Norway Is Building A New Viking Age Museum In Oslo

20.03.2024 - 16:09 / forbes.com

Norway’s Oseberg and Gokstad Viking ships are among the world’s greatest archaeological finds from the Viking Age. Following careful excavation and restoration, the ships are preserved in Oslo for future generations to enjoy.

Unfortunately for those relying on dated guidebooks, the popular Viking Ship Museum that housed the ships has been closed to the public since October 2021.

The museum, originally designed for 40,000 annual visitors, received half a million visitors in its final year of opening, putting the fragile ships at an ever increasing risk.

In its place, an all-new Museum of the Viking Age is under construction, which will safeguard the ships for future generations. Although hit by political arguments, conflicts over budget, and pandemic-related delays, work on the museum is continuing and it’s now set to open in 2027.

Museum communications adviser Mari Parelius Wammer says the aim is for the new facility to become the world’s leading guide to the Viking Age: “Our visitors will get up close to the best-preserved Viking ships in the world’s leading Viking Age collection.”

Anyone who visited the previous museum will be surprised by the planned improvements in size and breadth of the exhibitions.

“The new museum will be more than three times the size of the old Viking Ship Museum. While the former museum exhibited three ships and approximately 350 artifacts, the new museum will exhibit more than 5,500 objects, covering a much broader part of Viking Age history,” explains Wammer.

One of the reasons for the lengthy closure is the need to safeguard the delicate Viking ships. Given the importance of climate-control and eliminating vibrations wherever possible, it’s not been practical to leave the ships on display during the closure.

In addition, the ships had to be protected from construction vibrations, which could potentially damage them. Stabilization technology used on North Sea oil and gas platforms has been deployed to safeguard the ships during this critical phase.

Wammer also explains they are “back on track” following financial-related delays: “We can see the outline of the exhibition halls, and the solid platforms where our Viking ships will be safely on display. When the new museum building is finished, the ships will be moved into their new space.”

Although the new museum won’t open its doors until 2027, visitors to Norway hoping to gain a deeper understanding of the Viking Age still have plenty of options.

At Oslo’s Historical Museum, you can see exquisite jewelry, gold treasures, and weapons from the Viking Age, while understanding the war culture, overseas voyages, and how society changed during the era. These artifacts are among those which will be moved to the new facility in