Lofotr Viking Museum is surrounded by large outdoor areas with cultural landscapes. Access to the sea was an important resource in the Viking Age, which makes the harbor a natural part of the experience when you visit the museum. Extra activities will take place here during the summer months. The chieftain’s house was once home to both people and animals and is therefore located in the middle of grazing areas and forest, which facilitates the animals we have at the museum.
In the harbor area, there is a lot to see and experience. It is approx. 1400 meters from the access facility to the harbor, so we recommend calculating time for the walk. There are footpaths with gravel surfaces that connect the museum area, and the road to the harbor offers some hills. Along the way, you can see information signs about house ruins, burial mounds and more.
The boathouse where the boats are stored over the winter is a reconstruction based on a find in Rogaland. It is over 29 meters long and 6 meters wide. At the quay there is a femkeiping, this is a reconstruction of the largest of the three small ships found together with the Gokstad ship. In the area near Borgpollen, several boathouse remains have been found dating mainly to the Late Iron Age and the Middle Ages.
In the harbor area you will find several activities and experiences you can take part in during your visit during the summer months.
Activities
The animals on the farm
In spring, summer and early autumn, animals of old breeds graze on the territory. Wild boar and wild sheep, Nordland cows and Nordland horses are the animals you can meet around the museum’s outdoor areas. The animals are fenced in and unfortunately you cannot go in to them. But what an experience it is to see them enjoying good pasture and each other’s company.
Smithy
The smithy, which used to be located between the boathouse and the chieftain’s house, was built in such a size that the public could have room to watch the blacksmith work in the summer. Unfortunately, the smithy burned down in the summer of 2022, but the plans for reconstruction are well underway!
