VikingeCenter Ribe 2009

In june 2009 Ronald and Blue first traveled to Denmark to visit the VikingeCenter in Ribe. Many of our Vikingfriend have been there (often and through the years we heard many stories about how beautiful it is. Now we wanted to see for ourselfs if the stories are true and yes, it is! The VikingeCenter Ribe is absolutly the prettiest openairmuseum that we have seen sofar. Nearly 2 weeks we stayed in the VikingeCenter and on this page (and others) you can find a report on this stay at this amazing place...

Norns

At the entrance of the VikingeCenter are the tree Norns: Urd, Verdandi and Skuld. They represent the past, present and future. In Vikingmythology they are the spinning fate goddesses. The spin a rope for every man and god. the more knots there are in your rope, the more complicated your live wil be.

Byfrost

A small bridge leading to the marketplace is named byfrost. And since we are members of the Vikinggroup Byfrost, named after the rainbow bridge from Vikingmythology, we had to take a picture of this.

The marketplace

Based on archeological finds in the city Ribe, the people of the VikingeCenter have made a reconstruction of the marketplace in about 740 A.D. During the annual vikingmarket in the first week of May it is full of people, stands and goods to trade.

Trading

Different stands show the kind of goods that were traded on this market. In this picture you can see some of the more luxuriousgoods that would be transported to Ribe from other Europian countries to be traded here.

Visser Shut

On the edge of the marketplace, near the little stream there is this little Visser Shut with a small boat. The fishing nets and hoop-nets finish the complete picture.

The houses of Ribe

These houses are all based on one single argeological find. They made three different interpretations of this one find.

Our house

Further along the path these three houses stand next to the field. The small red house to the left is the shoemakershouse that Ronald and Blue called home during there stay in Ribe.

If you want to know more about this beautiful little house, click on the picture.

In the thinghouse

Directly next to our house was the thinghouse. It's where we cooked dinner on days that there was to much wind to cook outside. This house had been decorated in different ways, like all the houses.

Details

Different houses have tapestries like this one hanging from the walls. This one seems inspirated by the famous tapestry of Bayeux. But you can also find a hanging crib, tools, a gametable and statues of the gods in this thinghouse.

Grindingstones

In the first room in the thinghouse there are these grindingstones. the visiters of the Vikingecenter can use them to make flower out of wheat. This way they can realy experiance for them selfs how much work goes into producing enough flower to back bread everyday...

Ribe A

Just like the river Ribe A runs through the city Ribe, there is a small stream running through the Vikingecenter. The whole terrain of the Vikingecenter is very green, with nature all around. The water is an importent part of this.

The fields

The fields of the Vikingecenter are not only for decoration. Old plantspecies are grown here and the tools and methodes used by the volenteers are as much like those of the Vikingperiod as possible.

Working hard

That means that the volenteers of the Vikingecenter work very hard. Working with so many authentic methods and tools, like this cart makes it very interesting but also means some serious hard labour.

The cows

Not only do the volenteers take care of the fields and all that goes with it, they also care for all the different animals that live here. That includes these cows.

Cats

There are a few cats living at the Vikingecenter as well to keep the farms micefree. One of them had a litter of kittens when Ronald and Blue were there and they were so darn cute.

the chicks

The kittens never bothered the little chicks with whom they shared there space. Chicken belong on a farm, especially an old farm like this. This way the people were sure that the had a solid supply of eggs.

Birds

All over the Vikingecenter you can find animals, some of them wild. Ronald and Blue fell in love with all the birds that kept us company during our stay.

Longhouse

One of the prettiest buildings on the grounds is the longhouse. Of all the reconstuctions of houses like this, this one is the best by far.

In the longhouse

This house had also been decorated in an brilliant manner. It looks really lived in (and during the day it is lived in) Not only are they statues of the gods and tapestries, there is also a big standing loom and all sorts of items and tools that were used in everyday live

Gislingeship

A vikingship can also be found. Afterall the Vikings were known to be great sailers. This smaller ship is a reconstruction of a ship found at Gislinge, hence the name.

The Runestone

On the grounds of the VikingeCenter there are several runestones but this one is the most beautifull. The text on one side names the maker and on the other side the text askes for blessings over the Vikingecenter and its people.

A tour around the VikingeCenter

For a peek inside our little red house in Ribe

Voor een verslag van activiteiten in het VikingeCenter

Just need to know more about the vikingecenter? Check ther own website:
VikingeCenter