Sweden’s Giant Moose Restaurant
It’s amazing that mankind has gone for this many years without a proper giant moose. And now in 2009, the world’s largest such creature, named Stoorn (“The Big One”), begins construction as an international tourist attraction in the Norrland region of northern Sweden.
Stoorn will rise 148 feet high, its monstrous hooves straddling two separate counties atop the mountain of Vithatten. The moose will appear to be biting into a pine tree, and both moose and tree will be constructed entirely of heat-treated wood around a steel tube frame. While the mythological Trojan Horse might have held a group of Greek soldiers, Stoorn will instead boast a restaurant, conference center, and concert hall.
Upon government approval of the $9 million construction, Stoorn project director Thorbjön Holmlund, from the nearby Svansele Wilderness Centre, exclaimed, “This is such unbelievably good news. My whole body is shaking with joy.”
So is Holmlund an acute visionary, or just abnormally moose-centric? Here are more details on how a gigantic moose will soon become Sweden’s premier travel destination.
ENTRANCE
Guests enter a door at the base of a manmade pine tree, rise 35 meters (114 feet) up an elevator and are deposited at the entrance, into the mouth of the moose. Stoorn officials boast, “Our moose is handicap-friendly.”
RECEPTION/GIFT SHOP
Visitors will check in at a reception area located between the teeth and tonsils of the beast. An adjacent gift shop will offer plenty of browsing through moose-related souvenirs and keepsakes.
CONCERT HALL
Located on the first floor of the moose, a 350-capacity concert hall will feature all manner of live performances, moose-themed and otherwise. Perhaps one day a special presentation by Proctor’s Moose Ensemble (from Thomas R. Proctor High School in Utica, New York).
EXHIBIT SPACE THROUGHOUT
The unique moose-shaped hallways and open spaces will function as display space for rotating art exhibits. International guests may enjoy everything from original animation sketches of Bullwinkle the cartoon moose, to portraits of Benito Mussolini.
RESTAURANT
The moose’s neck will contain a kitchen and natural-light restaurant with room for 350 diners. Telescopic dividers can be rearranged for privacy of any size group. A menu might well feature moose steak as an entrée, giving patrons a rare opportunity to eat the flesh of an animal while actually sitting inside that same animal.
CONFERENCE CENTER
A spiral staircase will descend down the front right leg to a state-of-the-art conference center. Five meeting rooms will be available in various sizes, equipped with the latest technology, and capable of projecting, say, high-definition video footage from the moose milking machines at Russia’s Kostroma Moose Farm.
OUTDOOR CAFÉ / OBSERVATION POINT
An outdoor café will sit on top of the antlers, offering a sweeping panoramic view of northern Sweden. During inclement weather, branches on the pine tree will serve as a protective umbrella. Suggested beverages to serve: Montana’s Moose Drool Brown Ale, California’s 3 Blind Moose Cabernet.
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MOOSE HOUSE
You might think the world’s most expensive cheese comes from Italy, made from the milk of rare cattle, and aged for six years in a cave. Good guess, but in fact the priciest cheese on the planet is made from moose, and sells for $500 a pound. In 1997 Christer and Ulla Johansson opened their 59-acre Algens Hus (“Moose House”), 400 miles north of Stockholm, as Europe’s only moose dairy farm. After the Johansson family found three abandoned moose in the nearby woods, they began milking the animals and producing cheese that’s both high in protein and low in fat. Algens Hus currently makes three varieties, a Camembert style, a blue similar to a Gorgonzola, and a third moist and slightly sour, like feta cheese. All are for sale at the farm, and shipped to upscale hotels and specialty shops across Sweden. Why the exorbitant price? Because it takes up to two hours to milk one moose. Provided it lets you.
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This story originally appeared in American Way magazine.