This past weekend, I was busy putting the finishing touches on the first two baseplates of my custom LEGO® Viking settlement. I also spent some photographing the build and characters in it. One of those characters is Jurgen Akrkarl, the goat farmer.

If you’re thinking Jurgen looks familiar, you are probably right. He is essentially the Goat Herder from Minifigures Series 25. But I changed his head and added a worn brown cape. The cape is from one of my Minifigures Series 12 Hun Warriors. I have multiple of them, and I previously used one of their capes on my Kónæn Stígandr character. The head comes from the Commander Cold lookalike I got in the Lunar New Year Ice Festival set back in 2022. However, the element comes in six sets dating back to 2013. Two of them were exclusives, but here’s the list:

• 40499 – Santa’s Sleigh from 2021
• 40565 – Santa’s Workshop from 2022
• 70404 – King’s Castle from 2013
• 80109 – Lunar New Year Ice Festival from 2022
• 4000013 – Employee Christmas gift from 2013
• Toys R Us Santa at the Beach exclusive from 2014

I wanted Jurgen to look older than the Goat Herder because he is the husband of Alda Greiharr in my Viking settlement. Since she is a grey-haired, retired shield maiden, I wanted Jurgen to match her age. Both of them live in the first building I created for my village, which happens to be a goat farm. Alda spends her retirement guarding the nearby dock rather than raiding while Jurgen farms his goats.

Don’t let Jurgen Akrkarl’s country bumpkin demeanour fool you!

Jurgen is an old Norse man’s name. Essentially, it means “farmer”. Akrkarl is also Norse, and it means something along the lines of “country bumpkin”. Jurgen and Alda are a tale of opposites attracting. I wanted to really highlight the contrast between Alda’s adventurous warrior spirit and Jurgen’s calmer pace of life. That is not to say that Jurgen is not also a skilled warrior. How could he not be with a wife like Alda? She made sure he could protect their home while she was off raiding. He just doesn’t advertise his skills. But try to harm his goats and you’ll learn that stick is not just for walking!

The first two baseplates of my Viking settlement are complete. Once I’m done writing this article, I am going to edit the photos I took of it earlier today. So, be sure to check back later this week because I’ll share more details of the MOC in the coming days. It includes Jurgen Akrkarl and Alda Greiharr’s farm.

Until next time,

-Tom

Want to support True North Bricks?

If you like the content at True North Bricks, please follow on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, or TikTok for regular content. Additionally, you can support True North Bricks by making your LEGO® (and other) purchases using the links in the margin to your right. As an affiliate of those retailers, we earn from qualifying purchases. These earnings come at no extra cost to you but help to keep the content at True North Bricks free.