hollymathwriter
- Jul 4, 2023
- 3 min read

Haugesand, Norway - Village of the Vikings

April 24, 2023

The port of Haugesund took us to the land Vikings once called home. Not far from Haugesund is Avaldsnes, once the home of Viking kings and now the site of a history center and a recreated Viking village. This is where my excursion would take me.

The sail-in to Haugesund took us passed wooded shorelines. It wasn't hard to imagine Viking ships in these same waters - although the current houses were more modern.

I was excited to visit the Viking village and thankful that the weather was nice and no rain was predicted. (We were incredibly lucky throughout the cruise with weather at our ports.) We knew we were almost there when we could see Saint Olav's church from the bus windows.

The bus dropped us off at the church. St. Olav's would be our last stop. We first walked to the Nordvegen History Center to learn more about the Vikings and their kings. The history center was underground and built to blend into the landscape.

We first learned about King Hjor and Queen Ljufvina. King Hjor was the last of the Sea Kings descended from the Augvald line. He married the Siberian Ljufvina who was descended from the Mongols to secure rights to the walrus trade. His heir, Geirmund, was away at sea when Harald Fair Hair took over the North Land and ousted King Hjor and Queen Ljufvina. Geirmund allied with Ireland and eventually settled in Iceland where he became quite famous.

Legend says that King Harald Fair Hair fell in love with his future bride, Princess Gyda, but she rebuffed his proposals saying that he wasn't as powerful as the king of Sweden who ruled an entire country. Harald decided to win her affection by uniting all of the Northland (Norway) under his rule. He vowed not to cut his hair until he had achieved his goal. His hair grew so thick and tangled that people began to call him Harald Sofa which means Harald Tangle Hair. However, as soon as he became king of Norway, he cut, brushed and styled his hair and he was known instead as Harald Fair Hair, a name which stuck with him the rest of his life. The princess became his queen and ruled Norway beside him.

We then toured the history center on our own, listening to a headset that explained the different exhibits. In addition to seeing the different tools and vessels they used like drinking horns, we learned about the shield maidens who were female warriors who fought alongside the Vikings.

We also saw examples of the runes they used for writing and fortune telling.

After the history center, we walked to the island to see the Viking village. It was a pleasant, scenic walk although the hill down from the church was pretty steep. As we walked along, we could imagine Viking ships pulling up on the beaches, travelers taking shelter in a hut built into the stone hills, and woodsmen felling trees for houses, a lodge, or Viking ships.

The Viking farm village was reconstructed on an actual archaeological site using the same methods used by the ancient Vikings. As we approached the farm, we could see where they had cut down the trees for the buildings. Although a tourist destination in the summer, it is also used for educational purposes for Norwegian children. As we were there outside the tourist season, the village was filled with children experiencing the life of their Viking ancestors. We needed to give a password to enter the village ("villsvin" - wild pig). We were given a short tour and then time to explore on our own before returning to the church.

The return walk to the church was just as beautiful as the walk to the island. On the way back up the hill to the church, we saw sheep and some lambs.

St. Olav's Church was built around 1250 by the Norwegian Viking King Håkon Håkonsson. It was surrounded by ancient stone obelisks, the tallest of which was leaning towards the north wall of the church. This obelisk was named "Virgin Mary's Sewing Needle" and a legend grew around it foretelling the end of the world. The legend claims the obelisk will touch the wall of the church on "Judgement Day." It is only a few centimeters away. Marks around the tip may indicate that the tip has been filed off throughout the centuries to keep it from getting too close. As with many churches, there is a cemetery located on the hallowed ground of the church yard. There was also a panoramic view of the city across the water and a sheep with her lambs on the hill.