World Heritage Identification Number: 555
World Heritage since: 1993
Category: Cultural Heritage
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇸🇪 Sweden
Continent: Europe
UNESCO World Region: Europe and North America
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Birka and Hovgården: A Viking Age Archaeological Complex
The Birka and Hovgården sites, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993, offer a unique insight into the Viking Age trading networks that shaped the history of Scandinavia. Located on two islands in Lake Mälar, these sites are situated approximately 30 kilometers west of modern-day Stockholm, within the municipality of Ekerö, Sweden.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
The Birka archaeological site is located on Björkö Island in Lake Mälar and was occupied in the 9th and 10th centuries. Hovgården is situated on the neighbouring island of Adelsö. Together, they make up an archaeological complex which illustrates the elaborate trading networks of Viking-Age Europe and their influence on the subsequent history of Scandinavia. Birka was also important as the site of the first Christian congregation in Sweden, founded in 831 by St Ansgar.
Encyclopedia Record: Birka
Birka, on the island of Björkö in present-day Sweden, was an important Viking Age trading center which handled goods from Scandinavia as well as many parts of Continental Europe and the Orient. Björkö is located in Lake Mälaren, 30 kilometers west of contemporary Stockholm, in the municipality of Ekerö.Additional Site Details
Area: 437.121 hectares
(iv) — Outstanding example of a type of building or landscape
Coordinates: 59.33514 , 17.54264
Image
© Alex Peterson, CC BY-SA 3.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)
