Public tours for Viking ship to open in April
The Viking, a replica Norwegian Viking longship displayed at Good Templar Park,528 East Side Drive in Geneva, will host public tours on 10 days during 2017.
Friends of the Viking Ship, a St. Charles-based nonprofit, announced the visit schedule.
Traditional visit days include the third Saturday of each month from April through October. Extra visit days will be June 24-25 in observance of Swedish Days and Sunday, July 8.
Visit days are scheduled for 1 to 4 p.m. April 15, May 20, June 18, 24-25, July 8 and 15, Aug. 19, Sept. 16 and Oct. 21.
Guided group tours begin every 30 minutes. The last guided tour is at 3:30 p.m. Self-guided viewing is also available.
Tour leaders discuss the history of the Viking, Norwegian sailing and ship-building skills, recent preservation efforts and plans for the Viking's future.
Admission is $5 or $3 for teens. Parking is free.
A viewing platform allows visitors to see inside the uncovered ship.
Built in 1892, the vessel was sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Bergen, Norway, to New York City and then to Chicago for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition (World's Fair).
The Viking is about 78 feet long, 17 feet wide, and 6.5 feet high from the bottom of the keel to the gunwale. Its planks are fastened together with thousands of iron rivets. At sea, the Viking averaged 10 knots and the hull was observed to flex with the waves.
Today's Viking is an exact copy of the Viking ship Gokstad, built about 850 and unearthed in Gokstad, Norway.
Guided group tours are available by appointment. Two weeks' advance notice is required. Cost is $5 or $3 for children, age 6 or up.
Call (630) 753-9412 or email viking1893@gmail.com for more information.