Established | 1985 |
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Location | 202 1st Avenue North, Moorhead, Minnesota, United States |
Type | Ethnographic museum |
Collections | Hjemkomst Viking Ship, Hopperstad Stave Church replica, museum exhibits, county archives |
Website | www |
The Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center, commonly known as the Hjemkomst Center, is a museum in Moorhead, Minnesota. Hjemkomst Center first opened in 1985 and serves as a home to Hjemkomst Viking Ship, Hopperstad Stave Church replica, quarterly museum exhibits, and county archives. In 2009, the Clay County Historical Society (which was founded in 1932) and the Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center merged to form the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County. [1] [2] [3]
Hjemkomst, which means "Homecoming" in Norwegian, is a replica Viking ship that is permanently housed in the center of the museum. The ship is a full-scale replica of the Gokstad Viking ship that was discovered in Norway in 1880. The idea for building Hjemkomst was that of Robert Asp (1923–1980), a guidance counselor at Moorhead Junior High School. Construction on Hjemkomst began in 1974 at the Leslie Welter Potato Warehouse in Hawley, Minnesota.
The warehouse site was then transformed into the Hawley Shipyard during the construction. That same year, Asp became diagnosed with leukemia; however he still continued to build the ship; he had help from other volunteers. [4]
In July 1980, the Hawley Shipyard was torn down for the removal and christening of the completed ship. Hjemkomst was shipped overnight to Duluth, Minnesota, on August 5, 1980. Asp held the rank as captain during the ship's maiden voyage throughout Lake Superior until his death four months later on December 27, 1980.
In May 1982, Asp's three sons and daughter along with eight members of Hjemkomst crew decided to sail Hjemkomst to Norway, which was Asp's original dream. The ship departed Duluth on May 11, 1982, and arrived in New York City on June 8, then arrived in Bergen, Norway, on July 19, and on August 9 arrived in Oslo. The ship stayed in Oslo for a year until it was transported back to Minnesota on MV Brunto. [5] [6]
The Hopperstad Stave Church Replica is a replica of a Norwegian stave church located on the grounds of the Hjemkomst Center. The church was built in 1998 by Guy Paulson and was constructed of cedar, redwood, and pine. It is a full-scale replica of the 12th Century Hopperstad Stave Church in Vik, Norway. The church serves as a reminder of the Scandinavian heritage in the Red River Valley. [7]
Clay County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,318. Its county seat is Moorhead.
Hawley is a town in Clay County, Minnesota, United States, along the Buffalo River. The population was 2,219 at the 2020 census.
Moorhead is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Minnesota, United States, on the banks of the Red River of the North. Located in the Red River Valley, an extremely fertile and active agricultural region, Moorhead is also home to several corporations and manufacturing industries. Across the river from Fargo, North Dakota, Moorhead helps form the core of the Fargo–Moorhead ND-MN Metropolitan Area. The population was 44,505 at the 2020 census.
Gol is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hallingdal. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Gol which is also the population center. Gol was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. The area of Hemsedal was separated from Gol in 1897 to become a separate municipality. The municipality of Gol is bordered to the north by the municipality of Nord-Aurdal, to the east by Sør-Aurdal, to the south by Nes, and to the west by Ål and Hemsedal.
Vik is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the southern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center of Vik is the village of Vikøyri. Other villages in the municipality include Feios, Fresvik, Nese, and Vangsnes.
A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts are called stafr in Old Norse. Two related church building types also named for their structural elements, the post church and palisade church, are often called 'stave churches'.
The Gokstad ship is a 9th-century Viking ship found in a burial mound at Gokstad in Sandar, Sandefjord, Vestfold, Norway. It is displayed at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, Norway. It is the largest preserved Viking ship in Norway.
Fargo–Moorhead, also known as the FM area, is a common name given to the metropolitan area comprising Fargo, North Dakota; Moorhead, Minnesota; and the surrounding communities. These two cities lie on the North Dakota–Minnesota border, on opposite banks of the Red River of the North. The region is the cultural, retail, health care, educational, and industrial center of southeastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota.
Hopperstad Stave Church is a historic parish church of the Church of Norway in the village of Vikøyri in Vik Municipality in Vestland county. It was historically the church for the Hopperstad parish in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The church is currently owned by the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments. The brown, wooden stave church was built during the 12th century. The church seats about 30 people.
Gol Stave Church is a 12th century stave church originally from Gol in the traditional region of Hallingdal in Buskerud county, Norway. The reconstructed church is now a museum and is now located in the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History at Bygdøy in Oslo, Norway.
Heimaey Stave Church (Stafkirkjan) is a close replica of Haltdalen stave church situated in the Skansinn area of the harbour of Vestmannaeyjabær on Heimaey, Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland.
Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments is an organization focused on conservation preservation in Norway.
Viking ship replicas are one of the more common types of ship replica. Viking, the first Viking ship replica, was built by the Rødsverven shipyard in Sandefjord, Norway. In 1893 it sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to Chicago in the United States for the World's Columbian Exposition. Formerly located in Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois, the Viking is currently undergoing conservation in Geneva, Illinois, United States.
The Comstock House is a historic house museum in Moorhead, Minnesota, United States. It was built for Solomon Comstock and his family from 1882 to 1883 in a mix of Queen Anne and Eastlake style. Comstock (1842–1933) was one of Moorhead's first settlers and an influential figure in business, politics, civics, and education in the growing city and state.
Hove Church is a historic parish church of the Church of Norway in Vik Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Vikøyri on the Arnafjord, an arm of the Sognefjord. It was historically the main church for Hove parish in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The gray, stone church was built in a long church design in a Romanesque style around the year 1170 using plans drawn up by unknown architect. Since about 2016 the church has been the base for the Hove Church Music Festival run by local cultural personality, Jens Brekke, and an American early music chamber choir. The church seats about 35 people.
Vik Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Vik Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Vikøyri. It is the church for the Vik parish which is part of the Sogn prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The white, wooden church was built in a long church design in 1877 using plans drawn up by the architect Haakon Thorsen. The church seats about 450 people.
Leif Erikson is a Viking ship replica built to commemorate the voyage of Leif Erikson who is credited with reaching North America over one thousand years ago.
Robert Louis Asp was an American educator from Minnesota. He is known principally for his involvement building the replica ship Hjemkomst which sailed from Duluth, Minnesota to Bergen, Norway in 1982.
The Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County is a local history museum located in Moorhead, Minnesota and exists to collect, preserve, interpret, and share the history and culture of Clay County, Minnesota. The organization directs the museum and archives at the Hjemkomst Center and provides tours of Moorhead's Hjemkomst Viking Ship and Moorhead Stave Church.