Haithabu Viking Museum – the Viking Hedeby in Germany

Writer: Helena Bergström

Updated: August 2026 | In the Viking Age, Haithabu, or Hedeby, was one of northern Europe's most important trading posts. Today, you can visit both an archaeological museum and reconstructed Viking houses at the historic site in Schleswig-Holstein. We visited Haithabu by camper van – and got an exciting insight into life here more than a thousand years ago.

Haithabu – the Vikings' major trading post

Haithabu, or Hedeby as the place is usually called in Swedish and Danish, was one of the most important trading posts in northern Europe during the Viking Age. The city was located on the Schlei fjord, near present-day Schleswig, in a strategic location between Scandinavia and the European mainland.

Important trade routes between north and south, but also between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, intersected here. Between the two seas, goods only needed to be transported a relatively short distance overland before they could be reloaded onto boats and continued their journey. This made Haithabu a real hub during the Viking Age.

People and goods came here from far away, and over the course of about 300 years, Haithabu developed into one of northern Europe’s largest and most important trading cities. It had houses, workshops, streets, a harbor, and marketplaces – an early urban community at a time when most people still lived in the countryside.

Haithabu and Dannevirke – World Heritage

Haithabu was also an important place politically and militarily. The trading town was located on the border between the Danish kingdom to the north and the Frankish kingdom to the south and was protected by a semicircular rampart.

In the 10th century, Haithabu was connected to the Dannevirke, the large system of defensive walls that stretched across the narrow isthmus in present-day Schleswig-Holstein. Together, the trading town and the defensive works made it possible to both protect the area and control important trade routes.

In 2018, Haithabu and Dannevirke were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. One reason is that the archaeological remains are unusually well-preserved and tell a lot about trade, cultural encounters and social development during the Viking Age.

And there is still much to discover. Approximately 95 percent of the old trading town has not yet been excavated. So, large parts of the Vikings' Haithabu still remain underground.

I find that detail dizzying. You walk around on top of a city that is mostly still waiting to tell its stories.

Viking Museum Haithabu

Today you can get to know Haithabu at Viking Museum Haithabu, which is considered one of Germany's most important archaeological museums. The visit actually consists of two parts: the museum building itself with archaeological finds and the open-air area where a small part of the old Viking city has been reconstructed.

It was above all the outdoor area that made the place come alive for us. From the museum you walk through a green landscape before the Viking houses appear down by the water.

The Viking houses in Haithabu

The historic site features seven reconstructed Viking houses, providing a glimpse into how people may have lived and worked here more than a thousand years ago.

When you walk between the houses and look out over the water, it becomes much easier to imagine the old trading town. Here were homes and workshops, while piers stretched out into the water where merchant ships could dock.

We were also lucky enough to have a knowledgeable guide who told us about both everyday life and trade during the Viking Age. It's the kind of place where a good guide makes a big difference – suddenly you're no longer just looking at reconstructed wooden houses, but a city where people actually lived, worked and did business.

Life in the Vikings' Hedeby

Life in Haithabu must have been much more international than one might first imagine when thinking of a Viking town. Trade routes from different parts of Europe met here and people with different languages and cultural backgrounds came into contact with each other.

At the same time, of course, normal everyday life went on. People needed food, clothing and housing, and craftsmen made and repaired things needed by both the residents and the merchants who passed by.

The area also has animals that contribute to the feeling of stepping into another time. When we visited Haithabu, we were met by sheep and very woolly cows, among other things.

It's the combination that makes Haithabu so interesting, we think. The museum tells the story through the real archaeological finds, while the houses, animals and outdoor environment help the imagination run wild.

What happened to Haithabu?

After several hundred years as an important trading town, Haithabu lost its role in the mid-11th century, at the end of the Viking Age. The function as a trading post was instead transferred to Schleswig on the other side of the Schlei.

This would prove to be an advantage for archaeologists much later. Since no new city was ever built on top of Haithabu, the old remains are still preserved underground. This is an important reason why the site can today provide so much knowledge about how people lived during the Viking Age.

Taste Schleswig-Holstein

Matjes and Northern German flavors

In northern Germany, the proximity to the sea is also evident on the plate. During our trip, we tried matjes, served with classic side dishes, at the Odin restaurant next to the Viking Museum.

Another North German alternative was Sauermeisch, cold meat in jelly. The Matjesen definitely appealed to us the most, and also fits very well into a trip through northern Germany.

White asparagus – Germany's white gold

Another classic is white asparagus, which in the spring season almost gains cult status in Germany. We had the privilege of tasting it at the Gut Basthorst restaurant, a historic estate located in the countryside east of Hamburg. We ate the asparagus with salmon, potatoes, hollandaise sauce and clarified butter. Very tasty!

READ MORE: All about asparagus in Germany – festivals, routes, recipes

Schleswig-Holstein by motorhome

Schleswig-Holstein is a great place to explore by motorhome. The state is relatively compact, the distances between many destinations are affordable and there are plenty of campsites and parking spaces.

For us, Schleswig-Holstein was the first part of a longer tour of northern Germany. We arrived by ferry from Gothenburg to Kiel and were able to roll straight onto the German roads with the camper van.

The ferry between Gothenburg and Kiel is also a convenient option if you want to avoid part of the drive through Denmark. You get directly to Schleswig-Holstein and can either continue south in Europe – or do like us and start discovering northern Germany right here.

READ MORE: From Kiel to Gothenburg – ferry between Sweden and Germany

On this particular trip we continued from Haithabu south through the countryside, but we have returned to Schleswig-Holstein several times. There is much more to discover here than you might think when just speeding past on the Autobahn.

More places to see in Schleswig-Holstein

If you want to continue your journey, there is much to see and experience in Schleswig-Holstein. Here you will find tips and reports:

• Hanseatic city of Lübeck
• Timmendorfer Strand
• Husum and Sankt Peter-Ording
• Bad Segeberg