See an Actual Viking Burial Ship in Minnesota

If you're feeling cooped up and need a quick day trip, try heading to Moorhead, Minnesota to see an actual Viking burial ship.

The Hjemkomst Viking Ship is a replica of a 9th-century burial ship that actually sailed to Norway before returning home to be on display in our great state. The name Hjemkomst means "homecoming" in Norwegian.

The Viking ship actually sailed from New York to Norway in 1982, and has come to represent the seafaring heritage of much of the population of Minnesota, which has the largest number of Scandinavian Americans of any state.

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The Vikings were skilled sailors, and it is believed that they set foot on North America around 1000 AD, long before any other European explorers did.

The ship itself was created by Robert Asp, a guidance counselor at a local middle school. He made it back in 1974 at a local potato warehouse. Robert's dream was to sail the authentic ship all the way to Norway, but only got to sail it from Duluth onto Lake Superior before passing away due to Leukemia. Two years after he passed, his kids did realize his dream and sailed the boat from New York to Bergen, Norway, and after the trip the boat was shipped back to it's original home in Minnesota.

Today, you can see the boat at the Hjemkomst Center in Moorehead. Their mission is to collect, preserve, interpret, and share the history and culture of Clay County, Minnesota. For more information on visiting the Hjemkomst Center, check them out online.