Birka, Sweden’s first city
Tuesday, 21 July 2015 - 04:05 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: European Union / Europäische Union General , Museums, Exhibitions , UNESCO World Heritage
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Reconstructed Viking houses © Holger.Ellgaard/cc-by-sa-3.0
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During the
Viking Age , Birka, on the island of
Björkö (literally: “Birch Island”) in Sweden, was an important trading center which handled goods from Scandinavia as well as Central and Eastern Europe and the Orient. Björkö is located in
Lake Mälaren , 30 kilometers west of contemporary
Stockholm , in the municipality of
Ekerö . The archaeological sites of Birka and
Hovgården , on the neighbouring island of
Adelsö , make up an archaeological complex which illustrates the elaborate trading networks of Viking Scandinavia and their influence on the subsequent history of Europe. Generally regarded as Sweden’s oldest town, Birka (along with Hovgården) has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993.
The exact location of Birca was also lost during the centuries, leading to speculation from Swedish historians. However, the island of Björkö was first claimed to have been Birka already about 1450 in the so-called “Chronicle of Sweden ” (Prosaiska krönikan):
“And there were three capitals in Sweden two of which were not long away from Uppsala (vpsala). The one was called Sigtuna (siktuna) and the other Birka (birka). Birka was on an island in Lake Mälaren (mälar) that is called Björkö (birköö). The third was in Westgötaland (westergötlandh) and was called Skara (skara).”
Reconstructed Viking houses © Holger.Ellgaard/cc-by-sa-3.0
Ownership of Björkö is today mainly in private hands, and used for farming. The settlement site, however is an archaeological site, and a museum has been built nearby for exhibition of finds (mostly replicas), models and reconstructions. It is a popular site to visit during the summer times. The complete collection of archaeological finds from the excavations on Björkö are held by
The Swedish History Museum in
Stockholm , and many of the artefacts are on display there.
Read more on
Ekerö Municipality ,
Birka Museum ,
unesco.org – Birka and Hovgården and
Wikipedia Birka . Learn more about the
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