the Viking ship sailed from Norway to Chicago in 1893

	Friends of the Viking Ship

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The 1893 Viking Ship exhibit will open in the spring. Visit us at Good Templar Park, Geneva, IL, between 1:00 & 4:00 on these dates: • April 24 • May 22 • July 17 • August 14 • September 18 • October 9

When one investigates the sources, there is no doubt that Viking is the correct name of the ship.
Books written by both the Captain and crew refer to the ship as Viking.
Newspaper articles written as the ship arrived in cities from New York to Chicago describe the Viking.

Declared one of the 10 most endangered landmarks in Illinois, this important, irreplaceable piece of our nation's and region's history must be preserved.

The Viking just after launching, Norway
Notice that all 32 shields are hung on one side.

The Viking after launching

photo: Vesterheim Museum, Decorah, IA

"There is a widespread misunderstanding that the ship initially was named The Raven, and later renamed Viking."
Read about the naming of the ship.

The bronze plaque from Lincoln Park

photo: Vesterheim Museum, Decorah, IA

The bronze plaque from Lincoln Park reads:

"NORWEGIAN VIKING SHIP"

"This ship came direct from Norway to Chicago under its own sails, with a crew of fourteen Norwegian sailors commanded by Captain Magnus Andersen, carrying a message of good will from the people of Norway to the American people at the World's columbian Exposition at Chicago in the year 1893.
"It is an exact reproduction of the famous ship about 1000 years old and excavated from the "King's Mound" ar Gokstad, County of Jarlsberg, Norway.
"In such ships the ancient Norwegian Vikings roamed the seas and founded Norse domains in Normandy, Ireland and Sicily.
"About the year 1000 A.D. the Norwegian Viking Leif Eriksen, sailing in such a ship and without the aid of compass, discovered the American continent."

The plaque incorrectly numbers the crew at fourteen. There were only eleven crew members in addition to Captain Andersen.

MORE HISTORY:

See the Ship! Hear the Story!

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at Good Templar Park, Geneva, IL.

Friends of the Viking Ship