Roskilde Attractions and museums Guided experiences Outdoor Viking experiences

Let your inner Viking loose and sail on Roskilde Harbour aboard a life-size replica of the original ships. Learn about ancient shipbuilding techniques on Museum Island, which also has lots of activities for the kids.

At the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, you can experience the five original Viking ships that were excavated in Roskilde Fjord in 1962. The almost 1000-year-old ships are exhibited in the Viking Ship Hall and stand as black silhouettes with the fjord as a living backdrop.

The museum is beautifully situated down to Roskilde Fjord and consists of the Viking Ship Hall, the museum lake with boatyard, workshops and Café Knarr, which serves New Nordic Viking food, as well as the museum harbor with Viking ships and Nordic wooden boats.

You can also follow the boat builders up close when recreating Viking ships with raw muscle power and Viking-true tools.

And as something completely unique, you can take a firm grip on the oars and try your hand at Viking life at sea when you head out to the fjord on board a real Viking ship.

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Only 30 min. by train from Copenhagen and 25 min. by car from Copenhagen.

The 5 original Viking ships

Five legendary Viking ships were found at the bottom of Roskilde Fjord. A remarkable historical discovery. The ancient ships are on display at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, where visitors can watch as archaeologists construct replicas using Viking shipbuilding techniques. Sailing excursions on replicas of Viking ships are available in summer and kids can enjoy building their own wooden ship models.

The five Viking ships are the only ones in Denmark and represent a unique, nearly impossible, find. The ships were deliberately sunk to the bottom of Roskilde Fjord to provide a barricade to prevent the enemy from entering the fjord. They didn’t disintegrate because they were submerged and the water preserved them.

The Vikings were always a seafaring people, but these ships date from around the eleventh century, the end of the Viking Age.

Viking ships were an essential aspect of the Viking Age and one of the most important factors in defining who the Vikings were. Ships made it possible for them to explore the world and are the reason why the Viking Age is also well known outside of Scandinavia.

Tours and Viking talks

The Viking Ship Museum offer tours and Viking Talks which are conducted by their skilled guides who are history or archeology students.

Their stories bring the original ships to life and put the discovery of the five Skuldelev ships in perspective in relation to the maritime culture of the Viking Age – and provide an insight into how the Vikings changed the world with their ships.

Activities for children
Participate in educational and fun activities for children and adults.

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A visit to the Viking Ship Museum is suitable for families:

Participate in educational and fun activities for children and adults during the year when visiting the Vikingship Museum

Free parking at the museum
Café with food and drinks (children’s menus)
Active participation possible
Bringing food is allowed

You can hear the audio guide via the Museum app ‘Useeum’, and it’s both easy and safe as guests use their own smartphones. The App can be downloaded for free.

Vikingeskibsmuseet i Roskilde - Roskilde Havn - Museumsøen - for børn

MuseumMystery is a digital treasure hunt, which brings you around the Viking ships in a fun, entertaining and surprising way.

More about the activitites on the Viking Ship Museum

Visiting during Summer?

… sail on Roskilde Fjord on a reconstructed vikingship

In the summer season you can go directly from the experience of the 1000 year old Viking ships to sailing on the Viking ships’ descendants – the traditional Nordic wooden boats. These are built a thousand years later but still according to the same principles and methods that the Vikings used.

When you go out on Roskilde Fjord, you will have to use the same propellants as the Vikings did; veins and raw muscle power of those on board. Along the way, the sailing instructor will talk about rowing and sailing in the Viking Age and about the use of the traditional open boat.

Sailing on the Fjord

What’s on:

Visit the Viking Ship Museum’s Museum shop

Visit the Museum shop at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde and be inspired to find gifts with tradition, history and culture in mind. In the Museum shop you will find a large selection of Nordic design with inspiration from the Viking Age.

The shop also has ‘Viking’ groceries such as mead, specialty beers and spices.

Experiences nearby:

About us

Fjordlandet, or Fjord Country, covers the scenic areas around Roskilde Fjord and Isefjord. The towns and landscape of Fjordlandet are filled with vibrant stories, while its harbours are abuzz with activity. On a summer day you’ll encounter beach guests, sailors, fishermen, nature lovers, birdwatchers, history buffs and Viking enthusiasts.