Birka
Birka, is considered as the oldest city in Sweden. It was founded around 750 AD and abandoned 250 years later. At the peak of its activity, Birka comprised up to one thousand inhabitants. Birka is located 30 kilometres west of Stockholm on lake Mälaren. It is a popular day excursion from Stockholm. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.
The Ansgar Chapel was built in 1930, 1100 years after the monk Ansgars arrived in Sweden. The chapel was designed by architect Lars Israel Wahlman and decorated with paintings and sculptures representing Ansgar’s life and commandments. Saint Ansgar was born in 801 in a Frankish family in Amiens (today in France). In 822, he was sent as a missionary to christianize "northern lands". In 830, he pent 6 months in Birka where he organised a small congregation. He will return to Birka for two years in 848-850 and in 854. He is famous to the extent that even a crater on the moon is named after him, the Ansgarius crater!
The museum in Birka has an interesting collection of models representing the life of Birka. Boat models have been made by Claes Kurckenberg, a prominent Swedish modelist.
Getting there
By public transport
Birka is accessible by public transport from Stockholm, Södertälje and Mariefred.
See the Stromma site for further informatiopn.
By boat
Access to Birka guest harbour is straight forward. Moor with stern anchor, bow to the pier, or alongside when not too crowded. Beware of a 1 metre shallow just west of the main pier, indicated on nautical charts.
Birka
- Coordinates: 59.330738, 17.546024
- Unesco Heritage Site
- Remarkable Viking site!