Stöng, Viking-era Long house
A real Viking home
Category

Sightseeing

Age requirement

All ages

Message from Sophie

This place are the ruins of a real farm located in Þjórsádalur valley. Beside the value for archaeologists also a saga took place in this stunning setting. The viking living there was called Gaukur. Mentioned in the Njáll Saga Gaukur‘s story is full of tales about honor and viking strength. But spoiler alert: It doesn’t have a good ending for Gaukur.

Around 1000 after Christ the valley was green and fertile. Therefore, it was the home of numerous farms not only Stöng. Today we cannot see anything of this anymore as it is buried under meters of ash. 1104 Hekla erupted and 22 farms were destroyed. Stöng was one of them.

During the 1930ies the ruins of Stöng was found by archaeologists and nowadays it is possible walk into the ruins. In front and inside the house you can find info boxes which explain to you how the farm and how the rooms were used.

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