The Viking Age (ca. 800-1050 a.C.) is often associated to a milestone within the Danish and Nordic national consciousness in terms of creation of a sense of identity. If there is one word which most of the people would use when talking about the Danish history, that is “viking”. If we asked a person who does not live in Denmark what she/he knows about this country, one of the first ideas would probably refer to this very historical periodo. Not only in Denmark, but also abroad, this name is quite used as well as all the related images (e.g. the helmet with horns even if it was not really used by warriors during the viking phenomenons) in the advertising and promotional sector in order to passing on values such as strength, power, persistence, determination and so on. What does “viking” mean and who did it represent? Why do we place so much importance on this historical moment? Which were the causes and consequences? This visit will respond to these questions exhaustively. While taking into account the Gothic and Romantic literary movements, which contributed to idealizing and heroicizing the Vikings, our point of view will be based on a careful analysis of the society by considering all the paradoxes. We will see the ruins of the best preserved Viking military power system in Denmark, probably dating back to the end of the 10th century. We will visit the museum which houses the five ships that were found in the Roskilde fjord in the 1960, a great heritage with reference to the discovery of the maritime culture of the Viking era. One of the key changes that marked this era was the religious conversion from paganism to Christianity. We will, therefore, enter the Cathedral of Roskilde, listed among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. At the end of our journey through time in the footsteps of the Vikings, we will visit a park where they have brought to life the several aspects of the daily life of more than 1000 years ago.
The technical itinerary may undergo changes in order to improve the guided experience. In addition, specific stops at the several sites of interest (museums, shops, showrooms, galleries, churches) - where expected - are subject to availability on the day and time of the visit. The chronological order of visits may be changed even at the last moment if circumstances require it, while maintaining the contents of the program unchanged.
