Bjørgvin Viking Market 2027: late May or early June, dates not announced
Bjørgvin Marknad is a Viking and medieval market held over a weekend in late May or early June at Hordamuseet, an open-air museum on the fjord at Stend, about half an hour south of Bergen, Norway. It is run by volunteers from the association of the same name, has been held since 2004, and the 2026 market was June 5 to 7.
Quick facts
To be announced- Dates
- Late May or early June 2027, dates not announced
- Hours
- Not confirmed
- Where
- Hordamuseet, Hordnesvegen 24, Stend, Fana, Norway
- Nearest airport
- Bergen Flesland (BGO), about 15 min
- From Bergen
- 30 min by car south toward Flesland, or Skyss bus
- Organizer
- Bjørgvin Marknad
- Admission
- The market has charged an entry fee since 2011. The organizer has not published prices online.
- Payment
- Not confirmed
- Kids
- Yes. It is run as a family event, with archery, a children's hird, games and horse riding on Icelandic horses from Frotveit farm.
- Dogs
- Not confirmed
- Camping
- The camp is for participants, who live on the museum grounds for the weekend.
- Accessibility
- Not confirmed
- Language
- The organizer writes in Norwegian and English.
What happens
Bjørgvin is the old name for Bergen, and the market is the city’s Viking and medieval weekend. A group of enthusiasts founded the association in 2003 because Bergen, with all its history, had nothing for people interested in the Viking Age and the Middle Ages. The first market was held on Mount Fløyen in 2004, and it moved to Hordamuseet in 2008 for the space.
Hordamuseet is an open-air museum of old farm buildings by the Fana fjord, and for one weekend Vikings and medieval people camp and live on the grounds. The program changes each year but follows the same lines: a market with period food and stalls of historical goods, live music and dance, storytelling and lectures, craft demonstrations, combat displays, archery, courses and children’s activities. The longship Haakon Haakonsson has been out on the fjord, and Frotveit farm brings Icelandic horses to ride. Clothing, gear and goods for sale must be period-correct, and the association runs it without pay, as a non-commercial event.
What visitors say
There are few written reviews, and most of what exists is local coverage. In 2019 the board chair estimated about 1,500 visitors despite a poor weather forecast, with around 200 participants who had come from as far as England, Denmark, Poland and the Netherlands. He said participants who travel to it call it the friendliest market they go to. Attendance was higher in the early years on Fløyen, with 6,187 visitors in 2007. When a reader asked on the organizer’s site whether visitors can come for just one day, the answer was yes.
Our take
This is a reenactors’ market more than a tourist festival, and it is the only Viking event we know of in the Bergen area. That makes it worth a half day if you are in Bergen at the start of June, and an easy one: the museum is fifteen minutes from the airport, and the fjord setting suits a camp. Expect a community event of a few hundred participants, not the scale of Avaldsnes, and expect it to mix Viking and medieval periods freely. Check the date before you plan around it, because it moves between the last weekend of May and the first weekend of June, and in 2026 it fell on the same weekend as the Viking Festival at Avaldsnes, three to four hours south.
Our take is based on visitor reviews, reenactor forums and the organizer’s own program, not on a visit. We say so because we think you should know.
Getting there
Hordamuseet is at Hordnesvegen 24 in Fana, south of the city center and close to Bergen Airport Flesland. By car, follow signs for the airport, turn left toward Fana at the roundabout after Lagunen shopping center, then right onto Hordnesvegen and follow signs for Hordaland Teater; the museum is next to the car park. Skyss runs local buses from the city.
Combine with
The Viking Festival at Avaldsnes, the same or the following June weekend, south along the coast. Bryggens Museum in Bergen for the medieval town. Njardarheimr, the Viking village at Gudvangen, on the Norway in a Nutshell route.
Sources
The organizer’s 2026 announcement, 2025 announcement, 2024 post, history of the association, market information and market rules and directions. Coverage in Fanaposten (2019), and the history and early attendance on Norwegian Wikipedia.
Past editions
- June 5–7, 2026
- May 30 – June 1, 2025
- May 31 – June 2, 2024 · The twentieth market.
Last checked 2026-10-14 against the organizer's website: Bjørgvin Marknad. Dates can change; confirm before you travel. Back to Norway, near Bergen or the full calendar.