Hovgården is an

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

site on the

Lake Mälaren A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

island of Adelsö in

Ekerö Municipality Ekerö Municipality () is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in the Provinces of Sweden, province of Uppland in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. The name derives from the name of the main island within the municipality whose name is ...

in central-eastern

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. During the

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

, the centre of the prospering

Mälaren Valley The Mälaren Valley (), occasionally referred to as Stockholm-Mälaren Region (''Stockholm-mälarregionen''), is the easternmost part of Svealand, the catchment area of Lake Mälaren and the surrounding municipalities. The term is often used int ...

was the settlement

Birka Birka (''Birca'' in medieval sources), on the island of Björkö, Ekerö, Björkö (lit. "Birch Island") in present-day Sweden, was an important Viking Age trading center which handled goods from Scandinavia as well as many parts of Continent ...

, founded in the mid-8th century and abandoned in the late 10th century and located on the island Björkö just south of Adelsö. Hovgården is believed to have been the site from which kings and chieftains ruled the area. Hovgården, together with Birka became a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in 1993.National Heritage Board Hovgården is located on the flat country north-west of the Romanesque Adelsö Church, characterised by a narrow

rift valley A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges produced by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear ...

stretching north to forest-laden

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...

s. These historical

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...

s lands were cultivated in the 19th century and have hardly been altered since, as several well-preserved 18th century farmyards bear witness to.Bratt

History

The oldest archaeological remains on Adelsö, found north of Hovgården, are grave fields and burial mounds from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

(c. 1800-500 BC). Apparently this culture survived into the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

(AD 500-800) as graves from the early part of this period have been found at several locations in the area. At Hovgården some 124 graves have been found; the oldest from late

Roman Iron Age The archaeology of Northern Europe studies the prehistory of Scandinavian Peninsula, Scandinavia and the adjacent North European Plain, roughly corresponding to the territories of modern Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Northern Germany, Poland, the Net ...

(AD 1-400) and the youngest from the beginning of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

(c. 1050-1520), indicating the area has been settled uninterruptedly throughout this period. Just north of the parish church are five large burial

mound A mound is a wikt:heaped, heaped pile of soil, earth, gravel, sand, rock (geology), rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded ...

s of which three are called ''Kungshögar''. In Swedish, ''Kung'' meaning King and ''högar'', from the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

word ''haugr'', meaning mound or barrow. Hovgården apparently was the location for a royal estate ''Kungsgård'' as early as the

(c. 800-1050). An excavation of one of these royal mounds in 1917 revealed the remains of a wealthy man who lived around 900. He was burned lying in a boat, dressed in expensive clothing but without weapons, accompanied by horses, cows, and dogs.

, the oldest town in Sweden, was an international trade post. It has been assumed the royal settlement at Hovgården was established as the king's mean of controlling Birka. However, while Birka was abandoned in the mid-10th century, the royal estate was apparently not as the

runestone A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic alphabet, runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition of erecting runestones as a memorial to dead men began in the 4th centur ...

U 11 from around 1070 which claims to have been carved for the king was erected next to the royal mounds. It was part of

Uppsala öd Uppsala öd (Old Norse: ''Uppsala auðr'' or ''Uppsala øðr'', meaning ''Uppsala domains'' or ''wealth of Uppsala'') was the name given to the collection of estates which was the property of the Swedish Crown in medieval Sweden.The article ''Uppsa ...

, a network of royal estates supporting the

Kings of Sweden This list records the Monarchy of Sweden, monarchs of Sweden, from the late Viking Age to the present day. Sweden has continuously been a monarchy since the country's consolidation in the Viking Age and early Middle Ages, for over a thousand year ...

. Furthermore, King Magnus Barnlock had the old castle replaced by a palace built in brick, Alsnö hus, in the 1270s. In the palace, the king established the

Swedish nobility The Swedish nobility (, or , ) has historically been a legally or socially privileged Social class, class in Sweden, and part of the so-called ''frälse'' (a derivation from Old Swedish meaning ''free neck''). The archaic term for nobility, ''fr ...

through the Ordinance of Alsnö (''Alsnö stadga'') in 1279. However, the palace was destroyed before the end of that century, and as it was left to decay Hovgården lost in importance.

Gallery

Beorn at the Mound's alleged tumulus 2009 Hovgården Ekerö (2).jpg Hovgården Adelsö 2012a.jpg Kungshögarna Adelsö 48 2 September 2013 03.jpg Kungshögarna Adelsö 48 4 September 2013 05.jpg Kungshögarna Adelsö 48 6 September 2013 03.jpg Skopintull sign 2009 Hovgården Ekerö.jpg Kungshögarna Adelsö 48 1 September 2013 01.jpg File:Hovgården historic area sign 2009 Ekerö Sweden (2).jpg File:Alsnö hus September 2013 03.jpg

Notes

References

* *

External links

Birka and Hovgården
from

Birka and Hovgården
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hovgarden Viking Age populated places Former populated places in Sweden Geography of Stockholm County Tourist attractions in Stockholm County World Heritage Sites in Sweden Uppland Adelsö