Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
STORSJÖODJURET
THE “GREAT LAKE MONSTER”
The people of Östersund are in no doubt:
Storsjöodjuret
is out there, in their lake. Eyewitness
accounts - there are hundreds of people who claim to have seen it - speak of a creature with a
head like a dog, long pointed ears and bulging eyes, that sweeps gracefully through the water,
sometimes making a hissing or clucking sound, often several hundred metres away from the
shore; each summer sees new reports of sightings. Although several explanations have been
given that dispel the myth - a floating tree trunk, a row of swimming elk, the wake from a
passing boat, a series of rising water bubbles - the monster's existence is taken so seriously
that a protection order has now been slapped on it, using the provisions of paragraph
fourteen of Sweden's Nature Conservation Act. For most people, though, the monster will be
at its most tangible not in the lake, but on the web (
W
storsjoodjuret.com).
In 1894, the hunt for this sinister presence began in earnest, when King Oscar II founded a
special organization to try to catch it. Norwegian whalers were hired to do so, but the rather
unorthodox methods they chose proved unsuccessful: a dead pig gripped in a metal clasp
was dangled into the water as bait, and large, specially manufactured pincers were on hand to
grip the creature and pull it ashore. Their tackle is on display at Jamtli, together with
photographs that claim to be of the creature.
If you fancy a bit of monster-spotting, consider taking a
steamboat cruise
on the lake on
board
S/S Thomée
, a creaking 1875 wooden steamship. Routes and timetables vary, but in
general the boat does a two-hour trip (100kr) round the lake leaving from the harbour in town.
Also available are trips out to the island of
Verkön
, where there's a nineteenth-century castle
(5hr 30min; 130kr).
8
monster found in the lake in 1895; this quite grotesque thing is kept in a small glass jar
on a shelf next to the foot of the stairs.
Överhogdal tapestries
The museum's prize exhibits are the awe-inspiring Viking
Överhogdal tapestries
,
crowded with brightly coloured pictures of horses, reindeer, elk and dogs, and different
types of dwellings. Dating from the ninth and tenth centuries and woven from flax,
most of the tapestries were discovered by accident in an outhouse in 1910. One piece
was rescued after being used as a doll's blanket - rumour has it the child had to be
pacified with a 2kr reward to hand it over - and another was being used as a cleaning
rag in the local church. Be sure, too, to watch the informative ten-minute slideshow
explaining the tapestries' history and their likely significance.
Exercishallen Norr
Infanterigatan 30 • Thurs-Sun noon-4pm • Free
Close to Jamtli,
Exercishallen Norr
is an excellent modern art museum with constantly
changing and thought-provoking exhibitions. Housed in a former military building,
the spacious exhibition hall can easily be visited on the way to Jamtli.
Badhusparken
Sauna: Mid-Jan to mid-March
Tues & Thurs 6-8pm • 130kr •
T
063 10 05 20,
W
vinterparken.se
Whilst the lakeside
Badhusparken
, is an extremely popular sunbathing spot in summer,
in winter it is the place for a quick dip in the invigorating waters of Lake Storsjön - a
hole in the ice is kept open here for this purpose (mid-Jan to late March). Once you're
out of the water, head straight for the nearby
sauna
or you'll be covered in frost faster
than you can say “Storsjöodjuret”. This is also the place to rent skates to go long-
distance
skating
on the lake (150kr/day), which freezes over each winter.
Frösön
Take the footbridge across the lake from Badhusparken, or the road bridge a little
further north, and you'll come to the island of
Frösön
. People have lived here since
