The park honors five countries – Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland – and is the only park in the world dedicated to all five. The park is owned and maintained by the Minot Park District but all features in the park were put in place by the Scandinavian Heritage Association.

The park features a marble map plaza, a fully-functional Finnish sauna, a Danish mill, a 30-foot tall Swedish Dala horse, a full-scale replica of a Norwegian stabbur (storehouse) and the Sigdal House, a log house built in Norway in the 1770s.

Also featured are bronze statues of Leif Erikson, Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen, father of modern skiing Sondre Norheim and Casper Oimoen, a Norwegian immigrant with a successful ski jumping career who settled in Minot.

The gem of the park is the Gol Stave Church – an exact replica of a church built in Gol, Norway, in 1250 A.D., one of six churches of its kind in the United States.

File Photo The Heritage House is full of Scandinavian artifacts, including traditional bunads and costumes, household items and other cultural items that have been donated to the Scandinavian Heritage Association.

The park was developed to honor the Scandinavian immigrants who made their homes in North Dakota and to celebrate the rich culture they brought with them.

“That’s what makes us Americans. And along that line, what I hope when people come here and start talking about how people got here is to find an interest in your own heritage,” said Kay West, board member of the Scandinavian Heritage Association and president of the Swedish Society.

The main event of the summer is the annual Midsummer Festival around the time of the summer solstice.The park comes to life with vendors, special activities and music.