About the Ribe Viking Museum
The history of the oldest city in the Nordics
Around 700 AD, long before Denmark became a unified kingdom, Ribe emerged as a trading post on the edge of the North Sea, and over the next 800 years the town played a central role in the Viking Age and the history of early Denmark.
Ribe Viking Museum tells the story of Ribe's emergence and development through the Viking Age and the Middle Ages. Based on Museum Vest's archaeological research, Ribe Viking Museum conveys the changing roles of the city and the stories of the people who lived and worked here.
Beneath the streets of Ribe lie exceptionally well-preserved cultural layers that document more than 1,300 years of history. The many archaeological finds, of which more than 14,000 are on display at Ribe Viking Museum, make the city one of the most important archaeological reference points in the Nordic region and form the basis of the museum's narrative.
The exhibitions give you an insight into everyday life, trade, craftsmanship and faith, and showcase Ribe as a city with close connections to the world around the North Sea and the rest of Europe. Original objects and communication at eye level bring the past up close.
Ribe Viking Museum is for both children and adults, for history buffs and for those who want a good story and a good experience. There is room for immersion, questions and new perspectives on a time that still influences our world today.
A part of Museum Vest
Ribe Viking Museum opened in 1995 and is located in Ribe's former power plant on Odins Plads in central Ribe.
The museum is part of Museum Vest, which is the cultural and natural history museums in Esbjerg Municipality.
Museum Vest's purpose is to provide users and visitors with experiences that start conversations, provide food for thought and action, and invite a new understanding of a unique, windswept and wondrous part of Denmark.
At Ribe Viking Museum you can experience permanent exhibitions about the Viking Age and the Middle Ages, both of which are based on archaeological excavations from Ribe. In addition, children and their adults can get closer to Ribe's emergence as a Viking Village in the experience universe Ribe Roots - Children's Viking Village and Ribe in the Middle Ages in the activity exhibition Dagmar & Valdemar.
