Viken (literally the bay) is a landscape defined by Oslofjord in southeastern Norway which terminates at Terra Scania on the coast of West Sweden. The cultural hub is centred in Oslo and the capital of the region was formerly at Borre. It comprises the historical provinces of Westfold, Östfold, Ranrike, Vingulmark and Bohuslän. During the Völkerwanderung, this was a heavily fortified area of Vikings.

Viken colonised Ireland, the Isle of Man and Galloway, North West England and South Wales. The migration brought commerce, a centralised government in the Irish Sea and with them a conjoined nature of Danish-Norwegian placenames. Goidelic Lochlann is a translation of Scandinavian Viken. Contrary to the culture within the Viken and the Irish Sea, there is an isolation between placenames in the Earldom of Orkney from the Normans' home of Vestlandet and placenames in the Danelaw from Denmark.(Zealand placenames in Jorvik and Jutland placenames in East Anglia.)

Explanation of terminology

Scandza was derived from Terra Scania and used for all of Scandinavia although it is properly a Denmark–Sweden (North East Germanic) geographical affair tied to Burgundians in Bornholm. Other tribe names derive from regions: Goths are from Gotland, Geats are from Götaland, Varangians are from Varanger Fjord and Peninsula, Svear are from Svealand, Danes are from Danish isles like Funen and Zealand, Jutes are from Jutland and Angles are from Angeln.

Modern usage

In modern usage, the term Viken has been revitalized as a description for the landscape around the Oslo Fjord, especially the inner bay around Oslo, including Asker, Bærum, and Oslo. Vingulmark would historically have been a more precise name.

See also

• Vingulmark