A new museum for our local celebrity Storsjöodjuret – or Great Lake Monster – premiered in the small town of Svenstavik (Sweden), located an hours drive from main city Östersund by lake Storsjön (The Great Lake), on 2012-12-12 at 12:12. I was invited as a guest (big media event etc) but I couldn´t find the time on the big day, but yesterday myself and a good friend made a visit. It is called Storsjöodjurscenter (Great Lake Monster Centre).
This museum has been in the works for a few years, ever since a local businessman and one of his friends were startled (big time) by a big (unknown) animal while fishing. Later, as a local storekeeper installed a camera system in his store, the idea came up that maybe a system like that could be installed (nearby) below water in the lake. This became the famous camera project and this eventually lead to this museum. There is a standing exhibition in Östersund at a museum called Jamtli, but that has not changed for many years and this new one is high-tech which makes a difference (although if you make a visit to these parts for the first time, check out both).
You can view witnesses tell their story on film (I´m one of them, they shot that a few months ago) and you can do all sorts of things. It takes a couple of hours to pay a visit although you could probably stay for an entire day should you want to. Also, some of the high-tech stuff is for kids, so the whole family can enjoy the visit together.
It´s nice to see that they invested in pretty much every book that I told them about, and I can even find a few old books that I´ve never seen. So the library (on display) is pretty nice. My own publication, published last year, can be found as well (not bad). But I like the fact that visitors can find books by people like Gary S. Mangiacopra / Dwight G. Smith (“Does Champ Exist?”) and Michael A. Woodley (“In The Wake of Bernard Heuvelmans”). This shows that the mystery is not just a local occurence, but has a long history elsewhere as well.
I plan to revisit the place this summer, you get a (high-tech) card that functions as a ticket for a year when you pay entrance first time around. It records everything you have done at some of the tables, so you can apparently pick up where you left off when you return. Neat.
I understand from the media blitz that surrounded the opening a few weeks ago that some kind of EU project to bring similar locations in Europe (like Loch Ness, Scotland) together somehow is in the works. Also, the team in Svenstavik hope to move this exhibition to an even bigger building later on.
Meanwhile, they also have the ongoing camera (and sonar) project operating, so who knows what could happen some day because of these good people?
At least, something can happen – the (peaceful) hunt is on and would it not be nice if we finally had proof some day that the phenomenon is more than tall tales? I mean, I know it´s real, but science does not. Not yet.
If you visit Sweden specifically for this, don´t hesitate to contact me.
(My images)
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