File:Sjøormtårnet in Seljord (Norway).jpeg

The serpent tower, Sjøormtårnet, in Seljord was finished and available for visitors 18th of October 2011. It rises 17meter above the ground, but its wooden construction let it adapt to the landscape. It is situated by the lake of Seljord and is meant as a viewing point for discovering the well-known sea serpent, Selma. At night the construction allows light to emit and the tower appears as a luminous periscope in the horizontal landscape.

The tower itself is quite new, but the myth of the sea serpent is old. In 250 years, and probably even longer, have people claimed to have seen a large, serpent-like creature in the lake of Seljord. The stair tower can be seen as a symbol of the municipality’s many mysterious myths and cultural heritage. The tower is of course also meant to attract visitors to the small village, and the politicians together with the municipality have invested a lot of money with conscious motives of making an attractive place. As the tower just exist for 5 years it is difficult to say something about a potential change of meaning due to changes in the local society, but I think the tower can contribute to many different application, not only as a mean for seeing the sea serpent. For some locals, might the tower even become a personal spot, a free space where thoughts are allowed to drift freely through the landscape. The tower takes also part of a larger art project initiated in Seljord called Into the Landscape. As the municipality have a lot of cultural heritage and long traditions within art, it might have been initiated based on availability of money, or just the idea of promoting the village with a startling symbol.

Today the stair tower count as Seljord’s new landmark. It has been invested a lot of money on it, and many locals criticize the use of resources. On the other hand has the project gained international attention, and will hopefully drag visitors to Seljord, strengthening its reputation.

As the tower was built to enlighten old myths and traditions in Seljord, it has a strong foundation in the local society, but as an architectural, modern tower, it holds no specific cultural group. As it takes part of the art scene, there are of course many artists interested in the project, but the aim is to reach as many as possible. If we talk about different religions or people with different cultural heritage, I think there is a broad stage and shared understanding of the mystery, and the tower itself doesn’t make any difference, and can be used by anyone, whether the purpose is to see the sea serpent or not.