Nowhere else are the physical reminders of the Viking Age denser than in Vestfold – especially on the stretch from Mølen in the south to Borre in the north.
Within a distance of around 60 kilometres you’ll find large and impressive burial mounds, the memories of Norway’s first town and the places where our most important discoveries from the Viking Age were made. Vestfold even has several Viking ships, both replicas and originals.
Vikingveien Horten
The Viking Hall is a unique reconstruction of a royal hall building from the Viking Age. Here at Borre, chieftains and great men have lived, here they are buried – and here they still rest.
The power centre at Midgard Viking Centre
Midgard Viking Centre is Vestfold’s centre for the Viking Age! Wander among ancient burial mounds, visit the exhibitions, experience the mighty Guild Hall framed by a magnificent palisade and step onto historic ground through Midgard’s mighty gate tower.
At Midgard Viking Centre you can meet the Vikings, taste the historic food they made and see their amazing crafts and skills. At the Viking playground, everyone can try activities such as bow and arrow, axe throwing and other exciting Viking activities.
Borrehaugene
Midgard Viking Centre is located with a good view of the majestic Borre Mounds. Borrehaugene is home to the Nordic region’s largest collection of monumental burial mounds from the Viking Age.
Most of the burial mounds are located within the 182-acre area covered by Borre Park, which is a listed cultural monument. Borre is a popular recreational area with information boards and facilities for walking and cycling.
Vikingveien Tønsberg
There are four large burial mounds in and around Tønsberg town: Farmannshaugen, Haugar and Oseberghaugen. They resemble each other externally, but their contents have been very different.
The Oseberg mound in Slagendalen contained the most spectacular find of all known Viking burial mounds. In addition to the Oseberg ship itself, the find consisted of a large number of artefacts from both everyday life and religious practice, many adorned with beautiful carvings in what we call the Oseberg style.
At the pier in Tønsberg you can visit Vikingodden and see a replica of the Oseberg ship. The Oseberg mound is equipped with information signs.
Slottsfjellet – The castle on the mountain
The castle ruins on Slottsfjellet mainly date from the middle of the 13th century, which is a couple of hundred years younger than the Viking Age. However, there was some form of defence here even before the 13th century, perhaps back in the Viking Age. When King Sverre besieged the Birkebeinerne on the mountain in the winter of 1201/02, there was a wooden castle up there.
In any case, the remains of Tunsberghus are so interesting that those who follow Vikingveien should also take the time for a detour up the mountain. From there you have one of Vestfold’s finest views of the town, the fjord and the beautiful surrounding cultural landscape.
Norway’s fourth Viking ship, the merchant ship from Klåstad, is presented in the Slottsfjell Museum’s Viking Hall, the only preserved Viking ship outside Oslo. There is also the story of the Oseberg discovery.
Vikingveien Sandefjord
Gokstad – a Viking ship and a burial mound
When the Gokstad mound was excavated in 1880, for the first time we gained solid knowledge of what a Viking ship looked like. The Gokstad ship and its artefacts are on display at the Viking Ship Museum at Bygdøy (closed: will reopen in 2026).
You don’t have to travel to Oslo to see what the ship looks like. At Framnes, you can see the replica of the ship in the summer, built in 1990 and cared for by Båtlaget Gaia, which also has replicas of the small boats from Gokstadhaugen. Gokstadhaugen is a historic area with a burial mound, information boards and a park.
Sandefjord Viking Park is located by the harbour in the city centre. Here you can watch the construction of the Gokstad ship and learn about traditional crafts. The construction of the ship will take place both in Sandefjord and at Vikingodden in Tønsberg.
Istrehågan – a ship made of stone
The ship layout has so much in common with later Viking ships that we have chosen to include Istrehågan on Vikingveien, even though this burial ground is even older, presumably from the 400s and 500s, also known as the Migration Period.
The stone ship is located at Jåberg in Tjølling, between Larvik and Sandefjord. The ship is 24 metres long and 9 metres at its widest.
Vikingveien Larvik
Mølen is a magical place
Our ancestors also experienced Mølen as something very special. During the Iron Age and Viking Age, at least 230 small and large burial mounds were built there, the largest with a diameter of 35 metres.
Many people believe that Mølen was the burial place of a branch of the powerful Ynglingeætten, petty kings who ruled parts of Norway in the early Viking Age. In the quatrain Ynglingatal, the skald Tjodolv from Kvine tells us that the Vestfold king Øystein Fret is buried beneath the stone mound at the tip of the ridge. Øystein was born around the year 765, in which case the mound must date from the early 800s.
A special, boat-shaped stone setting excavated in the 1970s contained iron nails and charcoal and is thought to have contained a burnt boat. Most of the burial cairns at Mølen are thought to have been built in the period 400-900 AD, but some of the large cairns up on the hill are probably from the Late Bronze Age, i.e. 1000-500 BC.
Mølen is part of the UNESCO Global Geopark. The area has a distinctive nature, botany and geology.
Kaupang – Norway’s first city
New, extensive excavations were carried out in 2000-2003. Remains of houses, roads, docks and production of various kinds were found. In total, more than 10,000 artefacts were found, from glass beads to coins, moulds, bronze fittings and suit buckles, ceramics and combs.
The follow-up work is still ongoing and will provide us with further knowledge about our Viking past and early Scandinavian urban culture. The finds reveal a permanent, vibrant society with contact with the whole of northern Europe.
The town was built during the first decade of the 8th century and stretched in a 500 metre long belt along the western side of the Kaupang wedge. Kaupang may have had around 500 inhabitants and was abandoned sometime in the 10th century.
There are also several Viking Age burial grounds at Nordre and Søndre Kaupang, Bikjholberget and Lamøya. Many of the graves have been archaeologically investigated. Not far from Kaupang was the royal farm, on what is now Huseby farm.
The Kaupang Viking Town Museum is open to visitors during the summer season.
Vikings – typically Norwegian
Visit Vestfold and Lorelou explain to tourists in 4 short films what is typically Norwegian. In part 4, the focus is on Vikings.