Heart and Soul - 50 years with the ships of the Vikings

Anniversary exhibition 2012 - 2013


"I love to look up along the fjord and imagine that there has been a life, a society here 1,000 years ago."
Birthe Milandt, museum booking

In 1962 the remains of five Viking ships emerged from the mud at Roskilde Fjord. The find turned our knowledge of Viking Age maritime culture upside down, became crucial for the maritime archaeology in Denmark and is the foundation for the Viking Ship Museum.

With the exhibition Heart and Soul the Viking Ship Museum celebrated the 50th anniversary of the excavation of the Skuldelev ships. The exhibition was based on the enthusiasm and dreams that build bridge between researchers, craftsmen and sailors and has shaped the museum into what it is today.

The exhibition invited you to meet the heart and soul of the museum and go on a journey through years of passionate work with the ships of the Vikings – from the excavation and assembling of the big, scientific puzzle, the We step 50 years back to the excavation, get close to the boatbuilders and follows the sailing reconstructions on trial voyages.


The exhibition was supported by

  • Shipowner Carsten Brebøl’s Charitable Foundation
  • Knud Højgaard’s Foundation
  • Hempel Foundation
  • The City of Roskilde
  • Nordea-foundation

The following institutions contributed with artefacts

  • The National Museum of Denmark
  • Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II
  • Danish Agency for Culture
  • School of Conservation
  • Aarsleff A/S

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