It took ten years to plan and ten hours to do: the Oseberg ship move of September 9, 2025, took the 1,200-year-old Oseberg ship 116 yards (about 106.5 meters) to its new home inside Norway’s Museum of the Viking Age. NRK, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, has the full video; the museum’s website has a one-minute version. Oseberg is one of three well-preserved Viking ships the new museum will house.
Why Did the Oseberg Ship Move?
The original museum building, which the new museum will incorporate, opened in 1926. Arnstein Arneberg designed it to host 40,000 visitors a year. With the increase in popularity of Vikings in general and the Oseberg ship specifically, the old location lacked the ability to provide adequate access for the number of visitors that wanted to see the ships. Before the museum closed it was seeing over 500,000 visitors annually. The museum also did not provide enough protection for the fragile artifacts.
Where Did the Oseberg Ship Move To?
The ship’s new home offers less dust, a steadier climate and, most important, a floor isolated from vibration, preserving it for future visitors.
“We plan for good conditions for at least a century ahead. After that, future generations will take over the baton,” says conservator David Hauer of the Museum of the Viking Age, who was responsible for the move.
The Oseberg Ship Move
The Oseberg ship move took a decade to plan. The ship contains about 90% original wood. So each process for lifting the ship, moving it, and placing it in the new location needed testing before the work could begin. During the move, the ship traveled up to 10 inches (about 25 centimeters) a minute. In some places, it had a clearance of mere millimeters from the walls of the old museum. Next up is the Gokstad ship and after that, the Tune ship. The most fragile objects are sleds, which will move last.
Delayed Opening
The museum originally planned to open in 2026. Budget cuts and the challenge of preserving Oseberg and the other ships and artifacts pushed the date back; the museum now plans to reopen in November 2027.
Related Posts
Read about the Oseberg ship and its history and the two women buried with it, and check out our interview about how the ship reached its new home with the Museum of the Viking Age.
Sources
- Museum of the Viking Age, Everything you need to know about the Museum of the Viking Age
- Museum of the Viking Age, We Celebrate a Successful Move
- Museum of the Viking Age, The Oseberg ship has finally arrived home!
