Birka, is considered as the oldest city in Sweden. It was founded around 750 AD and abandoned 250 years later. At the peak of its activity, Birka comprised up to one thousand inhabitants. Birka is located 30 kilometres west of Stockholm on lake Mälaren. It is a popular day excursion from Stockholm. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.
 |
| Birka guest harbour? |
Access to Birka guest harbour is straight forward. Moor with stern anchor, bow to the pier, or alongside when not too crowded. Beware of a 1 metre shallow just west of the main pier, indicated on nautical charts.
 |
| Belisama on the Birka guest pontoon, August 2019 |
 |
| Birka guest pontoon, Auugst 2019 |
 |
| Birka viking harbour, August 2019 |
 |
| Birka landscape, August 2019 |
 |
| Birka landscape, August 2019 |
 |
| The monument on top of Birka, August 2019 |
The Ansgar Chapel was built in 1930, 1100 years after the monk Ansgars arrived in Sweden. The chapel was designed by architect Lars Israel Wahlman and decorated with paintings and sculptures representing Ansgar’s life and commandments. Saint Ansgar was born in 801 in a Frankish family in Amiens (today in France). In 822, he was sent as a missionary to christianize "northern lands". In 830, he pent 6 months in Birka where he organised a small congregation. He will return to Birka for two years in 848-850 and in 854. He is famous to the extent that even a crater on the moon is named after him, the Ansgarius crater!
 |
| Birka Ansgar Chapel, August 2019 |
The museum in Birka has an interesting collection of models representing the life of Birka. Boat models have been made by Claes Kurckenberg, a prominent Swedish modelist.
I'm jealous! an other open chapel! never opened in Norway.
ReplyDeleteI think y=taht a part of the models of Birka is on the Nordiska Museet.