Museum of the Viking Age

Did you know that there were Vikings here on Bygdøy? This island must have been a beautiful place even 1,000 years ago, and during the Viking Age, it was actually a proper island, as the shoreline was different back then. Several Viking artifacts have been discovered here, including a well-preserved sword near Oscarshall, an axe found at Dronninghøyden, or the queens hill, and a knife, a ring, and a Frankish coin. We don’t know how many Viking ships may have visited Bygdøy, but a particularly remarkable Viking voyage took place here as recently as September 1926. At that time, Norway’s national treasure, the Oseberg ship, was transported from Oslo city center to its then-new home at the Viking Ship Museum on Bygdøy. The transportation was an engineering marvel, involving both rails and a barge. Imagine the spectacular sight of the ship being carried through Oslo’s streets on tracks! Since its opening, the museum has housed the Oseberg, Gokstad, and Tune ships, along with unique burial finds like ornamental sleds and animal heads. To preserve the ships for the future, the museum is now closed while a new facility is being built. The museum will reopen in 2027 under its new name, the Museum of the Viking Age, and will be three times larger and offering a modern, secure environment to showcase Norway’s greatest treasures. You can look forward to a journey through the wealth and history of the Viking Age, right here on Bygdøy! In the meantime, feel free to explore more through the links below.