Rarog Gord

Reric was a Viking Age trading centre on the southern Baltic coast near present-day Wismar in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It stood where the Bay of Wismar meets the land, a place chosen for its deep water and sheltered shore. The site was first settled by Slavs of the Obodrite tribe about 735, soon after they arrived in the region. By the 9th century it had become a busy emporium where merchants from many lands exchanged goods. The port linked Scandinavia with the Frankish Empire and beyond, avoiding Saxon and Danish strongholds. In 808 the Danish king Gudfred destroyed Reric and moved its traders to Hedeby, ending the town’s first life. Archaeologists from the University of Kiel and the State Department for Archaeology in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern excavated about twenty hectares near Groß Strömkendorf between 1995 and 1999. The site shows a planned layout with buildings like the sunken-floor halls found at West Stow in England. Pottery of the Sukow type, common among West Slavs in the 8th century, was found in quantity, while Feldberg ware appeared in smaller amounts. Hoards of Norwegian schist whetstones and traces of glass, metal, amber and horn working show the crafts practised there. The latest dated wood comes from 811, and the pattern of finds suggests the settlement ended soon after. The remains stretch five hundred metres along the coast and cover at least twenty hectares. Within ten kilometres lie traces of Slavic open settlements, while nearby fortified strongholds at Mecklenburg and Ilow date from the same early 8th century. The site’s layout, artefacts and the written record in the Royal Frankish Annals confirm its identity as Reric. Visitors walk over grassy fields where once merchants bartered iron, cloth and pottery. The wind off the bay carries the same salt tang that once greeted Viking longships and Slavic traders alike.