Vikingmarket 2012

June 14 to june 17 2012

The Viking Market in Hafnarfjörður is the oldest, largest and most important event of its kind in Iceland. Since 1995 Hafnarfjörður has been a playground of Vikings demonstrating trough the years most aspects of Viking culture, 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 have been opportunities to bring forth unexpected things, anachronism to underline even further how the Vikings of old and modern times can coexist and make a strong union.

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 and are as for some kind of a miracle at an ancient summer market. Ships form foreign lands have come ashore and merchants have taken out their goods and started to trade. The atmosphere is festive, music, jesters and dancing girls, good food and drink. But when everything seems to be peaceful, a battle breaks out and in kindness and joy men fight and kill each other.

At the 2012sett  Viking market new and fresh ideas will emerge, new heroes are called and tested with veterans known by loyal Festival guests through the years. A total of almost two hundred Vikings are expected foreign and domestic.