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Norwegian theme park wants to be ‘Viking capital of the world’

The Local Norway
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Norwegian theme park wants to be ‘Viking capital of the world’
Photo: Vikinglandet Utvikling

Theme park Thors Rike (Thor’s Kingdom) wants to attract Viking enthusiasts from all over the world.

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The theme park, in the western Norwegian county of Hordaland, aims to become a traditional theme park with a difference – the carousels and rollercoasters will be supplemented by “infotainment” to educate visitors about Vikings and Viking history.

“There is much talk of rollercoasters and rides, but Viking experiences and a Viking ship will also be built. The aim is to take visitors a thousand years back in time while retaining the theme park aspect,” Terje Devold, project leader for the new amusement park, told broadcaster NRK.

Devold said that he envisaged the final result as a “theme park in Viking costume”.

The Hordaland and Sunnhordland regions of western Norway are ideal for a Viking-themed amusement park due to the unique Viking roots and history of the area, says Vikingland Development (Vikinglandet Utvikling), the company behind the project, on its website.

The company, which in 2014 confirmed that it had secured land in the Sveio Municipality for construction of the park, aims to secure 200 million kroner ($23.5 million) in investment capital prior to the summer, reports NRK.

“We are looking for investors in Hordaland and Sunnhordland and would like to attract regional investment. We have come a long way, but it is obviously a difficult task in times of oil crisis, when a lot of investors have challenges of their own. But things are falling into place one month at a time,” Devold said to the broadcaster.

The company has also been involved in in projects at the famous Tusenfryd amusement park near Oslo and hopes to draw on this experience for the Viking project.

Jorunn Skåden, spokesperson with Sveio Municipality, where the park is set to be located, told NRK that she was enthusiastic about the future of the park – set to be West Norway’s biggest – in the municipality.

“All municipalities in western Norway have Viking history. We know that the Viking theme is a good selling point for both national and international tourists,” Skåden told NRK.

A number of municipalities in the area threw their hats into the ring as possible locations for the park during initial negotiations with Vikingland in 2014.

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