This California Town Has the Only Indoors Dambo Troll

Danish artist Thomas Dambo’s giant trolls are an impressive sight, standing between 15 to 50 feet tall. Made from reclaimed wood and branches, the trolls blend seamlessly with their usual surroundings: in outdoor locations like forests, parks, and botanical gardens.

Except for one troll: Lulu Hyggelig in Solvang, California. 

Thomas Dambo created his first giant troll in 2014 for an art festival in Puerto Rico using old pallets from a local junkyard. Since then, he has created increasingly elaborate trolls which are spread in over 17 countries. As the message behind these artworks is to encourage people to take better care of the environment, these trolls are primarily installed outdoors. They’re usually set in a natural setting: there’s one at the end of a short hiking trail in Breckenridge, Colorado, and a few are scattered inside the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden. 

There are more than 100 trolls around the world, but the small town of Solvang, California, has perhaps the most unique troll: the only indoor Dambo troll in the world. It also happens to be the only permanent troll in California at the moment, although the state has hosted temporary exhibits of the wooden creatures in the past.

Solvang’s troll is located inside the California Nature Art Museum. The museum was previously called the Wildling Museum and as the new name suggests, the museum features artworks centered around nature. 

Solvang has its own special connection to Thomas Dambo: they both have Danish heritage. Solvang was originally founded by three Danish immigrants and the town is known for its rich Danish heritage, from the architecture to the food offered around town. It was this Danish connection combined with Dambo’s nature-centric art that led the California Nature Art Museum to commission a special troll inside the museum. 

Thomas Dambo came to Solvang in January of 2025 to install his first indoor troll, Lulu Hyggelig.. As Solvang is located within the Santa Ynez Valley wine country, parts of Lulu are made using old wine barrels along with shipping pallets and yard waste that the community helped bring in. 

Lulu Hyggelig looks cramped inside the museum’s cylindrical tower, one of her palms is touching the ceiling as if she’s trying to push it up. Many of Dambo’s trolls come with a backstory and Lulu’s story goes something like this: she found herself in Solvang, drawn by the smell of freshly baked Danish pastries. She hides in the tower, sneaking out to eat danishes from the local bakeries. After all, the museum is located on the same street as three of the bakeries Solvang is known for: Olsen’s Danish Village Bakery, Brød & Kage Bakery, and Mortensen’s Danish Bakery.

Who knows which bakery was Lulu’s favorite, but what we do know is that, alas, Lulu ate too many treats and she grew too big to get out of the tower door. Lulu must now remain in the tower, but thankfully she won’t go hungry. There is a sculpture of a Danish pastry sitting on the floor near one of Lulu’s feet. According to Stacey Otte-Demangate, Executive Director of the museum, the pastry sculpture was made by local residents and placed in the museum later; an offering to beloved Lulu.

After all, they couldn’t very well leave Lulu trapped without her treats.

Admission to the California Nature Art Museum is $5 for adults and free for children (17 and younger).