Ragnar Kavurson: the Vikings enthusiast who lives in his Bosnia like a real Northman

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2 years ago Pavel

He was born as Stipe Petic, and he is a 57-year-old Bosnian man without any nordic background.
But he was so impressed by the ‘Vikings’ TV series that he started calling himself Ragnar Kavurson and making axes.
He claimed that his fascination with Viking culture started with a binge-watching session of History’s hit series “Vikings”.
Coming back to his hometown of Tomislavgrad in southern Bosnia after ten years of working on construction sites in Germany, he became fascinated by the saga of the legendary hero Ragnar Lothbrok and his wife Lagertha, as well as of the lives of the Nordic warriors who launched raids across large swathes of Europe between the 8th and 11th centuries.
After changing his look to mimic that of a nordic warrior of legend, and borrowing the name of his favorite Viking character, Ragnar, a reference to both the name of his hometown during the Ottoman era and the word for ‘miscreant’, the “Bosnian Viking” started making intricately decorated Viking axes and shields, decking the walls of his cottage.

“The first season is my favorite. At first, I liked Ragnar’s personality but, to be honest, I like Lagertha too. She blew me away,” he told in an interview “I had a lot of free time, because I live alone here, and then while watching the series I saw Ragnar’s ax, I liked it, and I wanted to make one just like it.”

His workshop in Tomislavgrad is now full of Viking axes and shields, alongside portraits of logs used for ax throwing practice, and detailed portraits of Ragnar and Lagertha, as portrayed by Travis Fimmel and Katheryn Winnick.
Outside the workshop is even a traditional “drakkar”, a flat-bottomed Viking boat that the 57-year-old made himself and that he sometimes takes out on a nearby lake.

Sporting a long, white beard and braided hair, wearing traditional tunics, Ragnar Kavurson really looks very much a modern Viking.
He has also a job working as a driver for the regional government, but he dedicates all of his free time to his passion, making Viking axes and shields that he then sells for anywhere between 25 and 300 euros.

“I put a bit of myself into each of these,” Pleic explains, adding he also practices throwing axes every day, alone or with friends.
“It is also a discipline that is recommended by psychiatrists. It’s very relaxing,” the first Bosnian Viking says.

“My life has turned 180 degrees. My goals are different,” he added “I used to earn more money per day in Germany than I do now per month, but I wasn’t happy. Now I am happy.”

Ragnar has big plans for the future as well, hoping to organize the first Bosnian axe-throwing championship and build an entire Viking village for tourists and not only…