GIMLI, Man. — A Viking statue that stands in a Manitoba Icelandic community is listing to one side and needs to be repaired or even replaced.
Councillors in Gimli hope to decide within weeks how best to address the tipsy Viking which one preliminary estimate says would cost $50,000 to repair.
Coun. Ross Bailey says initial safety concerns focused on whether the over-sized Viking was going to fall over on someone, but an engineer’s inspection ruled there’s no immediate danger.
The inspection also showed that a coating applied to preserve the statue when it was built more than 40 years ago has deteriorated and moisture is seeping in.
Municipal officials are trying to find the original plans for the statue to see how it was anchored and help determine how best to straighten it.
The statue, built by Winnipeg sculptor Giorgio Barone, was dedicated in 1967 by the then-president of Iceland.