Fyrkat Viking Fortress

A full view of Fyrkat Viking Fortress from the West

The Fyrkat Viking Fortress is located in a valley a bit West southwest of the town of Hobro in Denmark. Fyrkat is smaller than the Trelleborg Viking Fortress on Zealand, but was nonetheless a major concentration of manpower in viking times.

The North side of the Fyrkat Viking Fortress

Like the Trelleborg Viking Fortress, Fyrkat is located next to a waterway. In viking times, with huge forests covering the countryside, the water was the main transport route. However the fortresses were located so far up the fjord that you had to know it was there or you had to look for it to find it.

An overview of the inside of Fyrkat Viking Fortress

The inside of Fyrkat had four groups with four houses each in it. It has surprised the archaeologists that there were no fireplaces in any of the houses, which could mean that people did not actually live inside the fortress, but in the local area at the outside.

The house pole markings inside the Fyrkat Viking Fortress

Archaeologists have excavated the inside and have put concrete stubs in each pole hole found, to illustrate the layout and position of the houses.

A reconstruction of a house in the Fyrkat Viking Fortress

This reconstruction of one of the viking houses is on the passage from the ticket office to the Fyrkat Viking Fortress. Note that the outer planks that support the house are a bit tilted. I has been the subject of some discussion whether these poles were actually tilted or not - this is the interpretation by the people at Fyrkat.

The Western gate with the moat and the water to the North

The road across the moat is a recent addition. When the viking fortress was in service, there was no direct passage from the outside into the fortress. You had to cross a wooden bridge midway between the gates, and follow the outside of the wall to the gate.

 

Next - Aggersborg Viking Fortress

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