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Key Details
Type
RealmMythology
Norse Pantheon
Realm
Mythological / Non-physical
About This Location
Aesir yard
Snorri's Gylfaginning builds Asgard as the gods' enclosed burg, with Valhalla, twelve seats, and a high-seat for Odin. The Poetic Edda names individual halls (Valaskjalf, Gladsheim, Sessrumnir) more often than a single city-plan. There is no pagan temple called Asgard; the word is a mythic compound. Bifrost reaches it. At Ragnarok Surtr burns it. Treat Snorri as a thirteenth-century organizer of older stanzas, not as an eyewitness map.
Primary Sources
“Then they made themselves a burg in the middle of the world, that is called Asgard.”
More from Norse Pantheon
Midgard
RealmThe realm of humanity (Earth), encircled by the world serpent Jormungandr and connected to Asgard by the Bifrost bridge.
Niflheim
RealmThe primordial realm of ice, mist, and cold. Its frozen rivers combined with Muspelheim's fire to create the first life.
Muspelheim
RealmThe primordial realm of fire, ruled by the fire giant Surtr, whose flames will consume the world at Ragnarok.
Jotunheim
RealmThe land of the frost giants and other jotnar, a harsh wilderness of mountains and forests bordering Asgard.
Vanaheim
RealmHome of the Vanir gods associated with fertility, wisdom, and nature—including Freya, Freyr, and Njord.
Svartalfheim
RealmThe underground realm of the dwarves (dark elves), master craftsmen who forged Mjolnir, Gungnir, and other legendary items.