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Viking invasion in the Museu Marítim

From the 8th of April to the 28th of September, an exhibition attempts to reveal the true nature of this Scandinavian race

The popular conception of the Vikings is as a race of fearful, sea-faring, horn-helmeted invaders. As with most legends, however, the reality of the Vikings is very different. The exhibition in the Museu Marítim entitled Vikings attempts to reveal the true nature of this Northern European society.

The Vikings existed between 750 and 1100 AD and extended from Northern Europe to the Mediterranean coasts, exercising their dominion over the seas and waterways. The exhibition is divided into eight separate subject areas relating to their day-to-day existence, their arts and crafts, their boat-building expertise and their mythology, among other aspects.

In addition, the exhibition includes many original Vikings objects, such as tools, jewellery and weapons, a life-size replica of a Draker, a traditional funeral vessel, and a variety of interactive and audio-visual elements.

Thanks in part to recent scientific discoveries, the popular association between the Vikings and barbarity has been dismantled to reveal a far more complex and caring people with an organised society whose collective nature was based around the family and cultivation of the land and who frequently organised trade expeditions.

The Museu Marítim has also organised a variety of activities relating to the exhibition, such as Viking-style dinners, a chance to sail aboard a Viking schooner, the Santa Eulàlia, or the possibility of visiting Denmark.

Vikings is part of the programme of activities for the Swedish city of Umea, this year’s European Capital of Culture, and can be seen up until the 28th of September.

Publication date: Monday, 07 April 2014
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