Event Photographer – Visit to the Historic Park Ornavik.
From Vikings to Normans, photographed by Sabina Cowdery.
Normandie Attractivité invited me to discover Ornavik, a fascinating historical park, that recreates the era before and after the Vikings arrived in Normandy.
Being a fan of Vikings based series I jumped at the chance to discover about the viking history right here in Normandy. Along with other locals invited as ‘Normandy Ambassadors’ for the event we enjoyed a great afternoon.
At the moment there are two distinct areas to Ornavik. The first is a recreation of Norman life before the arrival of the Vikings. This is known as the Carolingian period after the King of the Franks, Charlemagne. This area allows you to discover how the Norman people were living…constructing buildings, growing and hunting food, making clothes etc.
The second area of the park is the Viking settlement. Here you can discover how weapons of all sorts are made, shields, bows, swords etc and how the vikings spent their spare time, with games.
A third area to the park is under construction and will be open next year. I’ll definitely return then.
Discovering Ornavik as an event photographer.
The great thing about the park is that it is animated by a team of enthusiastic volunteers who support the association. They give their time to inform visitors, all whilst wearing costumes of the period. The volunteers are what made this visit all the more wonderful, in particular the men who explained the weapons, the shields, swords and the archery expert. Thank you to them in particular.
What is Normandie Attractivité ? It’s an association created with two objectives :
- To encourage the people of Normandy to get to know their territory better, and to come together to brandish the leopards that proudly adorn the Norman flag.
- To set out again on a conquest, a peaceful conquest, to share with the whole world the good things that are done here in Normandy.
I’m not orignally Norman but it is my adopted region, having lived here since 2004. Having work on photographic projects for Normandy tourism and in recent years I have joined others in becoming one of Normandie Attractivité’s ‘Ambassadeurs’, to learn and share about this wondeful region.
Discover more about Ornavik by visiting their website
Domaine de Beauregard
14200 Hérouville-Saint-Clair
contact@ornavik.fr
02 31 52 40 90
And discover more about Sabina’s Event Photography here in Normandy or elsewhere in France.
