Rogaland County Council (NO)

Avaldsnes is called the Norway’s oldest throne because King Harald Fairhair made this place his royal residence after he had unified Norway ca 870 AD. Avaldsnes continued to be a royal residence for almost 500 years. Ever since the Bronze Age, Avaldsnes was a centre of power for chieftains and kings that controlled the shipping traffic that was forced to sail through the narrow strait Karmsund along Nordvegen (North Way), the shipping route that gave Norway its name.
The Viking Farm was originally built as an experimental archaeological research programme to gain new knowledge about old building techniques. The museum Nordvegen History centre is also a centre for displaying recent research. We have undertaken several research programmes, both on land and in the sea. Together with the University in Oslo we are now doing a pre-project for research and excavation of the royal manor from the Viking period that was found in 2006. The excavations will start in 2009.
There are three main attractions at Avaldsnes: The reconstructed Viking Farm, Nordvegen History Centre and the Middle Age church. There are also cultural paths through the historic landscape.
The Viking farm was built as an experimental archaeological research programme to gain new knowledge about old building techniques. It is located on a small, wood-covered island a stone’s throw away from the Nordvegen History Centre. It depicts how ordinary Viking farmers lived 1000 years ago. At the farm you can see a longhouse, six smaller buildings and a boat house for a Viking warship.
The Viking farm is open to tourists during the summer and in the wintertime it is open in the evenings and weekends for guided tours and special events. In the daytime, the Viking farm serves as a historical school camp for children.
Every year in June there is a Viking festival at the Viking Farm
In Nordvegen History centre you will hear about princes and kings that ruled Nordvegen from Avaldsnes. Some of these rulers we know from the Sagas of the Norwegian Kings, heroic legends or skaldic poems, whereas others have become known to us through archaeological digs. Harald Fairhair is the most famous of these kings, and he will be your guide trough the exhibitions.
St Olav’s church was built by king Haakon Haakonson ca 1250 AD as part of the royal manor complex. King Haakon consecrated the church to St Olav, and the church became an important church for pilgrims. Outside the church you can see Virgin Mary’s sewing needle that leans towards the church wall. The legend claims that Doomsday will come when the top of this standing stone touches the church.
Location of Avaldsnes:
Avaldsnes, Norway's oldest throne
Kong Augvalds vg.103
4262 Avaldsnes
Norway


Fortidslandsbyen Landa
At Landa in the 1980s and 90s, over 250 houses were excavated in one of the largest excavation campaigns of Norway. This area was in extensive use from Bronze Age well into the Viking Age. The project "Fortidslandsbyen Landa på Forsand" has three reconstructed houses. The Bronze Age longhouse from about 1000 BC is divided into two parts and is constructed with wattle and daub walls and a straw roofing. The Guild Hall would typically fit in the Migration period (350 – 600 AD). This was the seat of the chief and had a large hall with feast table and a long fire place, both for worldly and religious celebrations. The hall was also home to the leading family of the village. The smithy also fits in the Migration Period. This was the workshop to create and repair iron tools and weapons. The little workshop consists of a working area and a living area.
Location of Landa:
Forsandmoen
4110 Forsand
Norway


Jernaldergarden
In the 1960s, in the then outskirts of Stavanger, large excavations revealed a settlement of the 4th – 6th century, in Norway called Iron Age or better said “Migration Period”. Soon after, it was decided to build here a farm complex the way it could have been like back then. The houses are also furnished accordingly. The farmstead is located on the top of Ullandhaug, around 3 km from the centre of Stavanger, and has a magnificent view of North-Jæren and the Hafrsfjord.
The lady of the house welcomes her visitors just like if it was still the Iron Age and gives them a tour. Her staff is also in keeping of tradition and in period costume. Originally, there might have been 10-12 people living at Ullandhaug. They had approximately the same average height as we do, which suggests they had a balanced diet. Child mortality and average life span seem to have been approximately the same as 150 years ago. Few people passed the age of 60.
At occasions visits are organised under guidance of an archaeologist or archaeobothanist of the Museum of Archaeology in Stavanger, of which the “Iron Age Farmstead foundation” (Jernaldergarden) is part.
Location of Jernaldergarden:
Ullandhaugveien 165
4021 Stavanger
Norway