Ribe Viking Centre

[mothwing]

The Ribe Viking centre go look at that page!) is a living history centre which uses volunteers from Denmark to play Vikings and introduce visitors to their various crafts. To boost their numbers they also take volunteers without any special skills (who then get to camp close to the centre for free in exchange for being a Viking for a few weeks), and Crocky and I were seriously tempted. They get lot f German visitors, after all, and need to translate for them, too. 

It has three different sites, a marketplace from around 710, a town from around 825, and a manor farm with a long house from 980. The buildings are all reconstructions from buildings archeologists found on the site, and they're fascinating to walk through. 


Inside the longhouse on the manor farm. 




The norns. 

The manor house from 980. 


The sleeping quarters of the head of the household and his family. 

The hall in which the Vikings took their meals. 


Fireplace and kitchen. 






A goose!


Storage building and farm. 


Paraphernalia used by the Völve, the druidess following the Old Norse rather than the Christian religion. 


"Warrior training" for the younger present-day Vikings under the firm hand of someone who I believe is a Northern German history student. 




Harbour and viking boat in front of manor farm.

Comments

[therealsnape.livejournal.com]

It's like stepping into Asterix's village. Thanks for sharing, and that website with the picture walk is seriously good.

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

The website is glorious, and it's about one tenth as awesome as that place. You get to churn butter with Vikings! What could beat that?