Occurrence of Attributes in Original Text
The text related to the cultural heritage 'Birka and Hovgården' has mentioned 'Birka' in the following places:
| Occurrence Sentence | Text Source |
|---|---|
| For other uses, see Birka (disambiguation). | WIKI |
| Birka listenxc2xa0(helpxc2xb7info) (Birca in medieval sources), on the island of Bjxc3xb6rkxc3xb6 (literally: "Birch Island") in present-day Sweden, was an important Viking Age trading center which handled goods from Scandinavia and Finland as well as Central and Eastern Europe and the Orient. | WIKI |
| Birka was founded around AD 750 and it flourished for more than 200xe2x80xafyears. | WIKI |
| It has been estimated that the population in Viking Age Birka was between 500 and 1000 people. | WIKI |
| The archaeological sites of Birka and Hovgxc3xa5rden, on the neighbouring island of Adelsxc3xb6, make up an archaeological complex which illustrates the elaborate trading networks of Viking Scandinavia and their influence on the subsequent history of Europe. | WIKI |
| Generally regarded as Sweden's oldest town,[2] Birka (along with Hovgxc3xa5rden) has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. | WIKI |
| A silver ring from a Viking-era grave in Birka is the first ring with Arabic inscription from that era found in Scandinavia. | WIKI |
| Map of Bjxc3xb6rkxc3xb6 and Birka today | WIKI |
| Birka was founded around AD 750 by either a king in order to control and expand trade or it emerged from a seasonal trading place around. | WIKI |
| Birka was the Baltic link in the river and portage route through Ladoga (Aldeigja) and Novgorod (Holmsgard) to the Byzantine Empire and the Abbasid Califate. | WIKI |
| [4] Birka was also important as the site of the first known Christian congregation in Sweden, founded in 831 by Saint Ansgar. | WIKI |
| As a trading center Birka most likely offered furs and iron goods as well as craft products, in exchange for various materials from much of Europe and western Asia. | WIKI |
| Foreign goods found from the graves of Birka include glass and metal ware, pottery from the Rhineland, clothing and textiles including Chinese silk, Byzantine embroidery with extremely fine gold thread, brocades with gold passementerie and plaited cords of high quality. | WIKI |
| The vast majority of the coins found at Birka are however silver dirhams from the Caliphate. | WIKI |
| Sources of Birka are mainly archaeological remains. | WIKI |
| No texts survive from this area, though the written text Vita Ansgari ("The life of Ansgar") by Rimbert (c. 865) describes the missionary work of Ansgar around 830 at Birka, and Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum (Deeds of Bishops of the Hamburg Church) by Adam of Bremen in 1075 describes the archbishop Unni, who died at Birka in 936. | WIKI |
| There are no known Norse sources mentioning the name of the settlement, or even the settlement itself, and the original Norse name of Birka is unknown. | WIKI |
| Birca is the Latinised form given in the sources and Birka its contemporary, unhistorical Swedish form. | WIKI |
| Birka was abandoned during the later half of the 10th century. | WIKI |
| [7] Roughly around the same time, the nearby settlement of Sigtuna supplanted Birka as the main trading centre in the Mxc3xa4laren area. | WIKI |
| [8] The reasons for Birka's decline are disputed. | WIKI |
| A contributing factor may have been the post-glacial rebound, which lowered the water level of Mxc3xa4laren changing it from an arm of the sea into a lake and cut Birka off from the nearest (southern) access to the Baltic Sea. | WIKI |
| In Vita Ansgari ("The life of Ansgar")[10] monk and later archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen Rimbert gives the first known description of Birka. | WIKI |
| Rimbert's interests were in the Christian faith, not so much in the Swedish geopolicy, so his descriptions of Birka remain approximate at best. | WIKI |
| xe2x80x94With great difficulty they accomplished their long journey on foot, traversing also the intervening seas (maria), where it was possible, by ship, and eventually arrived at the Swedish port called Birka. | WIKI |
| Noteworthy is just his note about several "seas" that they had to cross to get to Birka from the place they had landed to. | WIKI |
| When Ansgar again travelled to Birka from Germany about 852, it went easier: | WIKI |
| Ansgar accomplished the journey on which he had set out, and after spending nearly twenty days in a ship, he arrived at Birka (Chapter XXVI) | WIKI |
| This might mean that he sailed off from Hamburg or Bremen instead of some port in Baltic Sea, since the later account by Adam of Bremen gives the distance of Scania and Birka to be only five days at sea. | WIKI |
| Several Swedish kings of the 9th century, Bjxc3xb6rn, Anund and Olof, are all mentioned in Vita to have spent time in Birka. | WIKI |
| King Bjxc3xb6rn met Ansgar in Birka when he arrived there in 829 (Chapter XI). | WIKI |
| Talking about Herigar, the prefect of Birka: | WIKI |
| The exiled Swedish King Anund Uppsale confirms that either one of the churches was in Birka itself when he ponders if Birka should be plundered: | WIKI |
| An entry point in a Viking-era defensive wall on Birka | WIKI |
| Danes attacked Birka, accompanied with the deposed king Anund, which caused great distress in the town. | WIKI |
| Eventually Danes left, sparing Birka from destruction. | WIKI |
| When the day for the assembly which was held in the town of Birka drew near, in accordance with their national custom the king caused a proclamation to be made to the people by the voice of a herald, in order that they might be informed concerning the object of their mission. | WIKI |
| In Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum (Deeds of Bishops of the Hamburg Church),[13] Adam of Bremen mentions Birka many times, and the book is the main source of information on the city. | WIKI |
| Adam himself never visited Birka. | WIKI |
| Adam described Birka as a Geatish port town and had gathered many details about it. | WIKI |
| Birka is the main Geatish town (oppidum Gothorum), situated in the middle of Sweden (Suevoniae), not far (non longe) from the temple called Uppsala (Ubsola) which the Swedes (Sueones) held in the highest esteem when it comes to the worship of the gods; here forms an inlet of the Baltic or the Barbaric Sea a port facing north which welcomes all the wild peoples all around this sea but which is risky for those who are careless or ignorant of such places ... they have therefore blocked this inlet of the troubled sea with hidden masses of rocks along more than 100 stadions (18 km). | WIKI |
| Turning from the northern parts to the mouth of the Baltic Sea we first meet the Norwegians (Nortmanni), then the Danish region of Skxc3xa5ne (Sconia) stands out, and beyond these live the Geats (Gothi) for a long stretch all the way to Birka. | WIKI |
| Beyond it xc3x96stergxc3xb6tland (Ostrogothia) extends along the sea, that is called the Baltic Sea, all the way to Birka. | WIKI |
| Noteworthy in the following statement is the usage of the term "not far" (non longe) which was also used to describe the distance between Birka and the Uppsala temple: | WIKI |
| Furthermore we have been told that there are many more islands in that sea, one of which is called the Great Estland (Aestland) -- And this island is told to be quite close to the Woman Land (terrae feminarum), which[14] is not far (non longe) away from Birka of the Swedes. | WIKI |
| From Skxc3xa5ne (Sconia) of the Danes one reaches Sigtuna (Sictonam) or Birka after five days at sea, for they are indeed alike. | WIKI |
| [15] But by land from Skxc3xa5ne across the Geatish people (Gothorum populos) and cities Skara (Scaranem), Telgas and Birka, one reaches Sigtuna only after a full month. | WIKI |
| "Telgas" is not mentioned anywhere else, and it remains as speculative as Birka. | WIKI |
| For those who sail from Skxc3xa5ne (Sconia) of the Danes to Birka, the journey takes five days, from Birka to Russia (Ruzziam) likewise five days at sea. | WIKI |
| In pity of their errors, our archbishop ordained as their diocesan capital Birka, which is in the middle of Sweden (Sueoniae) facing Jumne (Iumnem), the capital of the Slavs, and equally distant from all the coasts of the surrounding sea. | WIKI |
| No place having a similar name to Birka is known to have situated on the opposite shore of Oder, so it may be possible that something similar to Jumne was located opposite to Birka. | WIKI |
| Several bishops were appointed for Sweden in 1060s, one also for Birka. | WIKI |
| Furthermore, the following was said about John's location after talking about Birka: | WIKI |
| John seems to have been situated in Birka in order to prepare for the missionary work among the many heathen people that flooded to Birca from around the Baltic coasts. | WIKI |
| This was a logical continuation to Birka's position as the first missionary town in Sweden. | WIKI |
| Scholia 122 of IV 20 locates the tomb of Hamburg's archbishop Unni in Birka: | WIKI |
| After having consistently described Birka as an existing city, Scholia 138 of IV 29 describes Birka's sudden demise. | WIKI |
| During his journey he seized the opportunity to make a detour to Birka, which is now reduced to loneliness so that one can hardly find vestiges of the city; therefore impossible to come upon the tomb of the holy Archbishop Unni. | WIKI |
| As Adalvard was back in Bremen already by 1069 and is mentioned as one of Adam's sources of information, it would have been expected that word about Birka's destruction had reached also Adam before he published his work half a decade later. | WIKI |
| July 2004 excavation of Birka | WIKI |
| The exact location of Birka was also lost during the centuries, leading to speculation from Swedish historians. | WIKI |
| However, the island of Bjxc3xb6rkxc3xb6 was first claimed to have been Birka already about 1450 in the so-called "Chronicle of Sweden" (Prosaiska krxc3xb6nikan): | WIKI |
| The one was called Sigtuna (siktuna) and the other Birka (birka). | WIKI |
| Birka was on an island in Lake Mxc3xa4laren (mxc3xa4lar) that is called Bjxc3xb6rkxc3xb6 (birkxc3xb6xc3xb6). | WIKI |
| In search of Birka, National Antiquarian Johan Hadorph was the first to attempt excavations on Bjxc3xb6rkxc3xb6 in the late 17th century. | WIKI |
| After Bjxc3xb6rkxc3xb6 came to be identified with ancient Birka, it has been assumed that the original name of Birka was simply Bierkxc3xb8 (sometimes spelt Bjxc3xa4rkxc3xb6), an earlier form of Bjxc3xb6rkxc3xb6. | WIKI |
| Approximately 700 people lived at Birka when it was at its largest, and about 3,000 graves have been found. | WIKI |
| Birka and Hovgxc3xa5rden, which are located about 30xc2xa0km west of Stockholm on the small islands of Bjxc3xb6rkxc3xb6 and Adelsxc3xb6 in Lake Mxc3xa4laren, represent complete and exceptionally well-preserved archaeological sites from the Viking Age. | UNESCO |
| The town of Birka was optimally situated on Bjxc3xb6rkxc3xb6 Island at the convergence of several important waterways. | UNESCO |
| Birka was one of the most important mercantile towns in Northern Europe between about ADxc2xa0750 and ADxc2xa0980. | UNESCO |
| Birka is also notable as the place of the first recorded attempt to Christianize the Swedes, by the Frankish missionary Anskar in 829-831. | UNESCO |
| Mercantile activities at Birka ceased at the end of the 10th century. | UNESCO |
| Some form of social transformationxc2xa0xe2x80x93 possibly related to logistical difficultiesxc2xa0xe2x80x93 may have caused Birkaxe2x80x99s central function in the Svealand region to be overtaken by the new town of Sigtuna. | UNESCO |
| The fact, however, that the royal domain of Hovgxc3xa5rden continued to exist for many years after Birkaxe2x80x99s abandonment testifies to the enduring importance of this place. | UNESCO |
| It also underlines the legitimacy and unique position of Birka and Hovgxc3xa5rden during the Viking Age. | UNESCO |
| Criterion (iii): The Birka and Hovgxc3xa5rden complex bears exceptionally well preserved testimony to the wide-ranging trade network established by the Vikings during the two centuries of their phenomenal economic and political expansion. | UNESCO |
| Criterion (iv): Birka is one of the most complete and undisturbed examples of a Viking trading settlement of the 8th to 10th centuries. | UNESCO |
| Within the boundaries of the 226xc2xa0ha serial property are located all the elements necessary to express the Outstanding Universal Value of Birka and Hovgxc3xa5rden. | UNESCO |
| The elements still visible at Birka include a hill fort, the town rampart, grave mounds in the cemeteries surrounding the xe2x80x9cBlack Earthxe2x80x9d, and the site of the Viking Age settlement. | UNESCO |
| Remains of Birka and Hovgxc3xa5rdenxe2x80x99s exceptional cultural materials are found both on land and in the waters adjacent to the property, and include everything from everyday utensils and food preparation to crafts and items of trade from faraway places. | UNESCO |
| Less than one percent of the property has been archaeologically excavated, and approximately one-third of Birkaxe2x80x99s more than 3,000 graves have been investigated. | UNESCO |
| The archaeological site of Birka and Hovgxc3xa5rden is entirely authentic in terms of locations and settings, forms and designs, and materials and substances. | UNESCO |
| To fulfil the needs of visitors at Birka, a few buildings have been built in the buffer zonexc2xa0xe2x80x93 a site museum, four reconstructed Viking-Age houses, an area for childrenxe2x80x99s activities, and complementary facilities for visitors and staff. | UNESCO |
| Identified potential threats and risks to the authenticity of Birka and Hovgxc3xa5rden include environmental hazards such as ground or forest fires, over-fertilisation of farms, shoreline damage from nearby leisure and passenger boat traffic, and transport of hazardous products near the islands; damage to the ground surface by visitors; depopulation of Bjxc3xb6rkxc3xb6 Island; and lack of an archaeological research plan. | UNESCO |
| Birka and Hovgxc3xa5rden and its buffer zone are formally protected under the Historic Environment Act (1988:950), regulations, and municipal planning instruments. | UNESCO |
| Birka and Hovgxc3xa5rdenxe2x80x99s location on small islands and their long-standing public ownership have greatly contributed to safeguarding this property from inappropriate planning and development. | UNESCO |
| Sustaining the Outstanding Universal Value of the property over time requires addressing the identified potential threats and risks to Birka and Hovgxc3xa5rden, including development pressure in the buffer zone, environmental hazards, visitor pressures, depopulation, and the lack of a research plan. | UNESCO |