This is a large Dala horse, or Dalecarlian horse, outside the Scandinavian Heritage Museum in Minot, North Dakota. While I’m not in Minot at the moment (I’m headed to Quito, Ecuador later this week), I happened upon this statue two years ago during the month of December. I had read about the small museum here which has several monuments to its Scandinavian ancestors including a Norwegian stabbur, statue of Hans Christensen Anderson, and this approximately 10 meter (30 foot) Dala horse. Most Dala horses are tiny wood carvings given to children as toys and have become symbolic of Sweden in general.
The Scandinavian Heritage Museum is an interesting place to visit in a small town where there isn’t much else. Aside from the museum, Minot has the distinction of being (by far) the coldest place I’ve ever been. Here are a few more pictures from Minot and the museum that have been up for a while but I’ve never posted.