Borgundkaupangen
Borgundkaupangen , also called Borgund , was a trading town in the Middle Ages ( kaupang means trading place with an urban character). It was located in the Sunnmøre region , near Ålesund , in Norway . This city originated in the Viking Age and had its heyday in the 13th century. The city began to decline at the beginning of the 14th century until it disappeared in the 16th century.
The settlement remained undiscovered for many hundreds of years and the site was mainly excavated around 1950 to 1960. These excavations, together with written sources, show that Borgund was a rich trading town. Traces point to three marble churches and in written documents at least four churches are mentioned by name. In addition, there was a large cemetery with over 300 Christian graves from the 11th century, which indicates that Borgund must have been a religious center as well. The oldest houses and wharves found were built in the years before 1050.
The basis of the port city was the cod fishery on the Borgundfjord . Iron production was at least as important , but livestock farming was also practiced. In addition, Borgund had a central location in Sunnmøre and was under the patronage of the powerful noble Giske family . In addition to two or three other huts, an old Årestue was excavated , in which, similar to the Faroese Roykstova, there was a large room with an open fireplace and an opening in the roof. A modern building shows exhibitions on the history of the trading city. The facility is part of the Sunnmøre Museum in Ålesund .
literature
- Kristian Bugge: Borgund kirker i middelalderen , Tidsskrift for Sunnmøre Historiske lag, Ålesund 1927
- Asbjørn Herteig: Borgundkaupangen på Sunnmøre , Borgundkaupangens Venner, Ålesund 1974
- Arne J. Larsen: Skomoter og skomakeri i middelalderens Borgund , Borgundkaupangens Venner, Ålesund 1975
- Arne J. Larsen: Borgund på Sunnmøre i UBAS “De første 200 årene - nytt blikk på 27 Scandinaviske middle derbyer”, Bergen 2008
Web links
- Stiftinga Sunnmøre Museum - accessed January 3, 2013 (Norwegian)
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Nils Petter Thuesen: De eldste norske byer - forhistorie, oppkomst og tidlig utvikling . Fabritius Forlag, Oslo 1976, ISBN 82-07-00027-9 , p. 18 .
Coordinates: 62 ° 27 '56.4 " N , 6 ° 14' 2.2" E