Sweden: New centre will dispel Viking myths (Traders rather than Raiders)

Who were the Vikings? For most people, thoughts of raping and pillaging probably spring to mind, as do images of busty women called Brunnhilda with blonde plaits and horned helmets.

The Vikings sailed from the Nordic countries to Britain, Ireland, North America, Russia and even Turkey. Yet for visitors to Scandinavia and locals alike, there are currently precious few opportunities to find out the truth about the extraordinary people who spread their culture over most of the known world.

This could soon change, as plans have now been unveiled to start an interactive museum in Stockholm to satisfy tourists’ hunger for the medieval Scandinavians.

“There is a big interest worldwide in the Vikings,” says Marie Nork, one of those trying to set up the Stockholm Viking Center. Quite apart from countries actually visited by Vikings, there is huge interest in both the United States and Japan.

“They are used in commercials – they’ve even been used in propaganda. During the 19th century they really became romanticized: that’s when they acquired their horns.”

The Stockholm centre, which is still in the planning stages, will look at these myths and compare them against the reality of Viking life – a reality that was more usually centred around trade and farming than the art of war.

“East-bound Vikings particularly did lots of trading, rather than fighting and pillaging,” she says.

Nork, herself an archaeologist, believes that the lack of a modern Viking centre in Stockholm has been a glaring gap in the capital’s offering to tourists.

“People are often surprised that we don’t have more on offer. Maybe we Swedes don’t quite understand what a big deal the Vikings are internationally,” she says, and compares the lack of a Viking centre with the lack of any museum about Abba, a gap which other entrepreneurs recently announced plans to fill.

Her eyes were opened, as were those of fellow Viking enthusiast Veronica Ekberg, when they were both studying archeology at York University in England. York is home to the hugely successful Jorvik Viking Centre, which Nork and Ekberg are holding up as an inspiration.

Like the Jorvik Viking Centre, in which visitors travel back in time through mock-ups of Viking York, Nork wants the new centre to be more accessible than a normal museum. The aim is to site it in central Stockholm on a 6,750 square metre site. Glass display cases will be conspicuous by their absence.

“We’re looking into how we can use virtual reality to tell the Viking story,” Nork says.

Nork and Ekberg expect the centre to attract up to 800,000 visitors a year, and bring new tourists to the Swedish capital:

“Stockholm is a natural place to site a museum like this – the city is something of a showroom for Scandinavia.

“And if you can use the Vikings to attract people to northern England, then it won’t be a problem for Stockholm,” she reasons.

The centre will also have an academic research element, including collaboration with other universities. It could even end up organizing archaeological digs, something that Jorvik already does.

Preliminary estimates suggest that getting the project off the ground will cost 230 million kronor, but those behind it believe that they will soon be able to recoup their expenses. The project has received valuable support from Stockholm University’s commercialization experts, consultants, architects, designers and figures from the Swedish culture world.

Nork says that the huge international interest in the Vikings means that the search for finance and other forms of support is being carried out abroad as well as in Sweden, with help from the Swedish consulate in Los Angeles and international Swedish women’s network Swea.

While Nork admits that the Viking centre is a long-term project – she reckons that it will take four years from securing finance to the museum opening – there is no doubt in her mind that it will happen.

From a general point of view, the article above is well written and I would be the first to admit that the people behind the website of The Local is doing a great job.

On the other hand, I feel some important and interesting aspects of these news and the truth about the Vikings have been left out and I would therefore like to make the following remarks:

- THE CHANGING IMAGE OF THE VIKINGS THROUGHOUT HISTORY

Around 1500 years ago, when The Roman Empire was in fast decline and the Arabs were advancing their position, Viking culture existed in an embryonal form. It was noted, not at least by the Romans, that the Vikings were extremely good shipbuilders - like an omen of what to come.

During the Viking era itself, the 8th to the 11th century roughly, Vikings on the rampage indeed raided, raped, looted and were, in consequence hereof, feared by many while they ALSO built up a gigantic trade network and promoted the spread of technology and culture. Many experts in the field are convinced they, among other things, also discovered America.

For a long time the Christian world viewed the Vikings as heathens and barbarians, failing to recognize their enormous - positive - contribution to cultural exchange, trade and technology advancement.

During the dark age of what I would label as "xenophobic" European nationalism (in contrast to true patriotism like the American one that is NOT basicallly racist), around 1830-1945, Vikings were regarded as model warriors and patriots in many nations. Especially in Scandinavia, Great Britain and Germany, Vikings were almost worshipped as Arian semi-gods. In fact, Germany and Great Britain more or less competed in picturing themselves respectively as the closest heirs to the Vikings, beside the Scandinavians themselves, naturally.

Today, many experts are wishing to "correct" traditional and popularized notions of the Vikings. In our own age, lots of educated people around the globe are aware that the Vikings were progressive minded traders and explorers, even though they, at the same time, indeed were magnificent warriors.

The future image of the Vikings?

Personally, I hope that this, seemingly ever changing image one day will develop into an awareness of the Viking culture as being a highly important factor in the great achivements of the Western Civilization, as I have reached the conclusion that this is actually the case, which brings me on to the second thing I wish to draw attention to.

THE CONTRIBUTION OF "VIKING" SCANDINAVIA TO WORLD HISTORY AND THE PROGRESS OF MANKIND

I'd like to put forth some questions regarding the Vikings that, admittedly, are daring and I'm sure most scholars, politicians and journalists of today never would wish to deal with. However, this is Free Republic and not a politically correct TVprogram produced by BBC.

- Is there any connection between Viking culture (not to be confused with Viking genes) and Scandinavia being the richest part of the world today (measured in nominal GDP per capita)?

- Is there any connection between the fact that almost EVERY great Western power since the Roman one - save Spain perhaps - was built on populations with a large degree of Viking influence? Look at Northern France, Britain, the US and Russia/Soviet. Why did Poland, any Balkan nation or any country south of the US NOT rise to a position like these nations in world history?

Is there a cental dynamic element in Viking culture that promotes and encourages fearful progressiveness?

It would be difficult to prove. But it sure can be argued for.

Anyone who has been brought up in Scandinavia or have close ties to this part of the world knows that Scandinavians have an intense love affair with groundbreaking technology, competetion and exploration - things you do not associate with, for instance, the traditional culture of China or India, even if they deserve admiration and respect from several other angles.

There are unbalanced myths regarding all nations and most of us like to view our own countries as glorious, honored and praiseworthy. Nothing is wrong with that per se, but often it can lead us wrong.

Still, I think several facts like the above ones can't be easily explained away as a expression of excessive Scandinavian chauvinism.

Why, for instance, has my own country, Sweden, produced more inventions and world leading capitalist corporations per capita than any other nation?

Why has the region of Stockholm - Helsinki - Tampere/Tammerfors developed more revolutionary information technology than ANY other part of the world of that size with the possible exception of some part of California? Just think of Ericsson and Nokia.

I don't think it is about genes. But it IS about culture - Which, among other things, would explain why many immigrants to Scandinavia have managed to adopt our values and have been very productive citizens and law abiding ones as well. I know there are several exceptions and these individuals there is no reason to make excuses for. Send them back. The positive thing is that culture can be TAUGHT while genes can not.

The Vikings developed a special mental preparedness consisting in continously keeping track of what went on in the world around them ("know thy enemy") and a strive to continously improve their TECHNOLOGY as a CONCEPT OF SURVIVAL. Other cultures did these things too, but were not centred around these factors to the same extent. The Roman Empire, Ancient Egypt or the Chinese were not that focused on exploration and pioneering technology.

Today, the world is more technology aware than ever before and that suits us just fine!

WHAT COULD BE GAINED FROM IMPROVED INSIGHTS OF VIKING CULTURE?

The Scandinavians could of course learn something important about themselves through realizing what special aspects of their cultural and historical background they should be particularly careful to nurture, cherish and preserve.

But there is something about knowledge of Viking traditions that goes beyond Scandinavia and countries with strong ties to Scandinavia like the UK and the US. That certain something is an awareness of how trade, capitalism, science and investment in new technology can create a better future for all of mankind!!

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