Friends of the Viking Ship

Name: Friends of the Viking Ship
Address: 528 East Side Drive, Geneva, IL, 60134, US
Telephone: +13312481903

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Friends of the Viking Ship

Open Days with docent-led tours of the ship are scheduled monthly April - October.

The "Viking", a full size replica of the famous "Gokstad", sailed from Norway to New York in 1893. She then proceeded via the Hudson River, Erie Canal and Great Lakes to Chicago for the World's Coumbian Exposition of 1893

08/31/2026

Continuing the topic of oars and oar holes, below is an illustration of oar hole covers found on the original Gokstad Viking ship. These wooden discs would close over these holes while at sea to prevent water from entering while sailing. Our 𝘝𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 learned this lesson the hard way after her return from New Orleans in 1894...

08/30/2026

𝘝𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 Facts & Figures: In his book 𝙑𝙞𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜: 𝙁𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙉𝙤𝙧𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖 crew member R.E. Rasmussen describes another key detail about the ship--the oar hole: "The top boards have holes for sixteen pairs of oars. These boards are two and one-half inches thick. When the oar is in-board, a valve is placed by each hole to close it. Because the oar blade is wider than standard, there is a small cut in each oar hole so that the oar with the blade in front can be pushed through the hole from the inside."

The earliest evidence of the use of oars in Scandinavia--a significant advancement over paddling--is an oarlock found in Hordaland, Norway, that is estimated to be as old as 30 BC - AD 250.

08/30/2026

August 30, 1893
An interesting question is raised as to how 𝘝𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, built based on technology 1000 years old, could successfully navigate the tumultuous North Atlantic when many modern ships could not? We know the answer of course -- those old Norsemen, after generation upon generation of trial and error, knew how to build ships that could navigate almost any body of water!

08/29/2026

𝘝𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 in the White City

08/26/2026

One of the thousands of people who toured 𝘝𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 in the summer of 1893 was Helen Keller. She visited the World's Fair, accompanied by Anne Sullivan and Alexander Graham Bell, and was one of the few guests allowed to touch all the exhibits. One day, after a ride in a gondola, she toured 𝘝𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. She included this experience in her autobiography, 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙈𝙮 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚.

08/23/2026

In 1894, Captain Magnus Andersen reflected back on how funds were raised to build 𝘝𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨: "We started a subscription. The government had already been asked for money, but they decided that it was too risky an undertaking. They said if it is to be built for the Chicago World’s Fair and if you will send it over by a steamer, we will vote the money, but if it is to be sailed over, we think it is sport and very dangerous sport at that, and money will not be appropriated for that purpose. So we went to work and got subscriptions from nearly 15,000 people, ranging all the way from ten cents to two hundred dollars..." It was the 1890's version of crowdfunding!

08/22/2026

If you missed seeing 𝘝𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 in person at our August Open Day last weekend, here are some additional stereo photographs of her at the World's Fair for the 3D experience!

08/20/2026

Nearly 40 years after the historic voyage of 𝘝𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 to Chicago, Captain Magnus Andersen, in his book 𝘼 𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝘽𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝟳𝟬 𝙔𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨’ 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝙎𝙚𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙇𝙖𝙣𝙙, reflected on his reasons for making the trip: "Many in Norway were skeptical of the idea that the Atlantic Ocean could be traversed by an open vessel like the Gokstad ship, which could almost be called a small coastal vessel....We emphasized to potential contributors that the voyage had two purposes: First, to propagandize Leif Erikson as the true discoverer of America; second, to raise the renown of our seafaring class by having them favorably mentioned in newspapers around the world."

08/16/2026

𝘝𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 in 1920 resting on boards outside what will later become the Museum of Science and Industry. After the Field Museum moved to its current location and left 𝘝𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 behind, a group made up of Norwegian-American women--the Viking Ship Committee--rescued her and she was moved to Lincoln Park. She remained there under a shelter for 74 years.

08/16/2026

August 16, 1908
The 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘨𝘰 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘦 mentions that a nice summertime attraction in Jackson Park is a visit to the 𝘝𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 next to what was then the Field Museum (currently the Museum of Science and Industry), where she rested "under a shed" from 1895 to 1920.

Address

528 East Side Drive
Geneva, IL
60134

Telephone

+13312481903

Website

http://www.vikingship.us/

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