Fancy getting up close with the Vikings? Here are the best festivals in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and beyond, updated for 2025.
Viking culture has always been popular, but it's fair to say that in the past few years that popularity has grown massively.
Thanks in part to hit TV series, people around the world seem to be more interested than ever in the details about the Norse people of old.
You can find a lot of information about the myths and realities of Viking life online, not least in our very own Viking Age blog. But why not visit a festival and come face to face with proper Vikings?
Why Visit a Viking Festival?
Scandinavia takes great pride in its Viking heritage, and that pride is on full display each summer through a wide variety of Viking festivals.
Just as music festivals might centre on jazz, folk, or pop, each Viking festival has its own flavour. Some focus on historical accuracy, while others embrace spectacle and entertainment.
Some festivals take the form of bustling marketplaces, where you can browse handmade Viking-style goods and even the occasional authentic artefact.
Others recreate entire Viking settlements, complete with homesteads, costumed villagers, and dramatic battle re-enactments. They are designed to showcase everyday Viking lifestyle.
Many events blend it all together: crafts, cosplay, combat, and feasting. Such events offer an immersive experience for history buffs and families alike.
Viking Festivals in Norway
As we are a website all about Norway, it makes sense to start right here!
Avaldsnes Viking Festival
Held every June at Norway’s historic Viking Farm on Karmøy, the Avaldsnes Viking Festival is Western Norway’s largest Viking market.
Reenactors from across Europe bring the reconstructed farm to life with crafts, battle displays, archery, horseback riding, and storytelling. Visitors can explore handmade goods, watch theatre and music performances, and try hands-on activities like rowing and traditional games.
Can't make the festival? The Avaldsnes Viking Village and history centre is still worth a visit at any time of year.
Trondheim Viking Market
The former Viking capital is an obvious place to celebrate Norse heritage.
At this annual market hosted by Trondheim Vikinglag, there’s an emphasis on crafts and among the stalls you can find craftsmen who are happy to talk about their skills and let you try your hand at them.
St Olav Viking Festival (Stiklestad)
For a week at the end of July, visitors to Stiklestad can enjoy the Stiklestadir Market with the usual stalls and craftspeople demonstrating their skills and offering hands-on sessions in everything from Archery to woodworking.
The highlight, however, is the St Olav Drama, a play that has been performed for over 50 years as a dramatization of the events leading up to the Battle of Stiklestad, where King Olav died.
Lofotr Viking Festival
Held each summer in the Lofoten Islands, the Lofotr Viking Festival is one of Norway’s most atmospheric historical events. It takes place at Lofotr Viking Museum, where archaeologists unearthed the remains of the largest known Viking longhouse ever found in Norway.
Since 2004, the museum has hosted this lively multi-day festival featuring market stalls, combat demonstrations, storytelling, and traditional games. The highlight is the grand Viking feast, where costumed hosts, musicians, and entertainers recreate the spirit of a chieftain’s hall in full swing.
The museum itself, now celebrating its 30th anniversary, opens its doors for extended hours during the festival. All of this takes place against the dramatic natural backdrop of Lofoten’s mountains.
Gudvangen Viking Market
At Njardarheimr Viking Valley, the recreated Viking village hosts battle reenactments, crafts, mead tasting, and more.
It’s well worth a visit if you’re in the Norwegian fjords region, and especially if you’re visiting Flåm. From there, Gudvangen can be reached by bus or the sightseeing ferry.
Viking Festivals in Sweden
While Sweden hosts fewer Viking festivals than its neighbours, the ones that do take place are well worth a visit.
Foteviken Viking Market
Held at the Foteviken open-air museum in southern Sweden, this festival draws Viking enthusiasts from across Europe. Visitors can browse handmade goods such as leatherwork, pottery, and jewellery, or take part in workshops and historical demonstrations.
One of the highlights is the Viking Games Open, a friendly contest in which participants compete in strength, balance, and precision-based challenges, just as the Vikings might have done.
The Battle of Trelleborgen and Viking Market
At the reconstructed Trelleborg ring fortress, this annual festival blends traditional markets with lively reenactments.
Visitors can witness staged Viking battles, take part in historical games, and even attend a mock Viking wedding. The setting adds authenticity, making it one of Sweden’s most atmospheric Viking events.
Stallarholmen Viking Festival
A more recent addition to the calendar, this festival near Lake Mälaren offers crafts, food, family activities, and battle demonstrations in a scenic riverside setting. It’s quickly gaining popularity among Swedish and international Viking groups alike.
Viking Festivals in Denmark
Denmark hosts some of the largest and most immersive Viking festivals in the world, thanks in part to its network of reconstructed forts and living history centres.
Ribe International Viking Market and Viking Warriors at Ribe
At Ribe VikingeCenter, visitors can enjoy two major events. The International Viking Market fills the grounds with hundreds of re-enactors, traders, and craftspeople offering traditional goods, food, and demonstrations of Viking skills like archery, wood carving, and blacksmithing.
Later in the season, the Viking Warriors event focuses on storytelling and staged battles, with costumed fighters from across Europe acting out week-long historical dramas filled with political intrigue and clan rivalries.
Jelling Viking Market
Held near Denmark’s most famous runestones, the Jelling Viking Market celebrates the town’s importance in Viking history. Jelling is where King Harald Bluetooth famously declared the birth of the Danish nation and its conversion to Christianity.
Today, the two-day festival features craft stalls, performances, and a reenacted Viking assembly known as the ‘Thing.’
Trelleborg Viking Festival
This nine-day celebration at the Trelleborg ring fortress is Denmark’s largest Viking market. Around 50 stalls line the fortress grounds, with artisans demonstrating traditional crafts.
Daily battle shows and storytelling sessions bring the Viking Age to life. One fun detail: purchases are made with replica Viking coins, which you can buy at the on-site museum shop.
Frederikssund Viking Festival
Located just north of Copenhagen, this long-running festival features a large Viking village, theatrical performances, combat displays, and children’s activities. It’s a family-friendly event that combines spectacle with solid historical storytelling.
Viking Events in the Nordic Region & Beyond
Of course, Scandinavia doesn't hold the sole rights to Viking festivals! Here's where you can find Norse-inspired events further afield.
Hafnarfjörður Viking Festival (Iceland)
The ‘new world' of the Norse people, Iceland's Viking story is a fascinating one, and well worth exploring.
Iceland’s flagship Viking festival takes place every summer in Hafnarfjörður, a coastal town just outside Reykjavík. The event includes a Viking market, craft demonstrations, combat re-enactments, and a traditional feast, all held in a scenic public park.
Saltvik Viking Market (Åland Islands, Finland)
Set in the autonomous Åland Islands, the Saltvik Viking Market is one of Finland’s best-known heritage festivals.
Visitors can explore traditional stalls, try ancient skills, enjoy banquets, and even view or sail aboard a Viking ship constructed by the organisers. It offers a relaxed yet authentic experience that attracts Viking enthusiasts from across the Baltic region.
Up Helly Aa (Shetland Islands, Scotland)
One of the most visually dramatic Viking-themed events in the Nordic-adjacent world, Up Helly Aa takes place each January in towns across Shetland. The biggest celebration, in Lerwick, culminates in a torch-lit procession and the ceremonial burning of a Viking-style longship.
While rooted in 19th-century tradition rather than historical accuracy, the event draws large crowds and international attention. However, recent years have seen scrutiny over the festival’s culture.
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