The Viking Trail
The North Atlantic islands have strong historical connections. During the 9th century, during what is now known as the “Viking Age”, Vikings emigrated from western Norway and settled on both the Faroe Islands and Iceland. The Vikings reached Greenland in around 1000, where they primarily settled in the south of the country, for example in the settlement of Gardar (now Qassiarssuk).
At that time, however, Greenland had already been populated by a number of different Inuit tribes for around 3500 years.
Photo: Cheesy42
The Viking ship
The famous Viking ship, the longboat (also called the Dragon boat), was used to effect this colonisation of the North Atlantic. The ships were fast (up to 20 km/h), highly manoeuvrable and seaworthy, and could sail almost all the way up onto a flat beach. They were between 30 and 50 m in length, and could carry a crew of up to 60 men, or a smaller crew and a number of animals (sheep, cows, horses, etc.).
The Vikings, who had a reputation for plundering and other warlike qualities, led relatively peaceful lives as farmers on the 3 North Atlantic islands.
Viking museums and sights
In all three countries there are exciting historical attractions and museums that illustrate the history of the Vikings and their activities on the islands.
Iceland – Find a list of museums here
The Faroe Islands – read about a well-preserved viking farmstead Kvivik here. The the old Viking village of Funningur here. And other interesting articles on faroeislands.com or visit-faroeislands.com
Greenland - read about the National Museum of Greenland here
Videos about viking from YouTube.com: