Celebrate Ireland's Viking past this Easter

FROM the ancient Viking traces of Waterford city in Ireland’s Ancient East, to the foundations of medieval Dublin, #Ireland invites the world to celebrate its Viking past this Easter, with two wonderful events: the Viking Festival 2018, Waterford (31 March-April 2nd) and Dublin city’s Dublinia VikingFest 2018 (30 March-April 2nd).

Not sure how the #Vikings came to be part of this island’s legacy? Well, far from being just rampaging warriors, the Vikings also brought civilisation, founding many of Ireland’s towns and cities as time went on. It all started for Ireland in the late 8th Century, when the Vikings realised there were lands not far away that were richer in land, stock and provisions than their own. And so their journey overseas – and to Ireland – began.

These mighty Nordic warriors battled chieftains, forged alliances and settled into the history of Ireland’s rich heritage. And despite their terrifying arrival in Ireland, the Norsemen were settlers by inclination. The result, Limerick, Cork, Waterford, Wexford, Youghal, Arklow, Wicklow and Dublin all have Viking origins. Even place names give notice to their Nordic roots (Waterford ends with a variant of fjord).

The key event will be in both cities. Follow the Vikings, a live outdoor spectacle involving film, dance, live animation and battle reenactment takes place at both events. Save the dates for live action on Saturday 31 March at the historic Wood Quay amphitheatre in Dublin, and in Waterford’s Apple Market on Easter Monday 2 April.



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Campaign Canute Fundraising Reaches Key Milestone

YORK Archaeological Trust’s Campaign Canute, the fundraising initiative to help re-imagine and further develop JORVIK Viking Centre following the floods of December 2015, has received an extra boost with HRH The Prince of Wales, supporting the campaign as its Patron.

The news of The Prince of Wales’s patronage comes as Campaign Canute has raised over £1 million, over two thirds of the way towards the £1.5 million target to help re-imagine the attraction for its public re-opening on 8 April 2017.

The Prince of Wales is the Patron of Campaign Canute, with other leading names acting as Ambassadors for the initiative including Brian Blessed, Dan Snow and Horrible Histories author, Terry Deary.

Campaign Canute was launched in the immediate aftermath of the flooding of JORVIK Viking Centre, whose plans to highlight the 1000th anniversary of King Canute’s taking of the English throne were foiled by unstoppable water. The fundraising initiative aimed to bridge the gap between the costs of restoring JORVIK to its pre-flood condition – the insurance settlement covered £2.83 million – and the anticipated cost of updating and re-imaging JORVIK with the latest research findings and technology.

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The Vikings are back!

THE NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM in Falmouth brings the #Vikings to #Cornwall in an exhibition that runs until February next year: Viking Voyagers.  

The #exhibition, featuring nationally and internationally historically significant artefacts, explores what is behind the popular myth of the bloodthirsty raiders, what it meant to become a Viking, and how their mastery of maritime technology was the secret to their success.

Their power was built on their knowledge of boatbuilding and their seafaring skills, enabling them to sail across the Atlantic’s to Newfoundland and Iceland, down to the Mediterranean, and east to Ukraine and Russia.

Visions of horned helmets, unkempt beards and fearsome raiding fighters come to mind when thinking of the Vikings. But the exhibition dispels the myths: just like us they wore jewellery, combed their hair, and many were entrepreneurs, using smaller boats and ships to do business.

Archaeological finds on display include weaponry, jewellery, household implements, and slave chains and coins.

Richard Doughty, Director of National Maritime Museum Cornwall says: ‘This state-of-the-art show has taken years to develop. You might think you know the Vikings, but you will have never experienced them in the way this new exhibition promises. All I can say is watch out, the Vikings are coming!’

Dr Tehmina Goskar, Exhibitions registrar at the museum adds: ‘The story of the Vikings is incredibly alluring. Not only have they left us with a legacy of beautiful storytelling in their sagas, but also an astonishing material culture. Above all, the Vikings were sailors, their men, women and children thrived because of their skills with boats and seafaring, so with our harbour location, celebrating the sea and small boats, there is no better place to come to hear their stories.’

www.nmmc.co.uk

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Flood-hit Jorvik sets £2 million fundraising target

The #Jorvik #Viking Centre in #York has launched a fundraising drive to revamp the attraction, which was hit by December’s floods. York Archaeological Trust wants raise £2 million to recreate the Viking city and re-open the attraction by 2017.

David Jennings, the trust’s chief executive, said: ‘Whilst we could simply replicate the pre-flood displays, our mission to educate in an accessible way drives us to plan how we can do it even better than before – and to do this, we will need to raise a significant sum of money.’

Sarah Maltby, director of attractions, added: ‘The Jorvik is working with other major players in the city to ensure that tourists can still encounter Viking history during the attraction’s closure in 2016. We are delighted to be partnering with the York Theatre Royal, and in talks with two other central venues, to host three Viking exhibitions, the first of which will open in April and the other two in time for the summer.”

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Ramsgate walks

THREE walking routes on the Kent coast have been created to help visitors to Ramsgate see as many of the local attractions as possible … as easily as possible:

The Contra Trail – Ramsgate to Pegwell Bay: A royal harbour with the common touch, an English monument to a Viking invasion, and a nature reserve.

Distance: 6.1 miles one-way

Sea It All – Ramsgate to Broadstairs: From Italian gardens to views across Viking Bay.

Distance: 5 miles circular

Ramsgate Town Rounders – Regency, Royal & Riviera: A stroll through historic Ramsgate. With two circuits, numerous attractions and an impressive list of cafés, bars, shops, and places of interest to explore.

Distance: Loop 1, 1.4 miles; Loop 2, 2 miles

The routes can be downloaded from:

www.ramsgatetown.org/activeramsgate/walking-kent-coast.aspx

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Picture Credit: "Ramsgate Harbour 2" by Benutzer:Elb-Sohn via Wikimedia Commons; "Replica Viking ship" by Ron Strutt via Wikimedia Commons

The Vikings are coming!

THE annual Jorvik Viking Festival (February 14-22) is a celebration of York’s Viking heritage organized by the York Archaeological Trust. 

The largest Viking festival in Europe, it attracts more than 40,000 visitors to the city and commemorates the celebrations – called Jolablot– the Vikings held each February to welcome the approach of spring and the end of winter hardships.

http://jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk/festivals/jorvik-viking-festival

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Picture Credit: Courtesy jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk

The Vikings are coming!

AN exhibition exploring the seafaring prowess of the Viking age opens at the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth, Cornwall, on March 20.

The exhibition – which will run for two years – will display historically significant artefacts on loan for the first time in the South West. Many of the objects have never been on display outside of their country of origin before.

A climb-aboard Viking trading boat will feature alongside a Viking rowing boat surrounded by a wealth of antiquities including jewellery, clothing, armoury, toys and games, a slave collar, coins, and many other items from museums across Northern Europe.

Vikings as warriors of the sea, how they used the oceans to grow their empire, their camps and boatbuilding and their legacy today, are explored.

www.nmmc.co.uk

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Picture Credit: "Viking treasure (Leiden)" by Marieke Kuijjer via Wikimedia Commons