Craftsmanship, scale, and seaworthinessAbout the ship
A vessel built to test history at full scale
Draken Harald Hårfagre is not a replica of one known vessel. She is a full-scale reconstruction of what the Norse sagas describe as a great ship, created through a combination of historical knowledge, traditional craftsmanship, and real-world testing at sea. Built to be both beautiful and seaworthy, Draken brings together scale, strength, and a rare sense of presence on the water.
Fine craftsmanship built Draken Harald Hårfagre – with materials used throughout history. Oak, tar, hemp, iron and silk.
What kind of ship is Draken?Draken Harald Hårfagre is a clinker-built Viking longship and the world’s largest Viking ship sailing in modern times. Rather than copying a single archaeological find, the ship was developed as a reconstruction of the large ocean-going ships described in the Norse sagas. That makes Draken both historically grounded and unusual: she is not simply a replica, but an attempt to understand what the most ambitious Viking-age ships may actually have been capable of.
The ship was conceived through a combination of archaeological material, saga literature, visual sources, and living Norwegian boatbuilding traditions. This approach helped shape a vessel with the size, character, and seaworthiness needed to test ideas about Viking-age ocean travel in practice.
Built through craftsmanship and knowledgeConstruction began in 2010 in Haugesund, on the west coast of Norway. Plank by plank and nail by nail, Draken was built by experienced boatbuilders, historians, craftsmen, and artists working with materials that have long belonged to northern shipbuilding traditions. Oak, tar, hemp, iron, and silk all play a part in giving the ship both its strength and its distinctive character.
The result is a vessel of extraordinary scale: 35 metres long, 8 metres wide, with a 24-metre mast and a 260 square metre silk sail. These dimensions give Draken a commanding presence, but they also reflect the ambition behind the project: to build a ship that was not only visually impressive, but truly capable at sea.
An experiment in seaworthinessAt the heart of Draken lies a form of experimental and experiential archaeology. The ship was built not only to represent the past, but to test it. By combining traditional boatbuilding knowledge with historical sources and then taking the vessel onto open water, the project seeks to understand more about the seaworthiness, demands, and possibilities of Viking-age ocean-going ships.
This is part of what makes Draken special. She is not a static reconstruction. She is a working ship, shaped by use, learning, adjustment, and experience.
Design, ornamentation, and characterArchaeological finds show that Viking ships were not only functional, but also richly decorated. Draken’s ornamentation draws inspiration from patterns and figures found on Viking ships excavated in Norway, especially the Gokstad ship. The ship carries a traditional dragon’s head and tail, along with carved details that reinforce both her symbolic presence and her historical grounding.
These details are more than decoration. They are part of the ship’s identity, linking craftsmanship, visual power, and cultural memory in a vessel built to be experienced at full scale.
From construction to sea trialsDraken was launched in 2012, and the first years were devoted to testing, trimming, and learning in the waters along the Norwegian coast. In 2014, she undertook her first ocean-going voyage, sailing from Norway to Liverpool and back. These early voyages were an important part of the ship’s development, helping transform a remarkable construction project into a proven vessel.
Facts about Draken Harald HårfagreDraken Harald Hårfagre is a square-sailed, open wooden ship built for both rowing and sailing. She can be rowed by one hundred oarsmen, using 25 pairs of oars with two people on each oar. During Expedition America in 2016, the ship was crewed by 32 sailors.
SPECIFICATIONS
Measurements:
35 m (115 ft) long
8 m (26ft 2 in) wide
24 m (78ft 8 in) high
2,5 m (8 ft 2 in) draught
260 square meters sail
Flag:
Norwegian
Home port:
Haugesund, Norway
Materials:
Hull: Oak
Mast: Douglas fir
Sail: Silk
Rigg: Hemp
Top speed:
14 knots
A ship with continuing relevanceDraken Harald Hårfagre stands at the intersection of craftsmanship, history, seamanship, and cultural storytelling. She is both a remarkable vessel and a platform for exploration, public engagement, education, media, and shared experience.
To step aboard Draken is not only to see a ship. It is to encounter an idea made real through material, skill, and the sea.
Explore moreTo learn more about the wider purpose behind the project, visit Mission & Story. To explore where Draken appears on screen, visit Film & Television.
“Shipbuilding was the rocket science
of the Viking era.”
Archaeological findings of Viking ships
show that they were beautifully decorated.
The ship’s ornamentation is inspired
by patterns and figures from Viking ships
found in Norway.
The specifications