Borre mound cemetery
(Norwegian: Borrehaugene)
We visited these burial grounds at Horten in Vestfold, Norway on our way back to Kristiansand from the zone conference, about a half hour off the main road home. It is the largest burial mound site in Northern Europe.
Borre National Park is home to the most extensive collection of king’s graves in Scandinavia. It is home to seven large and 21 smaller burial mounds. Excavations in the 1980s revealed that the oldest mounds may date to 600 AD, even prior to the Viking Age.
They have developed a nice little museum were once there was only the mounds when Dad first served in Norway that give visitors a taste of viking life in that period. This museum is a smaller scale version of the large one we visited on Lofoten but very nice and we had a personal tour since there were only about 3 families there at the time.
A Magnificent loud thunderstorm rolled through as we were touring the grounds but no rain fell till we got back to our car about 1/2 hour later...and then it came down heavy...we counted it as a small mercy since we didn't bring our raincoats as we toured the grounds.
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| Midgard Viking Center |
Midgard historical center is Vestfold's center for the Viking Age. The center has a good view of the majestic Borre hills, where you can experience exhibitions, lectures, activity days, festivals and much more.
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| wood carved replica boats |
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| laws to live by |
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| Horse bridle |
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| These are stirrups |
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| ornate head gear for the horses probably for a wedding procession |
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| Replica of a Viking longhouse |
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| another unique wooden door for Mom's collection |
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| example of ornate wood carvings |
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| inside the longhouse a guide helped explain daily life of the vikings and they had interactive activities to participate in. |
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| shield |
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| wood carvings in table |
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| our guide |
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| each pillar had carved artwork depicting a historical adventure in viking life |
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| fireplace in center of the longhouse |
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| grinding grain into flour |
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| Mom got into the bread making |
several hides of reindeer, wolf, sheep, moose, and bear line the walls and are on the benches (nice chair cushions)
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| colorful threads dyed to make various clothes and rugs |
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| fun game activity that served a useful purpose in weaving threads of wool |
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| trail from Midgard museum to the Borre Mounds (burial grounds) |
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| loved the unique fences, they are still found on many countryside farms,each one just slightly different but none of them just straight up and down |
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| bench to stop and rest at if desired |
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| ladder to access a fenced in area of the grounds |
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| carved heads of the kings |
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| view from the Mounds to the city of Horten |
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| Wood carver was there that day carving these new heads of the kings for a new exhibit, interesting to see the face in various stages of the carving process |
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| local church at Borre |
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| another door for Mom's collection |
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| large burial house (for rich & important family in town, although it was locked we did get some pictures of the busts of the people through the gates and windows |
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| large rock burial monument |
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| more wooden doors, each one is always unique |
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| clouds rolling in - at least they didn't drop until we were back to the car - the thunder was the loudest and longest we think we had ever heard and just rolled through the air for almost a minute |
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| surrounding countryside on the way to and from the burial mounds |
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| tunnels are a way of life on the freeway - these small ones are always picturesque with the vegetation on top |
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| Mom is fascinated with the graveyards being on every church yard grounds |
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