”Whisky money” for Oseberg Foundation

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The New Oseberg Ship Foundation recently received a gift of £ 10,000 from The Robertson Trust in Scotland.

The Robertson Trust owns whisky giant Edrington, which produces some of the best known whisky brands such as The Famous Grouse, Cutty Sark and Highland Park. The Highland Park distillery is located in the Orkneys, with their strong historical ties to Norway.

The Robertson Trust annually sponsors a number of humanitarian and cultural initiatives, but the gift to the new Oseberg ship represents the first time that the trust sponsors activities outside of Scotland. Contact between the two parties was first established during Tonsberg's first whisky festival in 2011. Later the same year chairman of the board Einar Chr. Erlingsen and board member Eivind Luthen visited the Highland Park distillery.

- We are totally dependent on sponsors in our work to build up a Viking destination. ...

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posted by olehf January 21, 2013 20:06 General News comments (0)

Good progress for new Gokstad boat

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Besides working on building a shed for the Gokstad færing, work on the boat itself is showing good progress. Keel and stems are now ready to be mounted together.

Three smaller boats (up to 30 feet) were found inside the Gokstad ship. Two were reconstructed and can be seen at the Viking ship museum in Oslo. The third boat is still in fragments. A replica of it was built, however, named "Hög”, and is at present at our yard in Tønsberg. Our version will be a further interpretation of the archaeological remains from the original boat.

Our readers are invited to pay us a visit to see for themselves how a small ship was built during the Viking age. Volunteers are also very welcome, no former experience necessary as instructions will be given by our skilled boat builders.

Maintaining the "Saga Oseberg”

While building ...

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posted by Jorgen Kirsebom January 15, 2013 17:11 General News comments (0)

The Oseberg sail stored according to ancient law

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Both the ancient Gulating law and king Magnus the Law Mender declared that the sails of defensive ships should be stored in churches during winter.

The Oseberg sail has to be stored in the dark, somewhere dry, safe and cool. So what could be more natural than to adhere to these old laws? Even though the Oseberg ship is older than Christianity in Norway, it is quite likely that the same rules applied then, in houses of pagan worship.

Therefore, the New Oseberg Ship Foundation contacted leaders Øystein Eilertsen and Steinar Høiback at the local church council, and immediately received their enthusiastic permission to store the sail in the tower of Tønsberg's cathedral during the winter.

Elle Bjønnes, who was in charge of weaving the sail, will look after this valuable piece of Viking handicraft while it remains in the church tower.

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posted by Jorgen Kirsebom January 09, 2013 5:00 General News comments (0)

Gokstad boat made in the US

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We have received greetings from Mr. Ned Eisenhuth, who has been leading his own Gokstad boat project in Pennsylvania, USA.

In 1995 my then employer Minersville Area High School in eastern Pennsylvania received drawings from the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo that enabled us to build a replica of the smallest of the three boats found with the Gokstad ship. Vi cooperated with professor Arne Emil Christensen at the Viking Ship Museum during the building process. As this was a students project we had to finish building the boat within one school year. We used modern tools and had to take some safety precautions. We completed the boat and sailed it on a local lake successfully. The boat made many tours around the area before it was turned over to the Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle, Washington.

We also completed two Viking sleds. One was found ...

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posted by Jorgen Kirsebom January 02, 2013 20:14 General News comments (0)

”Saga Oseberg” on BBC Scotland

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Tønsberg's new pride the ”Saga Oseberg” and many of our boat builders play important roles in the TV documentary that was show on BBC Scotland on 14 December.

In the one hour long program "The last battle of the Vikings” the presenter Dr. Jon Henderson relates the story of the battle of Largs in 1263, when the Norwegian king Haakon Haakonsson visited Western Scotland with a fleet of 120 longships to re-establish his dominance over the Hebrides Islands. Thebattle against the Scots resulted in a draw.

Nevertheless, the battle was to signal the beginning of the end for Norwegian dominance over the Hebrides. The same winter king Haakon died at Kirkwall in the Orkneys, and his son and heir king Magnus the Law Mender had more pressing problems to attend to

In the program Dr. Henderson tells the tale of the Viking's long history ...

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posted by Jorgen Kirsebom January 02, 2013 19:49 General News comments (0)

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