The Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center, commonly known as the Hjemkomst Center, is a museum in

Moorhead, Minnesota Moorhead () is a city in and 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 ...

. 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 History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as wel ...

''Hjemkomst''

''Hjemkomst'', which means "Homecoming" in

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

, is a replica

Viking ship Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, used in Scandinavia from the Viking Age throughout the Middle Ages. The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as bein ...

that is permanently housed in the center of the museum. The ship is a full-scale replica of the

Gokstad The Gokstad Mound (Norwegian: Gokstadhaugen) is a large burial mound at Gokstad Farm in Sandefjord (formerly Sandar municipality) in Vestfold County, Norway. It is also known as the King's Mound (''Kongshaugen'') and is where the 9th century Go ...

Viking ship that was discovered in Norway in 1880. The idea for building ''Hjemkomst'' was that of

Robert Asp Robert Louis Asp (February 13, 1923 – December 27, 1980) 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. ...

(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 Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

; however he still continued to build the ship; he had help from other volunteers. 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 , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

, on August 5, 1980. Asp held the rank as captain during the ship's maiden voyage throughout

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

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 Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, which was Asp's original dream. The ship departed Duluth on May 11, 1982, and arrived in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on June 8, then arrived in Bergen, Norway, on July 19, and on August 9 arrived in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

. The ship stayed in Oslo for a year until it was transported back to Minnesota on MV ''Brunto''. The Hopperstad Stave Church Replica is a replica of a Norwegian stave church.jpg, The Hopperstad Stave Church Replica is a replica of a Norwegian stave church The Hopperstad Stave Church Replica is located at the Hjemkomst Center in Moorhead, Minnesota.jpg, The Hopperstad Stave Church Replica is located at the Hjemkomst Center in Moorhead, Minnesota. The interior of the Hopperstad Stave Church Replica.jpg, The interior of the Hopperstad Stave Church Replica The leper window near the altar in the Hopperstad Stave Church Replica allowed the individuals with Leprosy to see the service and receive communion while remaining outside of the church.jpg, The leper window near the altar in the Hopperstad Stave Church Replica allowed the individuals with Leprosy to see the service and receive communion while remaining outside of the church.

Hopperstad Stave Church Replica

The Hopperstad Stave Church Replica is a replica of a Norwegian

stave church 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 ar ...

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 Hopperstad Stave Church ( no, Hopperstad stavkyrkje) 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 ...

Vik Vik (Old Norse: vík) means wick or bay in Norwegian and Swedish (''vig'' in Danish), and it may refer to the following: Places Iceland *Vík í Mýrdal, a village in southern Iceland Iran *Vik, Iran, a village in Zanjan Province, Iran Norway *V ...

, Norway. The church serves as a reminder of the Scandinavian heritage in the Red River Valley.

References

External links

Viking Ship Hjemkomst Center, Fargo-Moorhead

Historical and Cultural Society of Clay Countystory from 2012
{{coord, 46, 52, 40, N, 96, 46, 42, W, format=dms, region:US-MN_type:landmark_scale:10000, display=title 1985 establishments in Minnesota Ethnic museums in Minnesota Norwegian-American museums Moorhead, Minnesota Museums established in 1985 Museums in Clay County, Minnesota Norwegian-American culture in Minnesota Viking Age museums