Vikings in Prussia
The Vikings started to penetrate the Eastern shores of the Baltic Sea in the 7th and 8th centuries. The largest trade centres of the Prussians, such as Truso and Kaup, seem to have absorbed a number of Norsemen. Prussians used the Baltic Sea as a trading route, frequently traveling from Truso to Birka (present-day Sweden).
At the end of the Viking Age, the sons of Danish king Harald Bluetooth and Canute the Great launched several expeditions against the Prussians. They destroyed many areas in Prussia, including Truso and Kaup, but failed to dominate the population totally. A Viking (Varangian) presence in the area was "less than dominant and very much less than imperial."
Read more about this topic: Prussia (region)
Famous quotes containing the word prussia:
““Austria the shield and Prussia the sword!” Too bad that they are attached to the wrong arm: The right one holds the defiantly glistening shield, and the left one is supposed to wield the sword.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)