Vikingsholm, Historic mansion at Lake Tahoe, California, US

Vikingsholm is a mansion at Lake Tahoe in California, built in the American Craftsman style with Scandinavian elements. The rectangular building with several wings shows cladding of pine and fir, stone walls, and elaborate wood carvings.

Lora Josephine Knight commissioned the estate in 1928, drawing inspiration from Scandinavian travels with her architect. Construction lasted one summer and used building materials from the area around Emerald Bay.

Lora Knight and her architect studied Scandinavian buildings before construction, and the results show in the carved serpent motifs above the lake-facing doors and windows and over the courtyard entrance. The east wing walls imitate Olavinlinna, a stone castle of 1015 AD, using light mortar with dark stones.

Vikingsholm can be reached in summer by a steep walking trail that descends from Emerald Bay; the walk takes about half an hour, so sturdy footwear is recommended. The house is open for guided tours of the museum home for a nominal fee. The teahouse on Fannette Island is accessible only by boat.

The estate includes five additional buildings besides the main house, among them a teahouse and a workshop, all built with local materials. Some stones for the walls came directly from the shores of Emerald Bay.