Vikings (2013–2020) is a historical drama series created by Michael Hirst for History. The series begins with Ragnar Lothbrok, a legendary Norse farmer and warrior who rises from local raider to king, driven by ambition, curiosity and the desire to sail west. Travis Fimmel plays Ragnar, with Katheryn Winnick as Lagertha, Clive Standen as Rollo, Gustaf Skarsgård as Floki, Alexander Ludwig as Bjorn Ironside and Alex Høgh Andersen as Ivar the Boneless among the central cast. As the series develops, the focus widens from Ragnar’s own raids and family conflicts to the ambitions of his sons, the kingdoms of England, Frankia, Scandinavia, Iceland and beyond. Vikings mixes historical figures, saga material and dramatic invention, presenting the Viking Age as a world of exploration, warfare, religion, politics, family loyalty and violent change.
Vikings is strongly associated with Scandinavia in the story, but the series was filmed mainly in Ireland, especially in County Wicklow. Ashford Studios in Ballyhenry, near Ashford in Wicklow, served as the main production base and housed many of the large constructed sets used throughout the series. The fictional settlement of Kattegat, one of the show’s most important locations, was closely tied to Lough Tay in the Wicklow Mountains, where the lake, steep slopes and dark water helped create the image of a Norwegian fjord settlement. Other Wicklow landscapes, including Lough Dan, Blessington Lakes, Powerscourt Waterfall, Brittas Bay and mountain areas around the county, were used for longship scenes, battle material, wilderness journeys and coastal settings. Although Ireland provides the core of the show’s visual identity, later seasons expanded the geography. Iceland was used for Floki’s storyline and volcanic, otherworldly landscapes, while Morocco stood in for warmer Mediterranean and North African settings, including Sicily and Egypt. The series also used Canada for North American wilderness material. This gives Vikings a broad but carefully constructed location identity: the world of Ragnar and his descendants is presented as Scandinavia, England and distant exploration, but much of its physical foundation comes from Irish lakes, mountains, beaches, studio-built settlements and carefully chosen international landscapes.
Gullfoss
Gullfoss has appeared in films and television series including Land Ho!, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, Vikings and Lost in Space.
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