Each year the Viking Manor house is fortunate to host guests from the old Viking area of Dorested in the Netherlands, who travel here to demonstrate their fantastic skills in carpentry and woodcarving. Other artisans live in tents on the market square, as well as in town houses dating back to 825 AD. Here, food is prepared over fireplaces and people gather around over a jug of mead. At the market you can expect lively conversations and swift trade, where the choice of wares include Norwegian soapstone, Baltic amber, Italian glass, Spanish silks and Russian slaves.

This pace, almost like flying, is particularly handy over uneven terrain, but also for any Viking riding with a mug full of mead in hand. Along the streets you might meet the völva – Gunna the Seeress, who can answer questions about your future! Nearby, archers show off their longbow skills and will also let you have a go yourself.

There are a lot more experiences to suit all ages. See the full programme on Ribe Vikingecenter's website.

This market stems from historic facts
Archaeologists have always believed Ribe played an important role in Viking age Denmark. These assumptions have been fully confirmed trough a great number of excavations. Ribe VikingeCenter, an authentic reconstruction of Viking Age Ribe, was founded in 1992. There are three Viking environments to experience here: the Market Place, dating from the early 8th century; Ribe town, dating from the year 825; and the Manor house harking back to 980 AD. Throughout the course of the Viking Age, these Viking environments developed in a way very specific to Danish culture.