Delisted: A Political Story

Dag Petersson’s new book, ”Delisted: A
Political Story” delves into the intricate political
complexities that surfaced following the Danish
People’s Party’s proposal in 2016 to delist
Erik Christian Sørensen’s Viking Ship Hall in
Roskilde, demolish it, and allocate 150 million in
funding for a new museum ”in Viking style.”
Over the following four years, as experts
rose to the building’s defence and as media
sporadically fueled the controversy, the affair
evolved into a public feud. Behind closed doors,
however, a nuanced political process unfolded,
marked by unexpected alliances, creative
diplomacy, and fluid conflict zones. It was a
case that offered a rare research opportunity to
explore the political agency of architecture as it
unfolded in real life.
The pivotal questions posed by the book are
to what extent did the building itself play a role
as a political actor? Did its architectural design
shape the unfolding events? How did the
architecture influence discourse and actions?
Documents and interviews showed that it did
indeed play a role, albeit not in the way the
author had expected.