RUNES

Runes were the letters the vikings used for writing. They carved them on bone, wood and stone. Most of what was carved on bone and wood have perished with the material, but we have a lot of runes on stone left.

The stripe of runes above is the alfabet of that time, the so called "futhark" named after the first six runes.

Most of the runes you can see today are carved on slabs of stone or on the bare rocks. They were carved to memorize an event or to honor a person, often a viking who had died abroad.

The rock-carving underneath celebrates the building of a bridge and the man who did, or ordered it. The figures that surround the text tell an exiting story from the nordic mythologi.