Birka: Major Trading Center During The Viking Age And The First Christian Gathering In Sweden

A. Sutherland  - AncientPages.com - Established in the middle of the 8th century, Birka was an important trade hub for goods from Scandinavia, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Orient.

It was also the site of the first Christian gatherings in Sweden, organized in 831 by Saint Ansgar, a nobleman and later Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen, who preached and made converts at Birka for six months.

Birka, Sweden, model. Image credit: Holger.Ellgaard  - CC BY-SA 3.0

Birka was founded around 750 AD on the island of Björkö (‘Birch Island’) in Lake Mälaren, Ekerö, Sweden, and spread over 32 acres. The town had a perfectly secure natural position and was guarded by a large, 100 ft (c. 30 m) high mass of rock on its western side. It was walled in the 10^th century, with timber watchtowers linked together by a palisade about 6 ft (1.8 m) high.

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