Does Vikings’ Kattegat Exist? Real World Location Explained

The city of Kattegat is the main setting of Vikings, which hasn’t been fully historically accurate. So, is Kattegat a real place? Let’s take a look.

Vikings takes place mainly in the city of Kattegat, but is it a real place? Created by Michael Hirst, Vikings debuted on History Channel in 2013 and was originally planned to be a short miniseries. As the first season was very well received, there was a change of plans and it was renewed for season 2, allowing viewers to keep exploring the stories of Ragnar, Lagertha, Rollo, Floki, and more.

Vikings initially focused on legendary Norse figure Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) and his travels and raids alongside his Viking brothers, among those his real brother, Rollo (Clive Standen), and his best friend Floki (Gustaf Skarsgård). The series gradually shifted its focus to Ragnar’s sons – Bjorn, Ubbe, Hvitserk, Sigurd, and Ivar – and their own journeys, as Ragnar’s days were counted. Ragnar met his fate in Vikings season 4, and his sons have since been leading the series, especially Bjorn and Ivar. Vikings completed its sixth and final season, with a spinoff series, titled Vikings: Valhalla, headed to Netflix in 2022.

Related: Why Ragnar Will Be So Important To Valhalla (Despite His Vikings Death)

Now that Vikings season 6 is completed, many fans are taking a look back at the series and searching for answers to some of their biggest questions about it. Among those is whether the city of Kattegat is real or not, as it has served as the main setting for Vikings since the start of the show. Kattegat was once ruled by Ragnar, with Bjorn now on the throne, so it will continue to be an important place until the series ends – but is Kattegat a real place, or was it created for the series?

Is Vikings Location Kattegat Real?

As it turns out, Kattegat does exist in real life, though the location is not exactly the same as how it’s presented in the series. In Vikings, Kattegat is a city located in Norway. In reality, Kattegat is not a city at all, though it’s still located in the Scandinavian area. Kattegat is actually a sea area located between Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The area is bounded by the Jutlandic peninsula (part of Denmark and Germany) in the west, the Danish Straits islands of Denmark to the south, and the provinces of Västergötland, Scania, Halland, and Bohusländ in Sweden to the east. What makes it quite a risky trek across its waters is the fact that Kattegat is fairly shallow, consisting of plenty of reefs and dangerous currents.

Approximately 12,000 square miles, Kattegat has major ports surrounding it, among those Gothenburg, Aarhus, Aalborg, Halmstad, and Frederikshavn. Because of its watery location, Vikings’ version of Kattegat was filmed in Lough Tay, County Wicklow, Ireland, which gives the appearance the production was looking for. Although Vikings takes many elements of Norse myths and history, it’s not completely accurate, changing many things to better fit the story it wants to tell. But it also takes inspiration from real-life places, such as Kattegat, which is a central place to both the show and the real-life Scandinavian area in general. Given the importance of the city not only in Ragnar and Lagertha’s story but in the series in general, it has a special place in the hearts of Vikings fans even after the series has ended. Vikings: Valhalla, which is set 100 years following the events of its parent show, will return to Kattegat, which remains a crucial location to the shared universe and its history.

Next: Vikings Future Explained: Season 7 & Valhalla Spinoff Series

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