Runestone Museum/Big Ole

The Runestone Museum has been inspiring curiosity about local history and heritage for more than 50 years.

The world famous and controversial Kensington Rune Stone was the Runestone Museum’s only artifact when it opened its doors in 1958. Since then, the museum has expanded to include exhibits celebrating native Minnesotans, emigrants and immigrants, Minnesota wildlife and events that shaped the area.

Fort Alexandria, commissioned in 1862, has been recreated with rescued historical structures, such as a nearly exact replica of the stockade built in 1862, an 1889 church, a log cabin built in the late 1860s and an 1885 schoolhouse. The fort is located in the outdoor portion of the campus that is open April-October. Housing rare and exciting artifacts like a Middle Ages Nordic fire steel and a 1920s jingle dress, the Runestone Museum is sure to impress whether you’re interested in history, heritage or the natural sciences.

Both the museum and gift shop are now open with limited capacity. Face mask use and additional safety procedures are in place.

Currently, the museum is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

For more information call (320) 763-3160, or visit the museum’s website at www.runestonemuseum.org for the most up-to-date admission prices and hours. Check out the museum’s Facebook page at Runestone Museum Foundation.

It’s a controversy more than 100 years in the making: Did an immigrant Swedish farmer find a buried rock in 1898 that contained an ancient runic message carved by Viking explorers 100 years before Columbus landed in America? Or is the whole thing a hoax, perpetrated by the farmer or some other prankster?

A large replica of the Kensington Runestone is located at a small, wayside rest. Visitors can read the inscription and take a photo by the replica. The replica is located in a small park at the east end of Sixth Avenue in Alexandria.

Explore the controversy for yourself at the Runestone Museum, located at 206 Broadway in Alexandria. RUNESTONE MUSEUM After you take your picture with Big Ole, cross the street for a visit to the Runestone Museum. There you will learn about Big Ole, Vikings and Nordic explorers, and test your skill at matching animal prints in the wildlife exhibit. Along with the Runestone, the museum holds exhibits on Native Americans, early immigrant history, the history of Alexandria, a memorial/gun exhibit, a Minnesota wildlife exhibit, and a handson children’s area.

Perhaps one of the most eye-catching landmarks in Alexandria is Big Ole – a 28-foot tall Viking statue that stands at the north end of Broadway.

Born in 1965, the Viking has become a much-beloved resident in the lakes area.

The idea for the statue began in January of 1964 when North Star World’s Fair Corporation in Osseo began working on an addition to the Minnesota display for the New York World’s Fair. The display was to feature the historical Kensington Runestone in an animated scene titled “Minnesota, Birthplace of America.” The new item to coincide with this display was the 28-foot, four-ton Viking statue.

Big Ole was created by fiberglass sculptor Gordon Schumaker of Minneapolis in April of 1965 and was transported to New York just in time for the World’s Fair. When the fair ended, Big Ole was moved to Alexandria, where he stands today.

Originally placed at the north end of Broadway Street in front of the Runestone Museum, Big Ole was moved from the intersection of 3rd and Broadway to a new location one-half block north in 1980 to make way for a new stoplight. He was moved once more in 2002 to his current location at the head of the Central Lakes Trail on the south shore of Lake Agnes.

Throughout the years, Big Ole’s had several repairs made and new coats of paint applied. His beard has changed from gray to yellow to brown.