Infopanel 8

Settlements

The original Viking settlements were located along the coasts of Norway and Sweden and on the Danish islands. However, not all settlements were located near water: the Danish royal seat of Jelling was located in the middle of Jutland, and Lund in Scania, which emerged from nearby Uppåkra, was also located inland. 

Among the most important trading cities in Scandinavia were Haithabu (near Schleswig) on the Danevirke defensive line, which separated Denmark and the Carolingian Empire, as well as Ribe in southwestern Denmark and Birka in Uppland, Sweden. In addition, important Viking settlements were established in York in northeastern England (Jorvik) and Dublin (Dyflinnaborg) in Ireland. In the east, trading centers emerged that developed into cities: Wolin in present-day Poland, Novgorod (Holmgarðr) with the small markets of Gorodisce and Kiev (Kænugarðr).