A landmark in Viking heritage preservation took place on earlier this month, when the Oseberg Ship — one of the world’s greatest Viking treasures — was carefully moved to its new home in Oslo’s forthcoming Museum of the Viking Age.
After nearly a hundred years on display in the old Viking Ship Museum at Bygdøy, the Oseberg Ship has finally been transferred to its permanent location in the newly constructed Museum of the Viking Age. The move was the culmination of more than a decade of planning and testing, involving engineers, conservators, and specialists from diverse fields.
The ship, over 1,200 years old and composed of 90 percent original timber, is extraordinarily fragile. Vibrations and uneven support structures in the old museum had caused stress fractures in its planks. Without intervention, experts warned that the ship might eventually collapse under its own weight.
In 2012, a Norwegian government-appointed committee determined that the old building was unsuitable for the ships’ long-term preservation. By 2016, plans for the new museum were underway, and the Viking Ship Museum closed in 2021 to prepare for the relocation.
Ten Years in the Making
Photo by Statsbygg / Museum of the Viking Age
The relocation required precision on a level rarely attempted in cultural heritage preservation. Moving a 21.5-metre Viking ship, weighing several tonnes, meant designing custom supports and employing technology usually reserved for offshore oil rigs.
“The Oseberg ship is vulnerable to vibrations and stress, and every detail was carefully planned and tested well in advance,” explained conservator David Hauer, who has overseen the project since 2015. “We are planning for good conditions for at least a century to come. Then future generations will take over the baton.”
The journey itself covered only 106.5 metres but took more than 10 hours. At a maximum speed of 25 centimetres per minute, the ship was slowly raised, transported with only millimetres of clearance to the surrounding walls, and then lowered into its new gallery. For several hours, it hovered several metres above the floor — a nerve-racking spectacle for the assembled conservators and engineers.
“This is a historic day. It is a ship that has been involved in so much, and which has had an afterlife that gives me chills to think about,” said museum director Aud V. Tønnessen. “Everyone who has been involved has done an incredible job, and this has been a fantastic day in my life.”
Why the Ship Had to Move
Photo by Statsbygg / Museum of the Viking Age
The Oseberg Ship, along with the Gokstad and Tune ships, was excavated in remarkably good condition, yet the centuries in the soil had robbed the oak of much of its elasticity. Exposed to modern air, the planks became brittle. Combined with fluctuations in temperature and humidity, and the stress of inadequate museum supports, cracks had begun to form.
The relocation provides an opportunity to install new, vibration-resistant and earthquake-secured foundations. The new climate control system will stabilise humidity and temperature, creating conditions in which the ships could endure for millennia.
A Ship with a Storied Past
Photo by Statsbygg / Museum of the Viking Age
First uncovered in 1904 near Tønsberg, Norway, the Oseberg Ship is celebrated as the finest surviving Viking vessel. Dating to around 820 AD, it was originally a seagoing ship, sleek and richly ornamented with carved animal-head designs along its prow and sides.
Its fame, however, rests not only on its craftsmanship but also on its role as a burial ship. The Oseberg mound contained the remains of two high-status women, often referred to as the “Oseberg queens,” along with an astonishing array of grave goods: carved sledges, textiles, animal sacrifices, and household items. These finds have offered scholars unmatched insight into Viking art, social hierarchy, and burial customs.
The ship itself became a symbol of Norway’s Viking heritage, drawing millions of visitors over the past century.
Engineering Meets Archaeology
The Oseberg’s relocation was an unprecedented collaboration. Conservators and archaeologists worked side by side with engineers familiar with North Sea oil platforms, vibration specialists, and crane operators. Norwegian firm Imenco designed the moving system, adapting offshore technology to cultural preservation.
For Hauer, watching the ship finally rest in its new cradle was a moment of relief: “It is a huge milestone to place the ship in the new building. There is no doubt that this is a significant event, and I have been thinking about this move daily since 2015.”
The work is not yet over — the ship remains supported by a securing rig until the museum opens in 2027, when it will be revealed in its new setting.
What Comes Next
Photo by Statsbygg / Museum of the Viking Age
The Oseberg Ship was the first to be relocated, but it will not be the last. The Gokstad Ship is scheduled to move later this autumn, followed by the Tune Ship and then the most delicate items of all: the three ornate sledges from the Oseberg burial.
When the Museum of the Viking Age opens in 2027, visitors will encounter the ships in a purpose-built environment designed to preserve them for future generations. The larger galleries will also allow the public to view the vessels from multiple angles and greater distances, reducing risks to the fragile timbers.
The Oseberg Ship’s journey of 100 metres marks not just a physical relocation but the safeguarding of a cultural treasure. More than a thousand years after it first set sail, and over a century after it was pulled from the earth, the ship now rests in a home built to ensure that its legacy — and the stories of the people it carried — will endure far into the future.
A landmark in Viking heritage preservation took place on earlier this month, when the Oseberg Ship — one of the world’s greatest Viking treasures — was carefully moved to its new home in Oslo’s forthcoming Museum of the Viking Age.
After nearly a hundred years on display in the old Viking Ship Museum at Bygdøy, the Oseberg Ship has finally been transferred to its permanent location in the newly constructed Museum of the Viking Age. The move was the culmination of more than a decade of planning and testing, involving engineers, conservators, and specialists from diverse fields.
The ship, over 1,200 years old and composed of 90 percent original timber, is extraordinarily fragile. Vibrations and uneven support structures in the old museum had caused stress fractures in its planks. Without intervention, experts warned that the ship might eventually collapse under its own weight.
In 2012, a Norwegian government-appointed committee determined that the old building was unsuitable for the ships’ long-term preservation. By 2016, plans for the new museum were underway, and the Viking Ship Museum closed in 2021 to prepare for the relocation.
Ten Years in the Making
The relocation required precision on a level rarely attempted in cultural heritage preservation. Moving a 21.5-metre Viking ship, weighing several tonnes, meant designing custom supports and employing technology usually reserved for offshore oil rigs.
“The Oseberg ship is vulnerable to vibrations and stress, and every detail was carefully planned and tested well in advance,” explained conservator David Hauer, who has overseen the project since 2015. “We are planning for good conditions for at least a century to come. Then future generations will take over the baton.”
The journey itself covered only 106.5 metres but took more than 10 hours. At a maximum speed of 25 centimetres per minute, the ship was slowly raised, transported with only millimetres of clearance to the surrounding walls, and then lowered into its new gallery. For several hours, it hovered several metres above the floor — a nerve-racking spectacle for the assembled conservators and engineers.
“This is a historic day. It is a ship that has been involved in so much, and which has had an afterlife that gives me chills to think about,” said museum director Aud V. Tønnessen. “Everyone who has been involved has done an incredible job, and this has been a fantastic day in my life.”
Why the Ship Had to Move
The Oseberg Ship, along with the Gokstad and Tune ships, was excavated in remarkably good condition, yet the centuries in the soil had robbed the oak of much of its elasticity. Exposed to modern air, the planks became brittle. Combined with fluctuations in temperature and humidity, and the stress of inadequate museum supports, cracks had begun to form.
The relocation provides an opportunity to install new, vibration-resistant and earthquake-secured foundations. The new climate control system will stabilise humidity and temperature, creating conditions in which the ships could endure for millennia.
A Ship with a Storied Past
First uncovered in 1904 near Tønsberg, Norway, the Oseberg Ship is celebrated as the finest surviving Viking vessel. Dating to around 820 AD, it was originally a seagoing ship, sleek and richly ornamented with carved animal-head designs along its prow and sides.
Its fame, however, rests not only on its craftsmanship but also on its role as a burial ship. The Oseberg mound contained the remains of two high-status women, often referred to as the “Oseberg queens,” along with an astonishing array of grave goods: carved sledges, textiles, animal sacrifices, and household items. These finds have offered scholars unmatched insight into Viking art, social hierarchy, and burial customs.
The ship itself became a symbol of Norway’s Viking heritage, drawing millions of visitors over the past century.
Engineering Meets Archaeology
The Oseberg’s relocation was an unprecedented collaboration. Conservators and archaeologists worked side by side with engineers familiar with North Sea oil platforms, vibration specialists, and crane operators. Norwegian firm Imenco designed the moving system, adapting offshore technology to cultural preservation.
For Hauer, watching the ship finally rest in its new cradle was a moment of relief: “It is a huge milestone to place the ship in the new building. There is no doubt that this is a significant event, and I have been thinking about this move daily since 2015.”
The work is not yet over — the ship remains supported by a securing rig until the museum opens in 2027, when it will be revealed in its new setting.
What Comes Next
The Oseberg Ship was the first to be relocated, but it will not be the last. The Gokstad Ship is scheduled to move later this autumn, followed by the Tune Ship and then the most delicate items of all: the three ornate sledges from the Oseberg burial.
When the Museum of the Viking Age opens in 2027, visitors will encounter the ships in a purpose-built environment designed to preserve them for future generations. The larger galleries will also allow the public to view the vessels from multiple angles and greater distances, reducing risks to the fragile timbers.
The Oseberg Ship’s journey of 100 metres marks not just a physical relocation but the safeguarding of a cultural treasure. More than a thousand years after it first set sail, and over a century after it was pulled from the earth, the ship now rests in a home built to ensure that its legacy — and the stories of the people it carried — will endure far into the future.
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