Norway lends Viking ship to Danish museum for 10 years

A Norwegian Viking ship will go on display at Moesgaard Museum near Aarhus under a 10-year loan, DR reported, citing Norway’s cultural heritage authority, Riksantikvaren.

The nearly 10-metre-long, just under two-metre-wide oak vessel was found by archaeologists in 1880 aboard the Gokstad ship, Norway’s largest preserved Viking ship. Three smaller vessels were found on board, and one is now set to be lent to Denmark.

Kaare Stang of Riksantikvaren described the boat as an important cultural treasure from the Viking Age, adding that permission to take such a vessel out of Norway is rarely granted.

The loan is planned to accompany a new exhibition at the museum. Norwegian authorities normally approve loans for no more than three years at a time, so the museum will submit a status report every three years during the loan period.

Stang said the authorities trust the Danish museum to care for the vessel, but stressed that it must eventually return to Norway. The Cultural History Museum in Norway owns the boat and applied for permission to lend it. No arrival date has been announced.

Moesgaard Museum already displays a 6.5-metre Gokstad boat, which was used to row crew members and relay orders between warships.