Dala Horse

Mora, Minnesota, United States

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

A roughly 22-foot-tall Dala horse in Mora, Minnesota, a replica of the Swedish carved wooden horse, built in the early 1970s by volunteers led by the Mora Jaycees. It honours the town's sister city, Mora, Sweden, and weighs about 3,000 pounds, according to the town's marker and KSTP.

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Dala Horse

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45.86920° N, 93.29719° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Visitors have been photographing themselves under this Swedish horse in Minnesota for decades. KSTP reported in November 2024 that, in an organiser's words, there have "probably been thousands of pictures taken" under it.

The Dala horse in Mora is a scaled-up copy of the painted wooden horse long made in Dalarna, Sweden, and it honours the town's tie to its sister city, Mora, Sweden. The inscribed marker beneath it says it is a replica of the Dalecarlian horse, hand carved in Mora, Sweden since the 1840s, built by the Mora Jaycees in 1971 and presented to the community as a reminder of its cultural heritage and as a tourist attraction. KSTP gives 1972 as the year it was completed, after the then-mayor wanted a large Dala horse. MSP Magazine in April 2026 said it was built by volunteers led by the Jaycees in the early 1970s.

Dimensions vary a little. The marker gives 22 feet tall, 17 long and 6 wide, about 3,000 pounds; KSTP gives 22 feet high, 19 long, 6 wide and about 3,000 pounds. KSTP says it was designed from steel rod covered with chicken wire, stretched tight and sprayed with fiberglass.

Its size is also claimed. The Mora Area Chamber of Commerce visitor guide calls Mora home to the largest (25 foot high) Dala horse in the U.S. The marker, KSTP and MSP Magazine all give 22 feet. MSP Magazine says Avesta, Sweden, took the world's-largest title in 1989 with a horse of its own.

It stands at the corner of South Union Street and Ford Avenue, where the marker records its history.

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WHAT TO EXPECT

An outdoor statue on a brick pedestal near the corner of South Union Street and Ford Avenue, with an inscribed marker giving its history. KSTP (November 2024) and MSP Magazine (April 2026) both describe it standing in Mora.

ACCESS

Near the corner of South Union Street and Ford Avenue, Mora, Minnesota; an outdoor statue on a brick pedestal, with a marker recording its history.

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Pine City Voyageur statue

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Francois is a chainsaw-carved redwood voyageur in Voyageur Park on the Snake River, Pine City, Minnesota. The City says Dennis Roghair carved the 35-foot statue from a 42-foot redwood log, and completed it on 3 November 1992.

Public art

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26 km away

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