Guided tours

Guided tours about the Viking Ships

When you enter the large hall of the Viking Ship Museum, you are met by five very different ships resting on a stone beach with Roskilde Fjord as their backdrop.

These are the five original Viking ships that were found and excavated in Roskilde Fjord: the so‑called Skuldelev Ships.

The ships differ in size and shape. These differences make it possible to understand how the Vikings built, sailed, and used the sea for trade, defence, travel, and exploration.

The ship timbers bear traces of craftsmanship, wear, and repairs that tell the story of the vessels’ lives before they were sunk in the 11th century to protect the sailing route leading into the royal city of Roskilde.

On the museum’s daily guided tours, our guides show how the ships can be read as sources to the maritime world of the Viking Age. Based on the construction of the ships and the many details in the wood, you gain insight into both the broader historical context and the small clues that help researchers understand seafaring in the past.

For 60 years, the Viking Ship Museum has worked with scientific analyses and reconstructions of the five Skuldelev Ships. The reconstructions are built on the Museum Island, where the boatbuilders work using the same methods as their historical predecessors.

The guided tour provides an overall understanding of the find, the research, and the craftsmanship behind the ships — and of the role the ships played for the people who used the sea as a route for trade, power, and connections to the wider world a thousand years ago.