Viking Longships

Catoira features the only Viking longships that can be found in Galicia and, perhaps, all of Spain. They are three fairly accurate reproductions, based on ships that are housed in museums in Denmark and Norway.

The first one is located at Torres de Oeste. Built in 1993, it is an exact copy of the Skuldelev 5, which was found at the bottom of the Danish fjord of Roskilde. The second one, which was launched in 2008, is the Frederikssund, whose construction is based on the Viking ships Gokstad and Oseber (both Norwegian). The name of the ship corresponds to the Danish town that twinned with Catoira 1997. Both ships are normally moored at the jetty beside Torres de Oeste and are used for re-enactments and trips along the Ulla River, as well as the Viking Festival that is held on the first Sunday in August.

The third longship –the most recent one– is a polyester reproduction that was made in Ardglass (Northern Ireland) in 2019 by the Ardglass Viking historical re-enactment association, with the same mould that was used to make a large part of the ships belonging to the Vikings series, although the carpentry work was carried out in Galicia. This ship, as well as the two previous ones, can be visited in “Torres de Oeste” pier.