The Guild

Our building at Dyvigvej 11, Nordborg, Denmark.

Introduction

Our Mission

Our main mission is to promote the knowledge of the Hjortspring Boat and its history.

1. Our objective is to build, as accurate as possible, with the methods and tools of the past, a full scale replica of the Boat.
   We have decided that authentic details and functions are of major importance, not building time. The tools used should produce a surface as close as possible to that found and described in the finds of the Boat.
2. Together with local, regional and national institutions we will collect knowledge of the history of the Hjortspring Boat and of the shipbuilding of that period.
3. We want to ensure, that the built replica of the Boat is kept and maintained in the neighborhood of the place of the find (i.e. northern part of Als), that it would be tested in "real" life and would be the target for an exhibition.
4. Carry on educational work to extend the knowledge of the history of the Hjortspring Boat and the pre-Roman Iron Age at the place of the find.

To fulfill the above objectives / decisions, we work in close connection with The National Museum in Copenhagen and Roskilde and a "network" of people with a specific scientific knowledge of interest to the Guild.

The profile of the guild

Hjortspringbaadens Laug have been founded in 1991 by a group of people on the island of Als in Denmark, the island where the Hjortspring Boat have been excavated in 1921/22.
These people decided to investigate the possibility of building a replica of the boat in full scale.
The investigations showed that it was possible to get proper and accurate documentation of the finds.

Then a legal organization was formed: Hjortspringbaadens Laug (The Guild of The Hjortspring Boat), in order to establish a platform, from where the work could be governed and coordinated, funds could be raised and long range connections with universities and museums could be established and maintained.

All, both people and societies, may apply for a membership for a minimal fee, which alone covers expenses for the distribution of the information of our work.

The guild to day has over 100 members with a wide variety of professions: teachers, farmers, house wives, engineers, computer specialists, brick layers, chauffeurs, doctors, etc. The meridian age is 55 years.

If you want to join our Guild, fill in the form in the Feedback Section.