This Minnesota Town Will Be Home To The World’s Tallest Nutcracker

The town of Luverne is a charming community in the far southwestern corner of Minnesota. It's a proud town with a long history and a quaint downtown complete with an historic movie theater, and it's the gateway to Blue Mounds State Park (one of my personal favorites in the state). Now, thanks to a local entrepreneur and his fundraising efforts, you'll soon be able to visit the world's tallest nutcracker in Minnesota. In fact, in Luverne - where there are more nutcrackers than people.

Luverne is the seat of Rock County, where you'll find the beautiful and historic Rock County courthouse and several buildings made from striking Sioux quartzite.

You'll pass a lot of these pink stone structures on a drive through the communities in this part of the state. This striking stone was locally quarried and ended up in much of the architecture. It's also the centerpiece of Blue Mounds State Park and nearby Pipestone National Monument.

One would presume that the presence of such interesting rocks is where the county got its name.

You can learn more about it at the bright and modern Rock County History Center - home to the county's historical society.

The center offers exhibits that detail and interpret much of the natural and human history of the area.

It's definitely worth a detour if you find yourself anywhere near Luverne - and for history lovers, it's a destination unto itself.

There is one quirk about the Rock County History Center that make's pretty unique, though.

It's home to the largest nutcracker collection in Minnesota and one of the largest in the world.

In fact, the history center's 5,000-plus nutcrackers outnumber the just-under-5,000 residents in the town of Luverne.

As you can imagine, the nutcrackers in the collection come in all shapes and sizes; classic, unique, and everything in between.

As do those who love these nutcrackers.

In fact, one local businessman has undertaken to construct the tallest nutcracker in the world in front of his rock and gift shop.

According to the owner of Those Blasted Things, the 65-foot nutcracker will be the tallest in the world with an operable jaw when it's complete. The current tallest is located in Germany and comes in around 35 feet.

The supporting structure and base have already been poured, and the fiberglass statue is being fabricated by a company in Utah.

It will be completed in several pieces that will be shipped and then assembled in Luverne.

So, it looks like this town in the Land of 10,000 Lakes will soon be the official nutcracker capital of the world. Those who don't live in the area will have to plan a road trip to see this man-made wonder when it's complete!

So what do you think - are you excited to have the world's tallest nutcracker in Minnesota? Let us know in the comments!