Vidar of Iola - Iola, WI - Outside Wooden Display Carvings on Waymarking.com

No visit to Iola would be complete without seeing the big wooden statue of Vidar, a Norse warrior god who holds a loggers' ax and carries a pair of skis on his back. He was carved from a cottonwood tree stump on E. State St by Bob Buzz Saw Halverson. Vidar is a Norwegian name meaning "tree warrior" or "lumberjack.

Norse mythology has its roots in Proto-Norse Nordic prehistory. It flourished during and after the Christianization of Scandinavia during the High Middle Ages passed into Nordic folklore, some aspects surviving to the modern day. The mythology from the Romanticist Viking revival came to be an influence on modern literature and popular culture.

In Irish folklore Norsemen or Vikings are generally called "Danes". They are described as fierce warriors, ravaging the countryside, destroying churches and seizing boys and girls as slaves. It is claimed that the Danes imposed a tax of "an ounce of silver per nose" per year. Those who refused to pay the tax had their noses cut off. The raths or earthen forts which dot the Irish landscape are sometimes regarded as having been built by the Danes.

Late mediaeval Irish stories have native Irish warriors, The Fianna under their leader Fionn, engaging in battle with invading armies from Norway who often use magical powers but are always defeated in the end. These stories include
Fionn Goes To Norway, The Hostel of the Elder Trees and The King of Norway.

Type of wood carving: Chainsaw carving Artist's Name: Bob Buzz Saw Helverson Approximate size/height: 15 feet Type of wood: Cottonwood tree stump Other type: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
All logs must be the result of an actual visit to the wooden carving.
"Visited" only remarks will not be accepted.

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