the viking festival

Viking festiavals 1995-2018

The Viking Festival in Hafnarfjörður is the oldest and largest event of its kind in Iceland. Since 1995 Hafnarfjörður has been a playground for Vikings demonstrating through the years most aspects of the Viking culture; like ships, cuisine, handcraft, storytelling, archery, games, music and battle demonstrations. Many artists have come from far and wide, from Europe and America to join us in celebrating the memory of our ancestors. Sometimes there were opportunities to bring forth unexpected things, anachronism to underline even further how the Vikings of the old and modern times can coexist and make a strong union.

For example there has been a viking weddings and viking batisms on the Viking Festival.

 From the beginning the emphasis has been on authenticity, so as the guests at the Festival seem to find as they have been taken a thousand years back. Ships from foreign countries have come ashore and merchants have taken out their goods and started to trade. The atmosphere is festive, there is music, jesters, good food and drinks. But when everything seems to be peaceful, a battle breaks out and in kindness and joy men fight and ″kill″ each other.

Today our Friends in Rimmugýgur are the Hosts now, who know when we start again.