Sanguinarians,battle-hardened,violent. Many adjectives have been used in history books to define the Vikings, a civilisation marked by its acts of savagery, plunder and lack of morals. However, all these clichés have done nothing but tarnish the true essence of these brave 'men from the north' who stood out, apart from their strength and devastating attacks, for their intelligenceits skill for tradeits shipbuilding expertise or its talent for the creation of poems and literary sagas.
With the aim of dismantling these false myths and disseminating their more hidden facets, the Archaeological Museum of Alicante hosts until 16 January next the international exhibition "Vikings. Warriors of the North. Giants of the Sea", a new production that will allow visitors to discover the lesser-known aspects of the daily, cultural and political life of this Nordic people.
The President of the Provincial Government, César SánchezThis morning, he presented all the details of this new cultural proposal, which stands out especially for the presence of adapted elements to facilitate access to content for people with disabilitiesThe event was also attended by the ambassador of this country in Spain. The event was also attended by the country's ambassador to Spain, John Nielsenthe deputy for Culture, César Augusto AsencioThe Director General of the National Museum of Denmark, Per Kristian Madsenthe curator of the exhibition, Anne-Christine Larsenas well as the technical director and the managing director of the Alicante centre, Manuel Olcina and Josep Albert Cortésrespectively, among other authorities.
In this respect, the president recalled that the Diputación de Alicante is going to set up a Provincial Plan for Accessibility in Public and Private Buildings, "with the aim of making the province one hundred percent accessible.".
"This purpose is also evident in this exhibition, which features accessibility measures such as easy-to-read panels, texts in Braille, reproductions of pieces in three dimensions and interpreter points. The aim is to work so that all citizens can easily and simply access culture in general and the contents of this collection in particular."He added.
A total of 663 pieces from the National Museum of Denmark This cultural proposal, which begins in a hall of a museum, is composed of dedicated to the seawith the ships as the main protagonist. These 'men of the north' possessed great expertise as naval engineers, a quality that led them to build a wide range of warships, merchant ships and fishing and transport vessels. The exhibition also explores the figure of the warrior as a profession - mercenary - and that of the merchant as a businessman who exploited trade along the shipping routes.
The second room deals with Viking culture and societyThe exhibition also offers an overview of their city model, their housing typology and their palace complexes. The exhibition also offers an overview of their city model, the typology of their dwellings and their palace complexes.
Finally, the third room is dedicated to exalt their great religious devotionwith references to the gods, Scandinavian myths and the beginning of their Christianisation. In addition, this space contains the testimonies of the raids that took the Vikings to the Umayyad Emirate of Al-Andalus and also those that they carried out in Orihuela, the Lands of Tudmir and the Mediterranean coast.
"Whenever a non-Hispanic culture is exhibited at MARQ, we strive to find a link between it and the history of our province. In this case, the exhibition is complemented by an exhibition entitled 'Vikings and Umayyads', which refers to the attack that the men from the north carried out in the mid-ninth century against the city of Orihuela."explained Manuel Olcina.
Among the most outstanding objects is the Jelling stonea unique piece erected in 965 by King Hararld Bluetooth to proclaim his baptism and, with it, the establishment of Christianity as the official religion of Denmark, as well as the Valkyriea solid silver-gilt figurine depicting a woman holding a sword and a circular shield.
A ship's rudder more than two metres in length, a set of coinsa hull fragment of Tjele, a double-edged sword with silver ornaments or a wooden yoke with ornamental bronze setting are other of the most representative objects that make up this collection, which is completed with the publication of a didactic guide and different audiovisual material.
Moreover, thanks to this exhibition, visitors will be able to discover such curious aspects as that The axe was the main weapon used by the Vikings against the enemy. or that the idea thatcarried horns on their hooves is a totally false myth..
The head of the Provincial Government, who thanked the ASISA and Caja Murcia foundations for their collaboration. in this new expository proposal, it has pointed out that ".Our commitment to culture and tourism is evident through initiatives such as this one, which allow us to promote the excellence of our territory in destinations such as Sweden, Denmark and Norway. In the coming years we are going to develop a very powerful promotional campaign in these countries, because we are aware that tourism generates employment and wellbeing for our municipalities.".
