The Viking castle

The Viking castle/fortress and the guild hall in Borre, Vestfold, Norway.

In the sagas, we read about powerful chiefs and kings who had their own guild halls. Perhaps the most famous is Valhall, the hall where fallen Viking warriors were welcomed after a dignified death in battle.

The halls were not residences, but banquet halls for the elite where political and religious ceremonies took place. When archaeologists discover traces of such hall buildings, it is considered a sign of an important center of power.

The guild hall at Borre

At Borre, traces of at least three large buildings have been found which have been interpreted as halls!

These probably date from the Merovingian period, the period just before the Viking Age. That there have been halls here at Borre also during the Viking Age is probably based on the fact that the burial ground was actively used during this period.

Borre is in possession of a number of large burial mounds from the Viking Age where important Viking kings and warriors were buried together with some of their possessions such as swords, shields, jewellery, etc.

Borre has the Viking Age's largest burial ground from the Viking Age.