The inauguration

5th of June 1999

The day has come for the Hjortspring boat to be resurrected! The boat is carried out by the future crew.

The boat must be placed on the trolley under strict control.

The boat waits in the pouring rain until it's time to begin the ceremony.

In the meantime, we can take a look at the beautification of our building: New entrance and windows, the facade plastered and painted with a 1:1 image of the Hjortspring boat, the boulders in the foreground will one day become a road.

The crew is getting settled in, if they can get there for interested guests.

The boat has been emptied of rainwater and is now heading towards Dyvig, with the Chief leading the way.

The boat is pulled quietly along the small roads by the crew.

Transporting the boat the 800 metres to Dyvig in a dignified manner is a serious matter.

But it takes music! It's only 150 years since the end of the Bronze Age, so you can still blow your bronze lurs.

Down the hill, the last stretch before the car park at Dyvig.

The male choir sings an anthem in honour of the boat.

The boat has to ‘cut’ its way through the crowd the last bit down to the water's edge. This is after speeches have been given by various dignitaries.

But they succeeded, perhaps because of the ‘music’.

The boat is pulled to the floating pier.

It didn't go unnoticed, there were around 4,000 spectators.

Mandskabet er ved at komme ombord. The Viking ship on the left is Freja Byrding, a copy of Skuldelev 3.

Before we can sail, the boat must have a name. This act is performed by the goddess Nerteus, with water in a clay pot.

Oh boat - I bless you and baptise you Tilia Alsie (2) is the name you shall bear. Honour thyself and thy brave crew when with bow and oar thou cleaves the wave!

Then we can show the many people on the shore that we have made a boat that can actually sail.

On the first trip, they sailed around the nearby waters, as the spectators needed to be able to see Tilia.

On the second trip, with part of the crew replaced by our good friends from the National Museum, we were hailed from Freja, they wanted to give a gift, an oak tree, it now stands on our lawn

It turned into several tours. Meanwhile, spectators could watch crafts and enjoy roast wild boar and Hjortspring wine.

Eventually, however, the good day is over and the guests are on their way out of Dyvig.