Discover Viking Ripa

You have arrived in Ripa.
And with every step into the town, the modern world seems to slip further away.

You cross a bridge just wide enough for a couple of horses to pass. The sound of hammering rings out from the pit house, where the blacksmith is shaping red-hot iron. “Sven ordered a knife, so…” he says in his deep voice as he thrusts the iron back into the forge. - Ripa Market Place, AD 700–750

Just a few steps and you are in Viking Ripa

Ribe VikingeCenter is a 12-hectare visitor attraction where Viking history and the story of Viking Age Ribe, known as Ripa, come to life. In reconstructed settings, people dressed in hand-sewn clothing bring Viking daily life to life through crafts, household tasks, storytelling, activities and events.

At Ribe VikingeCenter, you do not encounter a single moment in the Viking Age frozen in time. Instead, you travel through 300 years of history, from the early 8th century, when Ripa was founded, to around AD 1000. During those centuries, Ripa developed from a market place into a thriving harbour town.

The merchant stands on the step outside his house, gazing contentedly at his ship moored at the jetty. In a few days, if the wind is favourable, he will set off on a trading voyage to the Rhineland. Until then, his trading house is open for business. - Ripa Harbour, AD 750

Ripa is alive every day

Every day throughout the season, you can meet Vikings all around Ripa. Step inside the houses, watch the craftspeople at work and ask as many questions as you like. See raw materials transformed into tools, textiles, jewellery and other objects. At the farm, animals, gardens and the household all need tending, while fires burn in hearths around the settlement. Someone may be cooking, working with wood, dyeing yarn or preparing for the next task of the day. Whatever is happening around you is part of the story.

There is living history and plenty to do every day, and some activities invite you to have a go yourself. Strike your own copy of the Ripa coin used at the market place 1,300 years ago. Take aim with a Viking longbow, sit down at the shaving horse and try your hand with a drawknife, or challenge each other to Viking games. Children can join the warriors for sword and shield training, while the day’s programme may also include crafts, performances and the falconer’s birds of prey.

The programme changes throughout the season, and special events bring even more Vikings, craftspeople and activities to Ripa. Living history turns the past into something you can explore, experience and become part of.

The lady of the house stops humming when she sees you and proudly invites you inside. This is her domain, and the key to the house hangs from her belt. She has foster children and a couple of thralls to help with the household, but she would be very pleased if you could lend a hand at the quern so there will soon be flour for bread. - Ripa Town, AD 825

Take your time and use all your senses

In Ripa, there is no glass between you and the experience. The Viking settings create a remarkable backdrop where your imagination can run free and you can feel transported to another age.

Have a chat with the Vikings, who are always happy to share their knowledge and answer your questions. Take a seat at the high table and imagine joining a feast in the great longhouse hall. Let your eyes adjust to the darkness inside the Viking houses and look out for intriguing details. Follow your nose as you make your way through Ripa, where hearth fires, horses, workshops, wool, baskets, tents and much more are all part of the story. Try closing your eyes for a moment and listen to the sounds of the Viking Age.

You walk past the graves and reach the heavy door of the Christians’ wooden church. Inside, an unexpected explosion of vivid colour awaits you, with bands of pictorial stories running across the walls. You stop to take it all in. - Ansgar Church, AD 860

Archaeology and reconstruction

The reconstructed settings at Ribe VikingeCenter are based on archaeological excavations and research. None of the buildings, the market place or the harbour were discovered on the site of Ribe VikingeCenter, nor were they moved here from elsewhere. When archaeologists excavate traces of the Viking Age, wood, textiles, leather and other organic materials have usually decayed after more than 1,000 years. Only under particularly favourable conditions do fragments survive.

The soil, however, can preserve traces of what once stood there. Postholes, hearths, pits and middens appear as dark marks in the ground and can tell archaeologists about the size and construction of buildings, crafts, diet, goods and how a particular site was used. Finds such as tools, pottery, food remains, jewellery, animal bones and even tiny grains of pollen add further pieces to the puzzle.

At Ribe VikingeCenter, we turn archaeological knowledge into full-scale environments. Our reconstructions are based primarily on finds and research from Ribe. Where archaeology cannot provide all the answers, it is supplemented by knowledge of Viking Age materials, building methods and crafts, while experimental archaeology allows us to put theories to the test. In this way, houses, farms, workshops, the market place and harbour emerge from the traces left behind by the Viking Age.

Steam rises from the large copper cauldron outside the workshop, and a woman in the garden greets you. Her arms are full of plants, and she tells you she is about to dye a new woollen dress in a bath of leaves. - Hvidinggården, AD 980
Plan your visit. Go to opening hours and admission rates