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The five impressive Viking ships, excavated at Skuldelev in Roskilde Fjord, bear witness to the story of how important ships were for the Viking society. Learn more about how ships were built for warfare, expeditions and trade in the Viking Age - and the museum's years of work to recreate these amazing ships.

The guided tours are conducted by history and 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.

Guided tour in English
The guided tour is included in the admission for the Viking Ship Museum.

When: Every day at 11:00 in English
Meeting point: Next to the ticket sales in the Viking Ship Hall

Groups are advised to book a private tour.

The five impressive Viking ships, excavated at Skuldelev in Roskilde Fjord, bear witness to the story of how important ships were for the Viking society. Learn more about how ships were built for warfare, expeditions and trade in the Viking Age - and the museum's years of work to recreate these amazing ships.

The guided tours are conducted by history and 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.

Guided tour in English
The guided tour is included in the admission for the Viking Ship Museum.

When: Every day
Time: At 11:00 and 13:00
Meeting point: Next to the ticket sales in the Viking Ship Hall

Groups are advised to book a private tour.

Come behind the scenes in the Maritime Archaeologists' DocuLab.

Here you can explore the archaeological methods while the museum's educators tell you about the exciting finds from the past, hidden at the bottom of the sea.

You will have the come close to some of the exciting things that archaeologists have found in connection with the excavations for the new Lynetteholm peninsula in Copenhagen Harbour. 
The finds will spark your imagination and ideas about people and their lives in the past; what can we find out about boat building, seafaring and sailors in the old days?

Maritime Archaeologists' DocuLab
Where: The Maritime Archaeologists' DocuLab is located next to Café Knarr at the Museum Island
When: The Maritime Archaeologists' DocuLab is open monday to friday from 10:00 - 15:30. 

The Shipyards outdoor area

Even though the boat builders have moved indoors to the Boatyard Hall during the winter, you can still explore the outdoor exhibition on boat building in the Viking Age and see pictures and drawings from the construction of Skuldelev 5.

As you walk through the exhibition let your imagination run wild as the scent of wood shavings and the sound of axe blows from the Boatyard Hall transport you back to the time when the Vikings built and sailed clinker-built boats on this very site 1000 years ago.

Winter season at the Boat Yard (21 October - 1 May):

The Boatyard Hall is open to the public on all weekdays.
The outdoor shipyard area can be visited every day.

Meet the boat builders. All weekdays from 10 am to 4 pm:
In the Boatyard Hall, traditional fjord boats are being built for the local National Park.
On the area around the boatyard and in front of the Viking Ship Hall, the reconstructed Viking ships and traditional boats are checked for damage and repaired.
The reconstruction of Skuldelev 5 - a Viking ship from around 1040 - will resume in the summer.

Exhibitions inside the Boatyard. All weekdays from 10 am to 4 pm:
In the Boatyard Hall, an exhibition is held about the UNESCO nomination of the Nordic clinker boat building traditions.
In the Boatyard Hall, boat builders' replicas of Viking Age tools are exhibited.

Exhibitions at the outdoor boatyard area. All weekdays and weekends from 10 am to 4 pm:
Guests can experience the exhibition on boat building in the Viking Age on the shipyard area.
The reconstruction work on Skuldelev 5 will be covered and can be explored independently.

Guided Tours During the winter
Guided tours are available in the Viking Ship Hall.
11:00 am: Guided tour in the Viking Ship Hall (English, 50 min.)
1:00 pm: Guided tour in the Viking Ship Hall (Danish, 50 min.)
Guided tours at the boatyard will be back in the spring.

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.

Here, you can get close to everyday life at a Viking Age home and explore the questions: What did the families do? What did they look like? Who came to the Village?

In the room, there are windows where children can see the Viking world unfold in the area around the Village, by the water's edge, and out on the fjord.

Here they see adults engaged in daily chores while the children play. A boatbuilder is splitting wood, and a travelling merchant arrives with a fully packed donkey.

The Children's Village - A Window to the World of the Vikings

Open every day during the museum's opening hours.
The Education Service of the Viking Ship Museum has first priority for use of the room.

The stories are engagingly told and the audio guide is designed so that there is something for everyone in the family.

The starting point is a captivating story inspired by the Viking Age.

The Museum’s audio guide gives you access to exciting stories about the famous Viking ships, which stand beautifully – but silently – on display, keeping their secrets about a distant past with terrifying Viking raids and trading voyages to far-away shores, about the seafarers on board and their life by the sea almost 1,000 years ago.

A soundscape for the whole family

The stories are engagingly told and the audio guide is designed so that there is something for everyone in the family. The starting point is a captivating story inspired by the Viking Age.

The stories can be heard in three different ‘sections’, aimed at different age groups and depending on how much time you have for your visit to the Museum

Altogether, there are 8 ‘listening-stations’ and you don’t have to listen to all of the stories in one go. Each of the stories can also stand alone, so you can go back and hear the rest of the content another day if needs be.

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. The Museum also has tablets available for loan, if you don’t have your own smartphone.

Info about the audio guide:

• The audio guide is intended for use in the Viking Ship Hall
• The audio guide can be played through the app Useeum
• The app can be downloaded for free in the App Store or on Google Play.
• Bring a smartphone, ipad or tablet
• Don't forget your headphones/earpods so you can get the most optimal experience
• You control the tempo of your journey through the Viking Ship Hall and decide yourself the order in which you want to visit the listening stations

The audio guide has been supported by the Friends of the Viking Ship Museum Association.

Help Astrid saving the Viking Ship Museum from a cunning theft!

The master thief Heidenreich has sinister plans to steal something quite invaluable from the Viking Ship Museum, and the theft can only be prevented with the help of clever and cunning children.

Fortunately, you also get help from Astrid, who is a very cool and special girl. She is brave, energetic and loves to be with other children - and she is also an expert on Vikings!
You can only stop the thief if you get help to solve the thief's mischievous riddles.

Bring an iPhone or Android phone, download the game for free - and then go chasing the thief!

The game is recommended for children aged 6 - 13 years (accompanied by adults)

Where: The Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, Vindeboder 12, 4000 Roskilde

When: Every day during opening hours

The special exhibition In the Wake of the Vikings is the story about how the five Skuldelev ships have shaped the museum to what it is today: how the remarkable find has been of crucial importance for maritime archaeology in Denmark and been the driving force behind far-reaching archaeological experiments within reconstruction and sailing.

» Read more about the special exhibition 'In the Wake of the Vikings' here...

For thousands of years, Christmas has been one of the great celebrations of the year - if not the greatest in the Nordic region. During the darkest time of the year, people gathered around the table to drink in peace and eat well.

When we sit down to eat and drink good Christmas food and beer, we are honouring a thousand-year-old Nordic custom.

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 their adults.

Every afternoon during the Christmas holidays, we ‘drink the sun down and the light back’ next to the Viking ships in the hall; just like Viking kings ‘drank Christmas’ more than 1000 years ago.

Christmas holidays at the Viking Ship Museum
21 - 31 December, 10:00 - 16:00

Activities all day in the Children's Village:
Write Christmas cards with runes
Colour in Viking patterns

Workshop in the Children's Village:
Make woollen cord for bracelets
Three times daily:  
10:00-11:00; 12:00-12:30 & 14:00-15:00

Guided tours in the Viking Ship Hall: 
The five Viking ships from Roskilde Fjord
Twice daily:
11:00-11:45 & 13.00-13:45

We drink the sun down and the light back:
We toast with mead or apple juice
On the main staircase or in the lounge depending on the weather
At 15:00