Manitoba couple builds replica Viking hut in backyard

Manitoba couple build Viking hut in their backyard A Manitoba couple are drawing worldwide attention for their unique pandemic project.

toronto — A couple of medieval aficionados have kept busy during the COVID-19 restrictions in Manitoba by building a replica Viking hut in their backyard.

Pedro Bedard and Wendy Speary of St. Francois Xavier, Man., about 31 kilometres west of Winnipeg, began building the hut in May and finished it in September. It’s made using mud, logs, sticks, and dried grass for the roof. Inside, the hut is complete with a bed, table, stool and a shelf for dishes.

“We’ve always been interested in historical re-enactments,” Bedard told CTV News Channel.

“We usually participate in a festival in Gimli called Islendingadagurinn and it was cancelled this year, so we thought: ‘We need to do something’ and we always wanted to build a medieval-type structure.”

Islendingadagurinn, “Iceland Day” in Icelandic, is another name for the Icelandic Festival of Manitoba held every August in Gimli, Man.

With the festival cancelled, the two began planning out how they would built their own Viking-era structure.

“We did a lot of research on different types of buildings, different styles of buildings, and we basically just put together something that would work for us,” Speary said.

In the end, they went with what Speary called an “A-frame classical hut,” meaning it is largely triangle in shape, and has thus far proven effective in the elements.

“Because of the steep slope of the A-frame, so far water and snow have just basically been sitting on the surface and sliding off,” Speary said. “Hopefully it will be OK (this winter), we’ve never done this before, so we’ll find out.”

Bedard said he’s already spent the night in the hut -- during the Fall – and hopes to have another night in it this winter.