You are now standing next to the biggest maritime attraction of the town – the Viking ship Sebbe Als. It is a fast-moving warship, i.e. a long slender ship with many oars and a relatively large sail.

The ship was built by the Yellow Scouts in Augustenborg from 1967 to 1969 following the plans of the original – wreck no. 5 from Skuldelev at Roskilde fjord. The work was done using copies of original tools and with advice and guidance from the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde. Today, Sebbe Als is run by the Viking Ship Society Sebbe Als, which was founded in February 1969.

The Vikings were superb shipbuilders. Their ships were fast and yet incredibly strong and seaworthy. One of the secrets of the sailing properties is that the ship is built of split planks. When you do not cut the veins of the wood with a saw, you maintain the full strength and flexibility of the wood and can reduce the thickness of the planks, and thus also the weight of the vessel. The whole construction provides a light ship that can twist like a carbon fibre without being damaged.

In addition to the Viking ship, the ship society also built a “naust”, which was completed in 1973. The “naust” is a boathouse copied from a site in Norway. It is located on the south side of Augustenborg fjord and can be seen from the First Avenue in the forest and from the tombolo at the water ski club.

Since it was launched in 1969, the ship has been on countless voyages, both domestically and abroad. The longest trip was from Hedeby in Schleswig to the Viking town of Kaupang in the Oslo Fjord. The trip was to test a saga from the Viking Age, where a Viking chief sailed the trip in five days and five nights. It was accomplished in 114 sailing hours, which confirmed that the saga was a true story.

The Vikings are known all over the world, and Sebbe Als has represented Denmark at several major national anniversaries abroad, including the 200th anniversary of the US independence on July 4th 1976, when the crew sailed up the Hudson River to New York.

The world-famous folk singer Pete Seeger participated in the trip, and in 1981 he visited the ship society in Augustenborg and gave a concert at the Palace Hotel.

An American boat builder, Lance Lee, donated $ 860 for the construction of one more ship. The Faroese boat Ottar was built, which is located next to Sebbe Als. Ottar is a copy of a Faroese boat that, as the name suggests, has eight oars and a helmsman.

Several wrecks and shipwrecks from the Viking Age have been found on Als. In the reed forest at Ketting Nor, a shipwreck has been found, which is believed to be a small merchant ship from the Viking Age. It has never been excavated.

At the time of the Vikings, you could sail all the way to Brovold and on to Mjang Dam, which was a wide inner fjord.

Follow the Augustenborg Path to get to Brovold, which is a rampart from the Middle Ages.