Veien kulturminnepark

About the museum

Veien is an important site from the Early Iron Age, more than a thousand years before the Viking Age. The name is Old Norse and is often interpreted as “the holy meadow”. The burial ground is one of Northern Europe's largest from the Early Iron Age and today has 105 registered burial mounds, although there were more in the 19th century. Oluf Rygh surveyed 151 mounds and arranged the excavation of around 90 of them. Most of the visible mounds date from the Roman Iron Age, some from the Migration Period and one from the Merovingian period, while the oldest graves, from the Late Bronze Age, lie hidden beneath the ground. Kongshaugen (the King's Mound), excavated in 1824, is the richest.

In the 1980s, teachers and pupils at Veienmarka ungdomsskole (lower secondary school) began clearing the burial ground, and a cooperation with the county council developed. In the mid-1990s it was established that longhouses had stood here, and the excavations continued until the summer of 2000. In total, the remains of four longhouses, many flat-ground graves, hearths and cooking pits were found. In 2017, ground-penetrating radar revealed traces of 11 burial mounds that had disappeared.

Today visitors can see the reconstructed longhouse, which has been raised in the original post holes and has the same dimensions as the hall building from around 2,000 years ago, the burial ground with paths and information signs, and exhibitions in the museum building. The park is run by Buskerudmuseene.

Highlights

• Burial ground with over 100 burial mounds from the Early Iron Age
• Reconstructed longhouse with a guide
• The exhibition “De dødes ting” (The Things of the Dead) with jewellery, weapons and tools
• The exhibition “Gjemt og glemt” (Hidden and Forgotten) on finds beneath the floor of Uvdal stave church
• Café and museum building with archaeological exhibitions
• The burial ground is always open and free

Permanent exhibitions

• Langhuset – Reconstructed longhouse built in the original post holes, the same size as the hall building from around 2,000 years ago, with a guide who tells about life in the Early Iron Age.
• De dødes ting – Exhibition about the burial ground with jewellery, weapons, tools, glass mosaic beads and gold rings, and about the role of the grave in the Early Iron Age.
• Gjemt og glemt – fortellinger fra Uvdal stavkirke – Objects found beneath the floor of Uvdal stave church during excavations in 1978, shown in a room of 40 square metres.

Operated by

Buskerudmuseene

Admission & discounts

Tickets for the museum and the longhouse are bought at reception. The burial ground can be visited without a ticket. Annual passes are available.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The museum building has a lift and a toilet for disabled visitors. The outdoor area has gravel paths and is accessible for wheelchair users.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

Special offers for children and young people, including activities with the figures Idun and Isak, and fairy-tale games. The longhouse is used for educational programmes for nurseries and school classes.

Getting there & parking

Veien is in Ringerike municipality, an hour's drive from Oslo.

Amenities & dining

• Café

Simple café in the museum building with sveler (Norwegian pancakes), coffee and mineral water; lunch and dinner can be ordered.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events

The museum can be rented by arrangement for confirmations, conferences, family gatherings and similar events.

Plan your visit