Ale vikingagård, Viking farm reconstruction in Ale Municipality, Sweden.
Ale vikingagård is a reconstructed Viking-era farm beside the Göta älv, south of Älvängen in Ale Municipality. Its main building is a longhouse 17 metres long and about seven metres wide, with a rounded roof rising some seven metres, built of oak planks in stave technique and covered with wooden shingles. The walls carry rich carving in the Mammen style.
Construction of the buildings began in 2001, modelled on Fugledegården, a magnate's farm excavated at Lake Tissø on western Zealand in Denmark. The aim was to recreate the living environment of a wealthy Viking Age farmer. The farm was run by the municipality until 2015, when the non-profit association Ale vikingagård–Byalaget took over.
The farm is run by the volunteer association "Ale vikingagård–Byalaget", which took over from the municipality in 2016. The longhouse is built in oak with a rounded roof of wooden shingles, and its carved timberwork follows the Mammen style, a Viking-era ornamentation visitors can examine on the beams.
You can walk around the outdoor grounds freely, though the longhouse is usually locked. Regular events are held throughout the year, so checking the schedule online before visiting helps you plan activities you might enjoy.
The longhouse was raised from 2001 using sprättäljning, a technique of splitting logs to flatten the timber surfaces, found in older buildings. The carpenters gave it rich profiling in the Mammen style. The whole building is made of oak, with broad planks set in stavteknik on a heavy timber sill and a roof of thick wooden shingles.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,757 contributors worldwide.