Storedal Kultursenter (cultural site)

Storedal Cultural Center is a park and cultural facility located in scenic surroundings in Skjeberg outside of Sarpsborg. The initiator and founder was Erling Stordahl, 1923 – 1994. 

Erling Storedal inherited Storedal farm from his father in 1957. Erling was blind and wanted to do something else than farming. 800 years earlier King Magnus The Blind was born at Storedal. With this in mind, the idea of of making Storedal a park and a cultural center came up. Storedal center is created by artists, scientists and garden architects and is truly a great experience and worth a visit. The sculpture "Ode til lyset" ("Ode to the light") by Arnold Haukeland, music by Arne Nordheim, is 19,5 meters tall and one of the big attraction on the site. An outdoor amfi theatre and a garden with 250 different kind of plants are two other attractions. It is easy to see why the cultural center is located here.

Many archeological findings reveal early settlement here. Nearby there are also prehistoric rock carvings. In the center of the park replicas of rock carvings are seen, the carvings translated into Braille. The site has facilities for meetings and other events for rent all year round, and it is open to the public during summer. Sarpsborg is the municipality with the most registered prehistoric rock carvings in Norway. These carvings are from the Bronze Age (1800 - 500 B.C.). They are to be found, stretching from Onsøy in the north to Gothenburg (Sweden) in the south (roughly 400 kilometres apart). It is uncertain what kind of role these carvings have played. It is possible that they have had some mythological purpose. Another theory is that they could have been made to show a person's rank/position regarding rights or political issues. The motives are mainly ships, human beings and symbols of the sun.