Following the wake of a Viking Chieftain

[Vittfarne]

Vikings sailing back to Georgia and Azerbaijan

For the last several years, a group of Swedish modern day Viking enthusiasts have been building a boat and making plans to retrace the probable river routes that they think were followed. Their aim is to carry out historical research, as well as to develop international relations and goodwill with those they meet along the route. The expedition is scheduled for late spring of 2004 with hopes of reaching Baku by August.

In 1036, Ingvar den Vittfarne (Ingvar, The One Who Travelled Far) a Viking chief, led a fleet from what is now known as Sweden to the Caspian Sea . He navigated the Russian waterways to the Black Sea and from there, most probably continued down the Georgian river Rioni. After hauling his boats across land, he is believed to have continued his journey via the Mtkvari River in Georgia, which is known as Kur in Azerbaijan south eastward to the Caspian. It is believed that Vittfarne even reached as far as Gara Bugaz located in present-day Turkmenistan.

However, on his return voyage, Ingvar and many of the men who accompanied him are believed to have become ill and died. Only a few men survived to tell the story. This fated expedition is mentioned on at least 26 of the 1,000 runic stones known to exist in Sweden. The tragedy is also referred to in an Icelandic saga.



www.vittfarne.com



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Tentative sailing plan:

Zmievka (Kherson) - Yevpatoria 30/4 - 15/5 2004

Yevpatoria - Novorossijsk 16/5 - 29/5

Novorossijsk - Poti 30/5 - 14/6

Poti - Kwichkhethi 15/6 - 28/6

Kwichkhethi - Kirzan 29/6 - 13/7

Kirzan - Schuschun 14/7 - 27/7

Schuschun - Baku 28/7 - 12/8

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Some articles about the Expedition

http://www.day.az/news/showbiz/12259.html

http://www.525ci.com/2004/09/02/readru.php?m=8&id=1

http://www.bakusun.az/cgi-bin/ayten/bakusu...w.cgi?code=6443

http://www.bakusun.az/cgi-bin/ayten/bakusu...w.cgi?code=6371

http://www.newscentralasia.com/modules.php...article&sid=813

http://www.st.nu/nyheter/lokalt.php?action...tikel&id=401521

http://w1.sydsvenskan.se/Article.jsp?artic...st=7&textlist=8

http://www.sydostran.se/002.lasso?id=23152&lay=nyheter

http://www.illvet.com/Crosslink.jsp?...a=1218&id=8711

http://www.lararnastidning.net/LT_Output.a...rticleStateID=2

http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2004/...C618B217A3.html

http://gazeta.sebastopol.ua/2004/23/viking.shtml

http://www.kafanews.com/?link=1&nn=1278

http://www.mk.ru/numbers/1187/article35372.htm

http://www.pankisi.info/media/?page=ru&id=3078

http://www.echo-az.com/archive/2004_...hestvo01.shtml

http://mediapress.media-az.com/14060412.html

http://diaspora.az/new/az/newsview.p...s_id=200406214

http://www.sknews.ru/arc/_SK/2004/24/nomer/zakav.htm

http://www.radiomayak.ru/last_news/04/06/20/30361.html

http://www.kuban.kp.ru/2004/06/15/doc25417/

http://newsgeorgia.ru/news.html?nws_id=267...date=2004-06-10

http://www.newsgeorgia.ru/news.html?nws_id=233970

http://www.scandinavica.com/culture/.../vittfarne.htm

http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magaz...ngs_coming.html

http://www.azernews.net/view.php?d=2585

http://gazeta.sebastopol.ua/2003/47/viking.shtml

http://www.novosti.zp.ua/2003/11/13/34690.html

http://www.mirtv.ru/rubrics/4/2874_1.htm

http://www.novost.net/view.php?d=1761

http://www.podrobnosti.com.ua/histor...20/128445.html

http://rian.ru/society/20040610/609586.html

http://mynews-in.net/news/rest/2004/05/26/318760.html

http://www.korabel.ru/news/view/press/1087803174.html

http://www.polit.ru/news/2004/06/20/vikgruz.popup.html

http://kavkaz.memo.ru/newstext/news/id/665496.html

http://www.vdvsn.ru/papers/ks/2004/03/06/23366/

http://news.mail.ru//news.html?430320

http://antenna.com.ua/news.php?id=590

http://www.antenna.com.ua/news.php?1086

http://www.batnytt.com/bn_2004/bn6_04/samm5_bn6_04.html

http://aktuelarkaeologi.squarespace.com/ny...-vittfarne.html

http://www.utsidan.se/ndb/paddling/notis/1090.htm

http://www.pophist.se/editorial/historicnews.asp?id=639

http://www.pophist.se/editorial/news.asp?id=380

http://www.taurnet.se/historia/ingvartog.htm

[Vittfarne]

Documentary from Expedition Vittfarne on the Swedish Television

The documentary from the Expedition Vittfarne will be shown on the Swedish Television (SVT 2) on 28 March at 19.00 Hours and on 31 March at 16.25.

"Vittfarne" will also be shown on the satellite channel SVT Europe on 28 March at 23.35 and on 31 March at 13.10.

"Vittfarne" - a Swedish documentary from 2004 (60 minutes).

[:I]

The summer 2004 the Association Vittfarne made a scientific expedition in the wake of the Swedish bviking chieftain Ingvar the fartravelled one. Ingvar and his men are believed to have made the same journey eastwards with 30 ships during 1036-1041. The journey, which is described at around 30 runic stones in central Sweden, in the Islandic Saga and in the Georgian Chronicle, started at the village Zmievka (Kherson Oblast), went through Russia and Georgia, to Baku in Azerbaijan. The scientific expedition lasted more than three months and the Swedish Television had a photographer on board from the start to the end.



Read more at:

http://www.scandinavica.com

http://www.sf-fandom.com/vbulletin/s...ad.php?t=11935

http://www.vittfarne.com