Iddefjord Granite and The Monolitt

Iddefjord granite - The Monolith of Vigelandsparken in Oslo is made of granite from Iddefjorden. Sculptures in Oslo, paving stones in Buenos Aires - an industrial fairy tale story by the Iddefjord in Halden

The Monolith of Vigelandsparken in Oslo is made of granite from Iddefjorden in Halden.

In 1922, the 280-stone stone block, which would reach 121 shots of 17 meters, shot out and transported the sea to Oslo - it was lifted on a boat without a crane! Vigelandsparken "comes from" Halden. So to speak, all granite, cobblestone, sculptures and other installations are from Iddefjorden.

On September 9, 2017 a "Monolith museum" at Iddefjorden will be opened.

A reconstruction of the stone block, in the same meassures as the raw material of the Monolith when it was taken out of the mountain at Hov, will be displayed at the museum area. The reconstruction, a box of 2.5 x 2.5 x 17 meters, will be filled with pictures and objects that tell the Monolith and Iddefjord granite story. The Granite adventure at Iddefjorden started in 1842, and was dominant for many years. At the most, over 3000 men worked here. From the 1870s the street of Iddefjorden was sent to "the whole world". For example, in Buenos Aires and Havana, there are still paving stones made out of the Iddefjord granite.

Fagerholt monument forestry is the only preserved stone forest at Iddefjorden.

The site was built by N.S.Beer in 1938. Stone processing continued all the way back to the 1990s. On the site there are highschurries, Norway's first stone wagon saw, faucet, compressor house built by so-called "Hitler stone", new and old scraper building, leftovers for workshops, dining areas and offices. Raw materials were obtained from nearby quarries or imported. In recent years there was primarily hogging of gravestones. At the same time as the history of the stone industry, Fagerholt was the venue for a major contemporary art project "Stoneproof" in the autumn of 2000. The site can be visited on its own.