Birka

Birka , also Birca and Bierk? (today named Bj?rk?, literally "Birch Island"), was an important trading center in the Baltic Sea region from the 8th century, which handled goods from Eastern Europe and the Orient, possibly as far as China, thus covering most of the Viking Age. Bj?rk? is located in the Lake M?laren, just west of Stockholm, in the municipality of Eker? in Sweden. Birka and Hovg?rden is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993.

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Ownership of Bj?rk?, is today mainly in private hands, and used for farming. The settlement site, however is an archaeological site, and a museum has been built nearby for exhibition of finds, models and reconstructions. It is a popular site to visit during the summer times.

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Baltic Sea: The Baltic Sea is located in Northern Europe, bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainlands of Northern Europe, Eastern Europe, Central Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the ?resund, the Great Belt and the Little Belt. Kattegat then continues in the Skagerr...

Eastern Europe: Eastern Europe as a region has several alternative definitions, whereby it can denote:...

China: :This article is about Chinese civilization. For the modern-day state commonly referred to as "China", see People's Republic of China. For other meanings, see China (disambiguation)....