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.
The structure draws on Scandinavian tradition and uses wooden joints without nails or metal fasteners in some areas. This technique appears in the hand-carved decorations on doors and beams, which remain intact today.
The estate is accessible in summer via a walking path that descends from Emerald Bay. The trail is steep and takes about half an hour on foot, so sturdy footwear is recommended.
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.
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