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Cultural Heritage

Kaupang viking town

Situated along Tunsbergleden

Rune Nordseter
Kaupang was the first Norwegian town during the viking age

Website

https://www.norgeshistorie.no/vikingtid/0804-vikingtidsbyen-kaupang.html

Kaupang was founded around year 800. The size of the town and the surrounding burial grounds indicates that the number of inhabitants was around 200 on average. The port town was located at the mouth of the Oslo Fjord but was well protected from wind and weather.

Kaupang was one of the first settlements in Scandinavia where goods were traded on a large scale. Silver was used as means of payment. Kaupang was part of an international network of trading and attracted goods from many parts of the world of the Vikings: slate from Western Norway, drinking cups from the Frankish Kingdom, coins from the Caliphate, Slavic ceramics and glass pearls from the Byzantine Empire.

Norgeshistorie.no, Unn PedersenJon Vidar Sigurdsson, «Vikingtidsbyen Kaupang». Copied and translated 16. jan. 2024 from https://www.norgeshistorie.no/vikingtid/0804-vikingtidsbyen-kaupang.html.