The historical drama, epic battles, and interesting characters of the TV show “Vikings” have kept people entertained all over the world. As people watched Ragnar Lothbrok rise to power and his sons go on their journeys, they were drawn into both the story and the beautiful pictures of huge landscapes, creepy villages, and exciting sea voyages. The show’s choice of filming locations was one of the most important things that helped it succeed. The show took people to the harsh, untamed world of the Vikings, where the landscapes were just as important to the story as the characters.
But where did they film these scenes? In this article, we’ll show you the most important places where “Vikings” was filmed, talk about the real-life places that inspired the show’s famous set pieces, and explain how these places helped make the historical drama come to life.
1. Ireland is where the “Vikings” began.
Most of the filming for the TV show “Vikings” took place in Ireland, and many of the scenes were set in the made-up lands of Kattegat and other Viking settlements. Ireland’s rough and varied landscape was the perfect setting for the show’s ancient world. The world of the Norsemen was made using many important places around the country. These places combined stunning natural beauty with real medieval buildings.
The Wicklow Hills
The Wicklow Mountains, which are just south of Dublin, were the setting for many of the show’s early scenes, especially those with Viking raids and wide open spaces. The Wicklow Mountains are known for their rolling hills, sparkling lakes, and thick forests. These made for a dramatic setting for many outdoor scenes. The production team was able to make the perfect settings for the wild world of the Vikings because the area was beautiful and not very busy.
Ballintoy
Some of the most famous scenes in the show were filmed in Ballintoy, a small village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. These include the scenes of Ragnar’s home, the port of Kattegat. The Viking stronghold was built on the rocky cliffs and dramatic coastal views of Ballintoy. The jagged, isolated coastline of the area was a great way to show how rough and unforgiving the Vikings’ homeland was.
2. Kattegat and Other Viking Towns
Kattegat, the famous Viking town and the main setting for most of the show, is a made-up place based on real Viking settlements. The series’ success depended on how well it showed the culture, architecture, and way of life of the Vikings in the area. Most of Kattegat was a set built in a studio, but some real places were used to make this important setting come to life.
Lough Tay, which is also called the Guinness Lake, is in County Wicklow and was used for many important scenes in “Vikings.” The lake’s dramatic and remote setting made it the perfect place for the Viking village of Kattegat. The beautiful setting is often used for scenes that show Viking life, like farming, trading, and sailing, as well as raids. The lake’s calm waters and the mountains around it made it a great place to recreate Viking culture in a natural setting.
The Ashford Studios Viking Village Set
The Viking village, which was the main settlement in Kattegat, was mostly built on a custom-made set at Ashford Studios in County Wicklow. This studio was made just for filming, which made it possible to get more detailed shots of the inside, including scenes with longhouses, marketplaces, and other cultural aspects of Viking life. The studio also gave the battle scenes and action scenes a controlled setting, which let the creators show how grand and fierce Viking warfare was.
3. England: The Vikings’ Conquest
Ireland was a big part of the Viking homeland, but the show also looked at the Viking invasions of England, with important scenes taking place in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom. The show used a number of places in England to stand in for these lands, which added to the historical context.
York (Jorvik)
York, which is in northern England, is one of the most important places linked to the Viking invasions of Britain. During the Viking Age, York was called Jorvik, and it became an important city in the Viking kingdom of England. A lot of the scenes showing the Vikings taking over Anglo-Saxon England were filmed near the historic city of York. York has a lot of Viking-age ruins and buildings, and it is also home to the Jorvik Viking Centre, which is a museum that focuses on the city’s Viking heritage. York was a great place to film scenes about Viking raids, settlements, and interactions with the Saxons because it has a lot of Viking history.
The Isle of Man
The Isle of Man, which is between England and Ireland, was also used as a filming location for “Vikings.” Because it was so far away from everything else in the Irish Sea and had a rough coastline, the island was a great place to film scenes set in Viking lands. During the Viking Age, the Isle of Man had its Norse kingdom. This historical link helped the show put Viking culture in a real-world setting.
4. Norway: The Heart of Viking Stories
Even though most of the filming for “Vikings” took place in England and Ireland, the show was inspired by the famous lands of Norway. Some scenes that are supposed to take place in Norway were filmed in the country’s beautiful natural settings.
Fjords in Norway
The fjords of Norway are famous for their cliffs and deep blue waters. They are some of the most famous landscapes in the world. The fjords were used for some of the more dramatic, sea-bound scenes in the show, but they weren’t shown as often as Ireland or England. The beautiful fjords helped the production team show how strong and isolated Viking culture was. The cliffs and coastal villages were a big part of Norway’s maritime history, which was very important to the Vikings’ way of life at sea.
Borg, in the Lofoten Islands
Some scenes in the show were filmed in the village of Borg in the Lofoten Islands of Norway. The Viking Museum is located there. We chose this site because it has Viking longhouses that are still standing and show what a Viking village would have looked like. The museum itself gives a lot of information about Viking history, and the site was used to show how Vikings lived, including farming, fishing, and building ships.
5. The Viking Longships—Filming on the Water
The longships were an important part of the story in “Vikings,” so any talk about the show would be incomplete without them. The series carefully recreated the Viking longships, which let the Vikings travel long distances across rivers and seas. The production team used real longships, CGI, and water tanks to film many scenes with Viking raids or naval voyages on water.
The Viking Naval Battles Were Filmed
Ireland’s waters, especially near Ballintoy and County Wicklow, were used to film many of the naval battle scenes, especially those that showed the famous raids of Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons. The production team made copies of Viking longships and used them to sail along the coasts, recreating the raids and battles with great historical accuracy.
6. Making the Vikings’ World: The Set Design
The locations were very important to the show, but the set and production design were also very important in making the Viking world come to life. Every detail, from the Viking longhouses to the wooden walls, had to be carefully planned and built to be historically accurate and real.
The Building of the Set
The Viking village set at Ashford Studios was meant to look like a real Viking settlement, with longhouses, wooden walls, and interiors lit by fire. The people who made the set worked hard to make sure that the materials and methods they used were historically accurate. They used things from Viking archaeological sites found all over Scandinavia and the British Isles. The show’s immersive quality came from the care that went into making the village, its homes, and its markets.
Things like costumes and props
The Viking world was real not only in the landscapes, but also in the costumes and props. The characters in “Vikings” wore clothes that were true to history and made from natural materials like wool, leather, and fur. The shields, weapons, and even the Viking longships were all based on real Viking artefacts. This made the world of “Vikings” feel real.
7. Conclusion: How Location Can Change a Story
The places where “Vikings” was filmed weren’t just backdrops; they were important to the story. The misty forests of Ireland, the rocky coast of Northern Ireland, and the old city of York all helped bring the Viking world to life. The careful choice of these locations made the world of Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons seem both big and real, making it a fully immersive experience for viewers.
The production team was able to take audiences back to the Viking Age by filming in some of the most beautiful and historically significant places in Ireland, England, and Norway. Each place added something to the story, making sure that the historical drama felt like it was set in a world that was as wild and raw as the Vikings themselves.
