Viking Festival

Visit the Vikings encampment and browse the market stalls. The Viking week is the 25th time this year!

There are plenty of stalls selling everything from jewelry to clothes, soap to honey wine, weaponry to toys. The Vikings also do not like to sit still, they like to talk about daily life in the early Middle Ages. Over the weekend, they demonstrate the various weapons and clothing used and worn by the Vikings. The Vikings are diligent farmers, skilled craftsmen, smart traders, brave fighters and above all fearless explorers.

The Vikings have left much of an impression to this day. Many place names, especially in England, therefore come from the Scandinavian language. Jewelry and utensils used by the Vikings have been found all over Europe. People also wrote about the Vikings. The English thought they were weird - before a big fight, they spent hours washing themselves, combing their hair and braiding beards. The Vikings believed that if they died in battle, they could go to Valhalla. A place where people would party and fight forever. And then you better look a little neat!

Vikings in Dorestad
Dorestad was an imperium, a city of trade with international connections. Its prime time was under Frankish rule, mid-8^th century, especially during the reign of Charles the Great. Tradesmen came from all over Europe. Vikings were happy to offer their goods in Dorestad and stock up on products from the countryside or the far south.

In the year 834 Vikings came to Dorestad with different plans. They raided the inhabitants of Dorestad. The position of the city was already weakening at that time. The river had changed its course, further away from the old shore, and the city became less sailable. Besides that, the government was not structured and the power of those in charged weakened. Possibly a new trade centre was on the rise. All this combined with the raids of the Vikings was probably the demise of the city.

In Archeon you can find an impression of Dorestad. There is a small group of three buildings, like the one that stood in Dorestad around 800 AD.