Klaus Mikaelson is one of the original vampire characters in the popular TV series The Vampire Diaries and its spinoff The Originals. As an original vampire and a member of the Mikaelson family, Klaus is an ancient and powerful character with a complex backstory. Determining Klaus’ exact age requires an examination of the details revealed about his origins and life experiences over the course of the shows.
Klaus’ Human Life
Klaus was born to a wealthy landowner named Mikael and his wife Esther in a village that would eventually become Mystic Falls, Virginia. During his human life, he lived in the area of the world now known as the Nordic countries, likely in what is present-day Norway or Sweden. Though an exact date is never provided, context clues place Klaus’ human life in the late 10th century or early 11th century. This was during the time period known as the Viking Age, when Norse seafaring warriors raided and colonized wide areas of Europe.
Klaus had six siblings: three brothers named Elijah, Finn, and Kol, and three sisters named Rebekah, Freya, and Henrik. After Henrik was killed by werewolves, their mother Esther performed a magical ritual to turn Klaus and his siblings into vampires in order to protect them. This ritual made them the very first vampires in existence, giving them immense power compared to vampires turned through traditional methods.
Transition to Vampire
Although it is not confirmed, Klaus was likely somewhere between 20-25 years old when he and his siblings were turned into vampires. Most estimates place Klaus’ birth around the 970s or 980s and Esther’s ritual occurred around 1000 AD. So Klaus lived nearly his entire human life during the 10th century before transitioning to a vampire during the very beginning of the 11th century.
Life as a Vampire
After becoming a vampire, Klaus lived for over a thousand years before making his first appearance on The Vampire Diaries in 2010. During this millennium of life, he traveled extensively building up power, breaking curses, and living as both a feared villain and vulnerable antihero at different times. Key life events revealed throughout his complex history include:
- 11th century – Klaus triggers his werewolf curse and has his werewolf side suppressed by his mother, leading to an intense feeling of betrayal.
- 1112 – Klaus kills his mother Esther for suppressing his werewolf side.
- 1135 – Klaus daggers his brother Finn, beginning his habit of neutralizing his siblings by magically linking them to daggers.
- 13th century – Klaus acquires a daylight ring allowing him to walk in the sun.
- 1500s – Klaus befriends and sires the vampire Damon Salvatore.
- 1700s – Klaus triggers a werewolf curse placed on him by a shaman, suppressing his werewolf powers again.
- 1920s – Klaus arrives in New Orleans and has a tumultuous relationship with Marcel Gerard.
- 2010 – Klaus arrives in Mystic Falls seeking to break his werewolf curse.
Piecing together the events of Klaus’ early life as a human Viking and the major events of his thousand-year existence as an original vampire hybrid, it becomes clear that Klaus is approximately 1000 years old at the time of his introduction in The Vampire Diaries.
Exact Age Calculator
To provide an exact age for Klaus as of the current date, here is a table calculating his age based on the estimated date of his birth and transition:
| Event | Estimated Date |
|---|---|
| Klaus Born (human) | Around 975-985 AD |
| Klaus Becomes Vampire | Around 1000-1001 AD |
| Current Year | 2023 AD |
| Klaus’ Age | 1022-1032 years old |
Using the timeframe provided in The Vampire Diaries universe, we can estimate that in the current year of 2023, Klaus Mikaelson is approximately 1022-1032 years old. Of course, this requires some estimation since concrete dates are never provided for the fictional character’s birth and transition. But this age aligns with all the contextual clues provided in the shows.
Conclusion
Determining the age of the original hybrid Klaus Mikaelson requires piecing together details about his human life in 10th century Scandinavia, transition to vampire in the early 11th century, mentions of key life events across a thousand years, and time period shown in his modern appearances. Though an exact date is never given, clues consistently point to Klaus being around 1000 years old, having lived as a human in Viking Era Nordic regions during the late 10th century before becoming one of the very first vampires in history. By following this trail of clues and estimating his birth year as around 975-985 AD, we can deduce that in the current year of 2023, the ancient and powerful Klaus Mikaelson is approximately 1022-1032 years old.