The Vikings are possibly best known as brutal robbers and plunderers across Europe. Today there are many pictures and stories about the brutal Vikings. They describe how they travelled around the world frightening the life out of people. This is not the true and whole story however. The Vikings were mostly peaceful traders, founded kingdoms and were well respected quests at oriental and Byzantine courts. Most of the people who lived in the Nordic Countries during this period were even farmers, hunters and craftsmen. The exhibition in the Museum of National Antiquities in Stockholm includes thousands of objects which give a different picture, telling the story of everyday activities, religious beliefs, family life and the amazing craftmanship of the Vikings. This approach also includes the differences between the Nordic peoples. Swedish Vikings went to the East, Russia, the Byzantine Empire and Oriental regions, Danish and Norwegian Vikings went to western Europe, the western part of the Mediterranean and sailed the Atlantic ocean and the North Sea.
