May 03, 2024
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The Viking open for tours in Geneva

Tour features handmade 78-foot-long replica ship, built in 1893 in Norway

By Shaw Local News Network
A group takes a tour of Geneva's Famous 1893 Viking Ship during the 113th Swedish Day Midsummer Festival at Good Templar Park in Geneva Sunday.

A group takes a tour of Geneva's Famous 1893 Viking Ship during the 113th Swedish Day Midsummer Festival at Good Templar Park in Geneva. The ship exhibit will re-open for tours 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 20, 2024. (Patrick Kunzer for Daily Herald)

GENEVA – The Viking, Geneva’s replica Norse longship, opens for visits from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Good Templar Park, 528 East Side Drive, Geneva, according to a news release.

Admission is $7 for adults, $4 for teens ages 13-17 and free for children 12 and under. Parking is free. Guided and self-guided tours are available. Half-hour, family friendly, guided 30 minute tours start every 15 minutes until 3:45 p.m.

The life-size, handmade 78-foot-long ship was built in 1893 in Norway, based on a 1,000-year- old Viking vessel excavated in 1880.

The ship was sailed nonstop by a 12-man crew of volunteers across the North Atlantic to Chicago’s 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition World’s Fair where it became a star attraction, according to the release.

Stored in a shelter at Good Templar Park, the ship is maintained by Friends of the Viking Ship, a St. Charles-based nonprofit.

The Viking exhibit also showcases displays of tools, clothing, jewelry and weapons.

Future visit days are May 18, June 16, 22, 23; July 20, Aug. 17, Sept. 21, and Oct. 19-20.

Visit www.vikingship.us for more information.

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