Asva – Bronze Age Settlement and Asva Viking Village

Experience Bronze Age history in Asva

Asva combines an extraordinary archaeological history with a visitor destination centered around the ancient settlement. If you would like to combine culture, historic landscapes, and activities during your trip, the area offers several clearly distinct themes. The fortified settlement of Asva is considered one of Northern Europe's most significant Bronze Age research sites. Its earliest settlement traces date back to the 3rd millennium BC.

A settlement between the sea and fortifications

During the Bronze Age, the ridge on which the settlement of Asva stood was an island or peninsula in a shallow sea bay. This landscape history is part of understanding the site, without equating the coastline of that time with the present-day surroundings. A ring wall was built around the fortified settlement in the 7th to 9th centuries AD. The designation as a protected monument is also part of the character of the area: it encompasses the fortified settlement of Asva, which is itself protected as a monument.

At the Asva G excavation, 276 fragments of clay moulds were found. They came from casting bronze bracelets and thus point to craft activities extending beyond the settlement's fortification history alone. The permanent exhibition about Asva at Odrakoda, opened in summer 2023, tells the story of the site together with a short documentary from an archaeologist's perspective.

Asva Viking Village on the edge of the settlement

Asva Viking Village is located on the edge of the ancient settlement of Asva. The fortress includes a longhouse the size of a chieftain's house called Odrakoda. This brings historical storytelling and tangible references to the site together within the same visitor experience, while keeping them distinct in content: the archaeological settlement refers to research and the past, whereas the Viking Village brings together various activities and displays.

The courtyard of Asva Viking Village offers archery, axe throwing, and skill games. The adventure park extends across four levels, is nearly 12 metres high, and offers more than 50 tournament games. Those who want to combine a visit with different types of activities will therefore find both individual skill-based activities and a multi-level adventure area here.

Animals, games, and local cuisine

Asva Viking Village also includes an animal and bird park with around one hundred animals and birds. Visitors can observe and pet the animals in their enclosures. In addition, tournament games are the main attraction in the adventure park. For a culinary break, the kitchen at Asva Viking Village offers a Viking stew, smoked meat prepared in the courtyard, and local beverages.

This allows Asva to be explored through different approaches depending on your interests: through the Bronze Age settlement and its research history, through the landscape of a former island or peninsula, through the Odrakoda longhouse, or through the offerings of the Viking Village. If you would also like to compare Asva with other places, you can find Saareküla, Ridala and Laimjala.

For the overarching travel overview: Laimjala Parish.