In the literature devoted to the history of Ancient Russia, you will definitely read about Holmgard, which was a significant military and commercial and industrial center. It was through him that the Baltic-Volga trade route passed, known as the "way from the Varangians to the Greeks". Thanks to the Scandinavian sagas and archaeological data, historians traditionally consider Holmgard the Varangian designation of Novgorod. Scandinavian and Slavic cultures were closely intertwined in it: Northerners, including Vikings, served at the court of the Novgorod princes, marriages between representatives of noble families were not uncommon.

It is not known for certain where and how Holmgard really was. Sources indicating its exact coordinates have not been preserved, it is only known that it was located on the territory of the modern Novgorod region. There is no consensus on the origin of the name. Most often, the authors refer to a combination of two Scandinavian words: holm – "island, hill, hill" and garðr – "city, settlement, manor, village".

Simultaneously existing and semi-mythical Holmgard has been of great interest to scientists for more than one century, and now to reenactors. Our team, which has been passionate about Vikings and the history of Ancient Russia for many years, could not stay away either.