The winter solstice is just beyond us in the northern hemisphere as the days grow longer and the sun emerges from its lowest point in the sky to continue to climb high until the summer solstice.  Civilizations of old revered this time of year with the return of light marked by festivals, sacrifices and celebrations in recognition of the return of the sun. Not least among them were the ancient Norsemen, among them the Vikings who called this period Jul or Yule.

And the world of the Vikings is expected to arrive in France in a few months for the French cultural and educational firm, Cités Immersives, which literally means immersive places but implies immersive cultural experiences, is committed to bringing history to the general public at large through educational and scientific permanent exhibitions using cutting edge technology, creative story-telling and compelling, spectacular visual and sound effects all bolstered by historians and specialists actively participating in the projects. The house’s first immersive cultural experience is slated to open in Rouen in the spring of 2024, bringing to life the world of the Vikings who landed in this port city on the Seine and gradually imbued it with their unique culture. Their warrior chieftain Rollo made an alliance with the Carolingian Emperor Charles III (who realized that he could not win a victory over the invaders), was baptized in Rouen in 911 and became its count opening up the road to create the Duchy of Normandy (land of the men of the North).

« With Cités Immersives, we wanted to offer a new version of a history museum, Our ambition is to move, to captivate, to fully implicate the visitor into his own discovery experience. That means stimulating the senses, new technologies, using narration that is accessible to the largest number of people while maintaining rigor and the serious approach required by the recounting of history, » explains the founder and president of Cités Immersives Jean Vergès who has a solid background in providing cultural materials to companies and launching virtuel cultural experiences for the public at large.

Visitors will be taken on a journey into the heart of the Viking raids in the room of the Smoking Ruins, for example. The room puts forth eye-witness accounts of the members of the religious orders who witnessed the chaos and destruction and consigned it to their writings. Meanwhile the room also explores the history of Rollo from childhood to this odyssey of this Viking chieftain and offers an insight into the political context being played out at the time in what was then the Kingdom of the Franks.

Vincent Samson is in charge of the scientific and historical department of the Cité Immersive Viking. The historian, medievalist and a specialist of Ancient Nordic civilization commented, « The scientific project of the Cité Immersive Viking is unique on the cultural landscape. For the first time, the Scandinavian history of Normandy is showcased through an itinerary that is both demanding and entertaining that illustrates an exceptional historical phenomenon: the violent intrusion of the Vikings into a region of France that they progressively colonized before taking control of it and assimilating themselves into their new environment at a miraculous pace. To the extent that this territory in the end was given the name of Normandy, land of the men of the North.» 

While the visit is a series of projections and sound and light journeys —in 3D and 360 degrees,  through five rooms and one dream room — Cités Immersifs has also acquired some 20 distinctively Viking period objects — axes, hatchets and jewelry — at auction. But the best of course is a Drakkar of modern construction, the Rollon (French for Rollo) named for our Viking chieftain, which will be moored in the Seine next to the Viking Cité and will be serving fine fare. Rouen is a singular city in France, once a site of Gallo-Roman culture, it became the cradle of the Duchy of Normandy under the Viking chieftain and a powerful commercial center during the eras of William the Conqueror and the Capetian Philippe II Auguste. It is home to a spectacular Gothic cathedral immortalized by Claude Monet and sitting on the Seine, Rouen was a favorite subject of the Impressionists. https://cites-immersives.fr/ ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette