In the Footsteps of Vikings

Explore Trelleborg’s Viking Heritage

The word ”Viking” travels the world with promise of history, mythology and excitement! In Sweden’s southernmost town – Trelleborg – you can still follow in the footprints of the Vikings. In the city, you find a restored ring fort from the Viking Age where you can meet a Viking with strange marks on his front teeth and in the countryside, there are rune stones bearing witness to how our ancestors lived more than 1,000 years ago!

The Battle of Trelleborgen

From July 7th to 9th, we gather for dear reunions and new encounters. There will be a market, craftsmanship, Viking games, hands-on experiences, and last but not least, the battle where the Vikings clash. Come and experience the Viking Age, feel the scents from the fires, and cheer on your favorite Vikings in the fight for the fortress. At the same time, a delightful Viking market is held, showcasing fabrics, jewelry, and craftsmanship from near and far. Dramatized events among the Vikings unfold from time to time, and as a visitor, you might find yourself in the midst of one of the market’s dramas. We also look forward to a beautiful Viking-style wedding ceremony on Friday!

Borgen vid havet

This is a brand-new exhibition at the Viking Museum Trelleborgen. Here, you will accompany the mythical völva, a Viking-age shaman, in a narrative about the history of the site. The exhibition showcases artifacts from the Vendel and Viking-age settlement, recreated crafts, and audiovisual productions. With archaeology as its foundation, an enchanting experience awaits both young and old.

Guided tour everyday at 2 p.m

The Viking fortress Trelleborgen

In the late 1980s, a sensational discovery was made in the town of Trelleborg on the south coast of Sweden: the remains of a Viking Age circular fort. When investigated this archaeological find soon showed such marked similarities to the Danish circular forts of the late 10th century that it had to be one of their kind: a “trelleborg”, so named after one of the previously excavated Danish forts, Trelleborg near Slagelse in Zealand. The word ’trelle’ is used to describe the sloping head of a split log which supported the palisades. This very distinctive type of fortified compound is associated with the unification and defense of the Danish kingdom. Wood finds, dated by dendrochronology, place these forts around AD 980, in the reign of the Viking king Harald Bluetooth.

The reconstruction

In 1995, the reconstruction of Trelleborgen was inaugurated. The wooden construction with palisades, trelles, crenellations and gateway is quite imposing and was built based on the archaeological discovery, handicraft traditions and well-founded estimations. Archaeologists have confirmed that the fort in Trelleborg was approximately 140 meters in diameter. In the Viking Age, it was connected to the sea via a navigable stream and intersected by four well-travelled roads. A quarter of the fort has been recreated and is now an outdoor museum that also contains a Viking exhibition, café and shop. In the area you will also find a reconstructed Viking farm with a longhouse, pit houses with a blacksmith, a garden and a medieval house.

Visit Trelleborgen

The guided tour takes you back a thousand years in time with exciting stories about everything from Viking battles to everyday life. In summer, Trelleborgen offers activities for both young and old – fairy tales, runic writing, Viking games, blacksmithing, crafts, cooking, archery, etc. Every year on the second weekend in July, Trelleborgen is filled with visiting Vikings. Then there is the market, the Viking wedding and the “Battle of Trelleborg”.

Here you will find Trelleborgen

Öga mot öga – exhibition

Öga mot öga or in English “Eye to Eye”, is a unique, permanent exhibition at Trelleborg Museum that takes you on a journey from the Viking Age and beyond. See scaled reconstructions of the renowned Viking trader and the Queen from Vemmerlöv. The 7000-year-old graves of Skateholm provide a unique testimony to people like you and me, with the same emotions but entirely different abilities.”

The Rune stone in Tullstorp

20 kilometers east of Trelleborg, in the memorial grove at Tulls- torp cemetery stands one of Scandinavia’s most beautiful rune stones. Just like Trelleborgen it dates back to AD 980 and the reign of King Harald Bluetooth. The runes in the stone say, ”Klibir and Åsa erected this stone after Ulf ”. There are also pictures of a stately animal and a ship. The runes and pictures tell us that in the 980s, there was a woman and a man in Tullstorp who left a memorial to another man. They chose to decorate the stone with images that, according to archaeologists, indicate connections with the Eastern Emperor.