The Viking an exact replica of the Gokstad ship, a Viking ship found in a burial mound near Sandefjord, Norway in 1880. The ship was built by the Rødsverven shipyard. The construction was undertaken by Commander Christen Christensen in Sandefjord. The Viking was sailed by Captain Magnus Andersen and a crew of 11 from Bergen, via Newfoundland and New York, up the Hudson River, through the Erie Canal and into the Great Lakes to Chicago, where the World's Columbian Exposition was taking place in 1893 to commemorate the discovery of America by Columbus. After the Exposition the ship was first located beside the Field Columbian Museum (now the Museum of Science and Industry) in Chicago, then restored in 1919 and placed in Lincoln Park under a fenced-in, wooden shelter. In 1993 the Chicago Park District made it known that the Viking ship would have to be moved from its location to make room for expansion of the Lincoln Park Zoo. Funds were raised within the Scandinavian-American community and in 1994 the ship was moved into a warehouse in West Chicago. Afterwards it was moved to Good Templar Park in Geneva, Illinois and secured under a canopy. The head and tail of the Viking are in storage at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois. The ship is currently housed in Good Templar Park Geneva, Illinois. [1] The ship is now being stablilzed with funds awarded by American Express in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. [2]
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