GeoStories has launched an augmented reality Viking story experience as part of the 2023 Jorvik Viking Festival.
The ‘Freyda, Skald of Jorvik’ audio drama is based on the story of a young woman living in Viking York, whose life is transformed after a thrilling encounter with a mystical Viking seeress, Gudrun.
Funded by Arts Council England, the story is being launched at the Jorvik Viking Festival and will remain available to visitors online when the festival has finished. Supported by the Jorvik Viking Centre, the story brings magic, myth and a real sense of what it was like to live in the city at the time of the Vikings.
In a twist from conventional audio drama, listeners can hear the story while taking a short walk around York, where GPS location technology triggers the story chapters automatically. Accessed via a free app, the story also features augmented reality images that come to life as people are transported back to Jorvik and into magical Viking realms.
The walk takes around an hour and begins at Coppergate Walk, near the entrance to the Jorvik Viking Centre, and then takes the listener through Goodramgate, up Ogleforth and ends at Dean’s Park in the grounds of the Minster.
The story is available on the GeoStories app, which is free to download, and available direct from the App Store or Google Play by searching ‘geostories’.
Lisa Wood, Jorvik’s communications & marketing manager, said: “We are delighted that Freyda: Skald of Jorvik is being launched as part of this year’s Jorvik Viking Festival. This fictional story drawing on Norse mythology and the archaeology of Coppergate, and set in Viking-age York, takes visitors on a tour of the city, using GPS and augmented reality to create a compelling and engaging story, and is completely free to download.
“We believe it provides a unique and very special visitor experience that will be available throughout the festival and beyond.”
