Frederikssund Viking Settlement
Frederikssund Frederikssund Viking settlement
Kalvøvej 26, 3600 Frederikssund
It is not without reason that Frederikssund is proud of its name: Viking town. In 60 years, active citizens listed Vikings game every summer, and this has made the city and Viking myths known in many parts of the world.
Frederikssund Vikings have performed for international audiences, just as they have been invited to guest appearances in such. Iceland, Japan, Spain, Scotland, England, Argentina, Syria, Hungary and Poland with specially adapted Vikings game.
In 1993 grew the idea to expand the Viking activities with a historically accurate reconstructed village that could give the audience a chance to experience how the Vikings lived and worked.
 |
| Frederikssund Viking settlement |
It was natural to seek the Viking settlement located on Kalvøen, right next to Viking stage and on the banks of Roskilde Fjord along which excavations have shown that the real Vikings actually lived.
Therefore formed per. January 1, 1994 the independent institution Frederikssund Viking Settlement, in cooperation with Frederikssund Municipality, Frederiksborg County, Culture, Labor Market Authority, Ministry of Education, the Danish Outdoor Council and a number of private foundations began construction of a cluster pit houses, a plank and a jetty which serves as a landing place for Viking ships sailing on Roskilde Fjord.
Frederikssund Viking Settlement is an open-air museum, which is normally not charged entrance of the visitors.
On the other hand, there is not employed permanent tour guides or custodians. Knowledgeable tour can be ordered at the
Tourist Information
Center.
The entire facility is placed under the public protection, and we ask that you treat the settlement gently and lovingly.
 |
| Frederikssund Viking settlement |
The Viking settlement 's Grube Houses
The Viking settlement was built five pit houses, ie small semi-underground houses that served as workshops and in some cases as temporary housing.
Common to all is the pit houses the recessed floor level (pit) and that the roof has been carried by two strong posts, there has been arranged opposite each other in the edge of the pit.
 |
| Frederikssund Vikinggame 2013 |
When archaeologists find traces of pit houses today, then it is usually only the underground mine and the remains of two powerful roof-supporting pillars that are left. In fortunate cases you can also find traces, showing how the walls have been constructed, for example. of planks or wattle with daub.
The superstructure on the other hand, we know nothing, and that is where architects specializing in restoration of ancient buildings comes into the picture. For reconstruction drawings for vikingebopladsens houses architect Holger Schmidt worked as a consultant. What we have tried to show with the five pit houses, the variations found in the houses' floor plan that can be round, oval or square.
In practical experiments remains to be seen whether any of the reconstructed houses are found to have inadequate design features and the experiences we make at this point will be value-full when the next generation of pit houses will be built.
 |
| Viking settlement Grube House 1 |
Grube house 1 is based on the habit of the late Viking Age, which was excavated in 1986 at Tvedmosegaard on Stevns. The house is buried 1 m.
The walls consist of very wide bulkheads of 4 cm thickness.
All timber is chopped and chipped oak trees and the coarse construction is partly covered by clay on the inside.
In the north-western corner of the house, a 60 x 80 cm large furnace has been built with a Clay cap.
 |
| Viking settlement Grube House 2 |
Grube house 2 is based on a former Viking era, which was excavated in 1994 at Vestby Mark at Selsø.
The house is buried 50 cm. The walls consist of a flattery.
Externally, the walls of the stacked gravel are protected and the soil from the gravel is excavated.
 |
| Viking settlement Grube House 3 |
Grube house 3 has its starting point in the habit, even from early Viking Age, which was excavated in 1995 at Vestby Mark by Selsø.
The house is oval shaped, measuring 270 x 310 cm. The roof is carried by a backpack and 2 soles with a round cross section located freely inside the building.
In the western point of the wall there is an additional post (sule). By this proud is a cracked door inserted.
 |
| Viking settlement Grube House 4 |
Pit house 4 has its basis in house-remnant excavated at Vestby Mark at Selsø.
The walls consist of a flimsy mesh, which is mud-built. At the east gannet is set up a 3 x 80 x 115 cm large cracked door.
The house is thatched with seaweed on the ridge beam.
 |
| Viking settlement Grube House 5 |
Pit house 5 has its basis in house-remnant from the late Viking excavated at Vestby Mark at Selsø.
The walls consist of mud-built mesh. The house is approximately 12 m2.
On the east side is a narrow door near the corner of the house, and the downturn sides by mesh. The house's southeast corner an a fireplace in the form of a smoke house.
longhouse
Where pit houses represent workshop huts and temporary housing, then the Longhouse Viking permanent housing. Long housings may be arranged in various ways, depending on what purpose they will serve.
 |
| The general long house |
The general long house in villages were often split into a stable end and an accommodation forward, whereas the finer long houses or 'halls' had a very large central space 'hall', which was used for gatherings of various kinds. Often, in addition to the hall, which was the middle of the house, one room at each gable end, these spaces could have different functions.
The plan for the long house, which forms the model of the longhouse at the Viking settlement was unearthed during an archaeological dig in 1995 in a field just south of Gershøj Church in Hornsherred. This house was about 25 m long, but the practicalities of reconstruction shortened by a few meters. Long houses could either be built in wooden walls as vertical bulkonstruktion or planks, or clay walls with risflet.
 |
|
Midsummer night with the Vikings |
The Viking settlement we have for economic reasons chose the clay walls. The roof could be straw or chip, and here we have chosen to put straw.
One should especially note that the longhouse form is characterized by the curved longitudinal walls. This design features first appear in the Migration Period and are common in the Viking Age. The most famous houses of this type we find in the Viking fortresses Trelleborg, Fyrkat and Aggersborg, but everywhere in the country is found houses of the same type of Viking settlements.
The largest houses which presumably owned by chiefs and petty kings, could measure up to ca. 50 m in length and 11 m in width, that is, twice the size of the housing on long Viking- settlement.
Halls of these dimensions is excavated at Gl. Lejre at Roskilde.
Midsummer night with the Vikings - read here
The show lasts 2 x 55 min. - and then there are about 30 min. break, where you can visit Valhalla Square, where stalls and kiosks have lots of exciting offers.