Which realm is home to the Vanir gods?

Vanaheimr is the realm associated with the Vanir gods.

Its Old Norse name means “home of the Vanir,” a group of deities associated with fertility, prosperity, wisdom, and foresight. The best-known Vanir are Njörðr and his children Freyr and Freyja. Vanaheimr is therefore the Vanir counterpart to Ásgarðr, the realm most closely associated with the Æsir.

Vanaheimr is mentioned in the Poetic Edda poem Vafþrúðnismál, where the god Njörðr is said to have been created or raised there. The Prose Edda also says that Njörðr was raised in Vanaheimr before being exchanged as a hostage after the war between the Æsir and Vanir.

The sources do not provide a detailed map of the realm. Norse texts also do not consistently present a fixed, universally agreed list of the Nine Worlds, so claims about Vanaheimr’s exact position should be treated cautiously. Alfheim is associated with elves, Jötunheimr with the jötnar, and Ásgarðr with the Æsir; none is the traditional home-name of the Vanir.