JORVIK VIKING CENTRE YORK
Vikings Reinvade York - Exhibition and Viking Festival
In the late 1970’s,
archealogical discoveries in the center of medieval York lead to revelations
of the of the age of the Vikings in the north of
England. The JORVIK Viking Center was opened in 1984 on the site of the Coppergate
discoveries as an educational entertainment exhibition to reveal the world
of the northern explorers who settled in warmer lands from their Scandinavian
homeland from around 800 to 1050 AD, until wars lead to the end of their
time. At the JORVIK exhibition center, an underground ride takes you into
this world, a recreated Viking town from a time long ago. The foundations
of 1,000 year old houses revealed before your eyes and objects from the excavations
explored to reveal the lives of the Vikings.
In 2011, the
JORVIK Viking Centre in York opens two new galleries in the museum displaying
artifacts
and human remains excavated at York’s Coppergate.
The exhibition called Investigate Coppergate will show two human skeletons
found at the dig and present freshly commissioned studies to tell visitors
how the ancient Vikings of Jorvik lived and died, the variety of afflictions
and diseases they suffered from, and what was in their diet, basicically
what can be told from bones. The new Last Vikings of Jorvik exhibit gallery
will look at the final battles of the Viking age which shaped the early middle-ages
city of York and portended the arrival of the Normans.
JORVIK Viking Festival - February
The annual JORVIK Viking Festival is a city-wide celebration of York’s Viking heritage. The festival attracts Viking re-enactors from across Europe and offers a program of family-friendly events, lectures, guided walks and battle re-enactments, some which are free and other requiring admission. There will also be cultural events with Specially commissioned theatrical performances, cultural events, music, combat training and the opportunity to see recent archaeological discoveries from new excavations.
The 2011 festival
which falls in February (19-27 for 2011) recreates living events of the
early
11th century when Saxon King Ethelred was on the throne
of England and battling repeated invasions of the Danes. In the Festival’s
grand finale, Ethelred’s ally, the Viking leader Olaf Haraldsson, leads
in the fight against the Danes with hundreds of armed warriors, capped by
fireworks and a boat set ablaze at the York Maze. Festival
Other Attractions
DIG
At the JORVIK Center kids can join the archeological
investigation at DIG, especially recreated excavation pits where amateur
explorers can handle
real artifacts and determine what their use might have been and how that
explain the story of how people lived in Roman, Viking, and Medieval times.
BARLEY HALL
Not at the Viking
center but a few blocks away, tucked into a York “snickleway” the Barley Hall is a medieval
townhouse which once housed the Priory of Nostell and the Mayor of York.
The house was uncovered
about the same time as the Jorvik discoveries, hidden under modern day façade.
The building has been restored to its original beauty of its Great hall,
high ceilings and half-wood 16th Century architecture.
MICKLEBAR GATE MUSEUM
York's most important
gateway through the town walls (see Walking
York’s Walls). The MickleBar Gate (Mykelgate)
at the southern entrance to the old city was the main entrance for the monarchy
arriving
from London with the only bridge across the Ouse River at the time. The 12
Century Micklebar Gate was where the severed heads of the executed on poles
would greet visitors to the city to warn against transgressions against the
king’s laws. Within the gate exhibit you can explore the rather
barbaric history and pageantry of medieval York.
Visiting Jorvik
Viking Center
A combined ticket to the exhibits of the York Archaeological Trust
can be purchased at the Jorvik Viking Center. The JORVIK Center is
open from
10am
to 5pm (last admission) April though November and 10am to 4pm from
November to April: Ticket prices range from £8.95 to £16 for Adults £7
to £12.50 for Students and Seniors (Concessions) and Family Tickets
from £26 to £51, depending on how many of the sites are
included. The Micklebar Gate and Barley Hall can be visited separately
with individual
admissions. © Bargain
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Jorvik
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See Also:
YORK CASTLE MUSEUM - VICTORIAN STREET
RIPLEY
CASTLE - BOARS HEAD INN HOTEL
NIDD HALL HOTEL - YORKSHIRE DALES
