When most people think of Vikings, they imagine Scandinavian warriors in horned helmets (which, by the way, never actually wore them) pillaging coastal villages and burning monasteries. The popular image is of Danes and Norwegians sailing west across the North Atlantic, raiding Britain, France, and Ireland. But while their western cousins were busy terrorizing Christendom, Swedish Vikings were undertaking an entirely different kind of adventure—one that was arguably even more ambitious and transformative. They were sailing east, deep into the vast territories of Eastern Europe and beyond, establishing trade routes, founding dynasties, and connecting the Scandinavian world with the riches of Constantinople and Baghdad.

These eastern Vikings, known as the Varangians, left a footprint on history so profound that it shaped the very foundations of modern Russia. Yet their story is less well-known in popular culture, overshadowed by the more dramatic (and, admittedly, more violent) western Viking sagas. For travelers interested in understanding where the Varangians came from and what drove them to undertake such extraordinary journeys, Sweden itself is the perfect starting point.

The Adventurers Who Went East

The geographical logic of the Varangian expansion is elegant. While Norwegian Vikings sailed west across the North Sea to raid and settle in Britain and Normandy, and Danish Vikings ventured south to pillage the Mediterranean, Swedish Vikings looked east. The Baltic Sea was their highway. Beyond lay vast river systems—the Dnieper, the Volga, the Don—that flowed southward toward the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. For traders, these rivers represented something more valuable than any monastery full of gold: they were the keys to accessing the wealth of the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic world.

Unlike the raiders who built their reputations on violence and plunder, the Varangians were primarily interested in commerce. Furs, amber, walrus ivory, and tin flowed north from the forests and tundra of Eastern Europe and Asia. In return, luxury goods—silks, spices, wine, and silver coins—came back along the routes. To facilitate this trade, the Varangians needed to establish permanent bases, settlements, and networks of alliances. They needed to be traders first and raiders second, though they were certainly capable of violence when necessary.

Rurik and the Birth of the Rus Dynasty

The most famous Varangian is undoubtedly Rurik, a semi-legendary Viking chieftain who, according to medieval chronicles, was invited by Slavic tribes to bring order to their warring lands. Around 862 CE, Rurik established himself at Novgorod, in what is now northwestern Russia, and began consolidating power. Whether he was a real historical figure or a mythological creation designed to explain the Scandinavian origins of Russian civilization remains debated by historians. But the legend persists: a Viking founded a dynasty that would rule Russia for centuries.

Rurik’s legacy, whether historical or symbolic, is profound. His successors moved south along the Dnieper River, establishing fortified trading posts at Kiev and eventually transforming it into the capital of Kievan Rus, the medieval state that would become the foundation of modern Russia. For roughly 300 years, the Varangians held significant influence over these territories, gradually blending with Slavic populations, adopting their language and customs, and eventually disappearing into the local culture. By the 11th century, the ruling elite of Kievan Rus were thoroughly Slavicized, and Scandinavian influence had faded. Yet the legacy remained: the very name “Rus”—from which “Russia” derives—may come from the Swedish word “Roothsee,” meaning seafarers or rowers.

Trade Routes and Cultural Exchange

The Varangian trade network was sophisticated and extensive. Goods traveled in both directions along the great rivers. Archaeological evidence shows that Arab coins from the Caspian region appear in Swedish hoards, proving that trade reached the Islamic world. Similarly, Byzantine artifacts found their way north to Scandinavia. This wasn’t just movement of goods; it was a genuine exchange of cultures, ideas, and influences.

The most ambitious travelers ventured all the way to Constantinople (modern Istanbul) and Baghdad. The Byzantine emperors were so impressed with these Norse warriors that they eventually hired them as elite bodyguards—the famous Varangian Guard. Swedish Vikings served alongside Norwegian and Danish Vikings, Russian descendants of Vikings, and later English mercenaries in the emperor’s household. They were the 11th-century equivalent of private military contractors, highly paid and highly respected.

The routes established by the Varangians created the first real “Silk Road” of the north. Novgorod became one of the great trading cities of medieval Europe, rivaling the Italian city-states in wealth and importance. The Hanseatic League, the merchant confederation that would dominate Baltic trade in the medieval period, built upon the foundations laid by these earlier Varangian traders.

Rune Stones: Monuments to Wanderers

Throughout Sweden, visitors can see tangible evidence of the Varangian adventure. The landscape is dotted with runestones—thousands of them—dating from the Viking Age and the centuries that followed. These weren’t monuments to gods or legendary heroes; many were erected to commemorate real people, often men who died far from home. The inscriptions tell poignant stories. “So-and-so’s sons raised this stone in memory of him. He died in the east.” “He went west to gather gold and came not home.”

The inscriptions are often cryptic, written in runes (the old Viking alphabet) and sometimes in a kind of poetic code. Yet they convey the sense of a society in motion, of men embarking on dangerous journeys in search of wealth and adventure. The runestones are not just historical artifacts; they’re personal testimonies to the Varangian experience. As a modern traveler standing before a 1,000-year-old stone in the Swedish countryside, you’re connecting with the last words a Viking community wanted to remember about their sons, fathers, and brothers who ventured east into the unknown.

Uppland, the region north of Stockholm, has the highest concentration of runestones in Sweden. Many specifically mention journeys to the east. This is a landscape literally inscribed with the memory of the Varangians.

Birka: The Archaeological Window

For tangible evidence of Varangian trade networks, Birka is essential. Located on an island in Lake Mälaren near Stockholm, Birka was Sweden’s first major trading city, founded in the 8th century. During the Viking Age, it was a bustling international marketplace where Scandinavians, Slavs, Finns, Germans, and traders from the Islamic world conducted business. The city was perfectly positioned to control the trade between the Baltic and the interior of Scandinavia via Lake Mälaren.

Today, Birka is an archaeological site that can be reached by boat from Stockholm—a fitting way to experience how merchants and traders would have arrived in the Viking Age. The museum and ongoing excavations have unearthed incredible evidence of international trade: Arabic coins, Byzantine artifacts, workshops where craftspeople made jewelry and weapons. Walking through Birka, you’re walking through the literal marketplace of the Varangian world. The dig sites and reconstructions help visitors imagine what this bustling medieval emporium looked like when merchants from a dozen different cultures negotiated deals and struck bargains.

Museums That Tell the Story

The Swedish History Museum in Stockholm houses one of the world’s finest collections of Viking artifacts. The museum tells the story of the Varangians through archaeological evidence, explaining the trade routes, the settlements, and the cultural exchange that characterized the eastern Viking expansion. Gold Room displays hoards of coins and jewelry that came north from Constantinople and Baghdad, physical proof of the wealth that flowed along the Varangian routes.

The Vasa Museum, while most famous for its 17th-century warship, also contextualizes Swedish maritime history. Understanding the Varangians helps explain why Sweden became a seafaring power that built the Vasa and, centuries earlier, why maritime trade was so integral to Swedish culture.

A Bridge Between Worlds

The Varangian legacy is ultimately a story about connection. These Swedish Vikings linked Scandinavia with Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Islamic world during the early medieval period. They were traders, yes, but also adventurers, explorers, and empire-builders. They founded dynasties, established cities, and created networks that would influence the development of European civilization for centuries.

When you travel through Sweden today, particularly in the regions north of Stockholm, you’re moving through the homeland of these remarkable adventurers. The runestones scattered across the landscape, the museums filled with their artifacts, and the geography itself all tell the story of a people who looked east and saw opportunity. The Varangians remind us that the Vikings were not simply raiders and warriors—they were also merchants, explorers, and civilizers who left an indelible mark on the world. Their story is Sweden’s gateway to understanding its pivotal role in medieval history, and it remains one of the most fascinating chapters in European civilization.

For travelers seeking to understand the deeper layers of Swedish history, the Varangian Age is the perfect starting point. It’s a history written in runestones, artifacts, and the names of great cities to the east—a history that transformed not just Sweden, but the entire world.