Hjemkomst Center

Mystical, magical, imposing, and haunting are all words that come to mind when you see the Hopperstad Stave Church standing tall on hill above the Red River of the North, in Moorhead, Minnesota. We had originally skipped seeing this church since our route took us further north. This was a longer drive to see something than we would normally allow, but TJ was able to find several things to see along the way to validate the time and distance. Once there, the cloudy skies provided a foreboding background for the darkly finished exterior of the church, giving me a sense of a more brutal time, a time of the Vikings. With the shingles on the roof looking like dragon scales and carvings of dragons at the edges of the roof there is definitely a feeling of the traditional paganism of Scandinavia. But crosses are also prominent on the rooflines reflecting the shift to Christianity. These are after all Christian houses of worship.

A tour of the inside of the church gives you completely different feeling. You leave the dark, imposing outside of the structure by entering through a small entrance called a portal at the back of the church. The portal has a heavy looking door and an intricately carved panel surrounding it. Once you enter the church there lightness and warmth from the unfinished wood. The construction of the building using the large staves that reach from below the floor to the roof, coupled with the cross bracing and beams reveals a impressive open space.

The interior is largely unadorned other than the altar area. The altar surround has beautifully carved details and has the heads of Jesus and the king and queen of Norway at prominent points, and a seemingly random monk on a column. The ceiling of the altar area is painted with scenes from the story of the birth of Jesus.

This Stave church was built between 1996 and 2001 and is a replica of an original one in Vik, Norway, which was constructed in the 1100’s and still standing today. Seeing it in person you can get a sense of the craftsmanship and ingenuity of both the original builders and those that built the replica.

The Hjemkomst Center where the church is located was first built to hold the Hjemkomst ship, which is a reconstruction of a traditional Viking ship. I learned that it was the dream of Robert Asp to build this replica and sail it to Norway. He unfortunately died before the trip happened, but he did see the construction completed and was able to take a voyage on the ship in Duluth Harbor before he died. The ship really does look like the images in my head of a Viking vessel from 1000 years ago, and it is preserved here in the visitor center for future generations.

While I am not of Scandinavian heritage, I do find it extremely interesting and of importance. I would also like to thank TJ encouraging me to go inside for the tour and selflessly staying back with our dogs.

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