Read, you who can
Welcome to an exhibition about runes and runestones. Uppland is home to more than 1,300 runestones—more than anywhere else in the world. Together, they offer a unique gateway to the Viking Age.
An Exhibition about Runes and Runestones
Who raised a runestone? Why were they erected? And what can they tell us today?
The runes, the first written language of the northerners, are Scandinavia's earliest written sources and among our most important historical records of the Viking Age. While most runestones were raised during the late tenth and eleventh centuries in memory of deceased relatives, some runic inscriptions are much older.
In the exhibition you can explore some of the most fascinating runic inscriptions, see original runestones and rune-inscribed objects, learn how to read runes and even raise a runestone of your own. We also hope to inspire you to visit the many runestones that still stand throughout the landscape of Uppland.
The exhibition builds on Upplands Museum's recent survey of every standing outdoor runestone in Uppsala County. The project documented the condition of these monuments to help preserve this unique cultural heritage for future generations.
