A Viking town Trelleborg

Do you want to make a journey a thousand years back in time? Meet the Vikings, take part in their everyday life and experience a real Viking fight! Vikings from all of Europe gather in Trelleborg for a week in July to trade, make handicraft and test their strength in the traditional warfare. Situated on the north side of the Baltic coast, Trelleborg is the southernmost city in Sweden. Twenty years ago archeologists made a unique find, the remaining of a Viking fortress dated back to 980 AD. This was the first fortress to be found in Scania, formerly East Denmark. Four similar fortresses have been found in Denmark, and the experts believe there is another one under the Town Hall and Ströget in central Copenhagen.

Some of the highlights during the Viking Battle week: 8 July - historical music festival 9 July - storytelling and live artist performances at the amphitheater 10 July - the Big Viking Battle

The Viking chief Harald Bluetooth built these fortresses to unite his kingdom. The first Viking king to confess to Christianity, worked hard to convince his people to abandon the old Asa gods Oden Tor and Freya. The fortresses were used for collecting taxes from the seamen and traders, anchored along the Baltic shoreline trading places like Uppåkra in southern Scania.

Today, a part of the ring shaped castle is rebuilt on its original site in the centre of Trelleborg. Situated in a park, designed in Viking style, with a Viking museum, it is a perfect place to give the authentic Viking life a try - taste the food, prepared over open fire, try to make a typical handicraftand see whata Viking bedroom looked like. The visitors also find several other buildings, constructed in ancient way, where they can experience other aspects of the traditional Viking life.

The Trelleborgen Fortress is open all year round. In summer, modern Vikings from all over Europe travel around the continent to live the life their ancestors did a thousand years ago. For one week of July, beginning on 5 July, hundreds of them gather in Trelleborg to fight over the command of the fortress, live in tents, make their handicraft, prepare the food and meet in fights. Their dresses and weapons are the result of hundreds hours of work. Every year the Viking Market and battle attract numerous visitorsto Trelleborg and the Trelleborgen.