Inscribed on the Swedish World Heritage List in 1993, Birka and Hovgården bear witness to the Viking trading network. These were the 200 years during which the Vikings expanded economically and politically in Europe.
Hovgården was the king's residence.
The remains of a royal court have been dated similarly to Birka. The royal court survived after Birka's demise. A richly decorated stone (Håkanstenen) with runic inscriptions from that period can still be found there today.