Winter at the Viking Ship Museum
Enjoy the view of the five Skuldelev ships against the icy blue waters of the fjord in the Viking Ship Hall. Here, children and adults alike can immerse themselves in the exciting audio stories about the five ships and their functions.
Let the little ones board one of the two merchant ships and travel to the Hamlet, where they can cook over the bonfire or pack the trading chest.
Read more about everything that awaits you at the Viking Ship Museum below.
Welcome to historical experiences!
Christmas activities
At the Viking Ship Museum, we invite you every day during the Christmas holidays to take a break from the Christmas events and immerse yourself in creative activities for both children and adults.
The Hamlet
The Hamlet is a children's universe where the story of the people who stayed behind when the ships sailed to distant shores in the Viking Age is unfolded.
Winter at the Boat Yard
Do you want to become an expert on Viking Ships? Join the tour and learn about how we recreate Viking Ships using Viking tools and techniques.
Maritime Archaeologists' DocuLab
Go behind the scenes in the Maritime Archaeologists' DocuLab. Here you can try your hand at maritime archaeological methods and hear about exciting finds from the past.
Guided tours
Join us on a guided tour in the Viking Ship Hall, focusing on the five original Viking ships from Skuldelev.
Climb aboard
Climb aboard the merchant ship and the warship, and 'sail along' as the walls come alive and sound and light from above complete the experience.
Audio Guide
A dramatised audio adventure takes children and adults back to the days when Viking ships sailed the seas.
Help Astrid to solve the MuseumMystery
The MuseumMystery is a digital game that takes you around the Viking ships and through the story of the Vikings' wild journeys.
New Nordic Viking food
Enjoy delicious food and the maritime atmosphere on the Museum Island overlooking the shipyard and the Viking Ship Museum's many beautiful wooden ships.
Activities all year round at the Viking Ship Museum
There is always plenty of exciting historical good experiences and fun activities for the whole family at the Viking Ship Museum, both indoor and outdoor - at land and at sea...
Feel the breath of history
The Viking Ship Museum is the only place in the world, where you can go directly from the experience of the original 1000-year-old Viking ships in the Viking Ship Hall and out to the Museum Harbor, where reconstructions of full-size Viking ships are moored.
Explore the reconstructions and the other Nordic boats in the harbor, feel the smell of salt water and tar. Touch ropes and oars as you move from bow to stern in the 30-meter-long Sea Stallion - the world's largest reconstructed Viking ship. You can do it calmly - or jump from seat to seat like a Viking ...
Historical guided tours
The Viking Ship Museum is built around the five original Viking ships from Skuldelev, which are exhibited in the Viking Ship Hall.
The five impressive Viking ships are the focus point of the story of the ships' importance to Viking society. It tells of war, raids, trade and travel - and life in the north 1000 years ago. Our skilled guides bring the original ships to life and put the discovery of the five Skuldelev ships into perspective in relation to the maritime culture of the Viking Age.
It is also the story of how the museum use experimental archaeology by reconstructing Viking ships at the shipyard, and then sail the reconstructions to learn more about the specialized travelling by sea in the Viking Age.
Family tours and activities during school holidays
Take the whole family on an imaginative tour at child's height, where everyone is involved in exciting stories about the mythology of the Vikings, their long journeys and life at sea 1,000 years ago.
Depending on the season and current themes, our skilled communicators vividly tell the old legends and share their knowledge about the Nordic gods. 'Viking Talks' are held on various topics and everyone can go along in a 'battle' in the lightning-fast longships. The special family tours are organized so that everyone in the family can join.
» See in the calendar what is happening on the day you plan to visit the Viking Ship Museum...
The Boatyard is the heart of the Museum Island
In the middle of the Museum Island is the boatyard. Here, boat builders reconstruct Viking ships and build other traditional wooden boats. The smell of fresh wood tar fills the air and the sound of the boatbuilder's axe against the tree echoes rhythmically across the shipyard.
Craft dissemination
During the year, the focus is alternately on the many different maritime crafts linked to boat building in the Viking Age. Depending on when you visit the museum, you can go through warrior training, meet the blacksmith, 'lay' rope or carve wood together with the museum's skilled craftsmen and mediators.
Sailing reconstructions of Viking ships
In the summer, you can board the reconstructions and the other Nordic boats that are docked in the museum harbour. Most of them have been built at the Viking Ship Museum's shipyard over the past 40 years. Smell the salt water and tar. Touch ropes and oars as you move from bow to stern in the 30-metre-long Sea Stallion - the world's largest reconstructed Viking ship. You can do it quietly - or balance from tuft to tuft like another Viking...
In the winter, you can walk all the way around the ships on land and touch the clinker-built boats. See the fantastic craftsmanship carried out by the Viking Ship Museum's boat builders, who uphold the unique Nordic clinker boat tradition, which is included in UNESCO's list of the world's intangible cultural heritage.
Sailing on the Roskilde Fjord
Every day during the summer from 01 May to 30 September you can experience what it was like to be a Viking on board one of the traditional Nordic boats, which are the direct descendants of Viking ships. Everyone on board takes part in rowing, setting the sail and other ‘sailor’s work’.
» Learn more about the sailing trips and book for 2025 here
Café Knarr at the Museum Island
Enjoy the atmosphere on the Museum Island and eat New Nordic Viking food in the Café Knarr, which is located with a view of the shipyard and the Viking Ship Museum's many beautiful Viking ships and historic wooden boats.
Read more about all the things happening at the Viking Ship Museum below
Events
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11:00: Guided tour in the Viking Ship Hall (ENG)
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13:00: Guided tour in the Viking Ship Hall (ENG)
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The Maritime Archaeologists' DocuLab (weekdays)
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(museum opening)
Winter at the Boat Yard (weekdays)
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The Hamlet