Gingerbread houses destroyed in Norway

Mon Nov 23 2009 19:36:44

Vandals have destroyed hundreds of gingerbread houses put up for a traditional Christmas display in Norway.

The festive Gingerbread Town exhibition opened in the town of Bergen on Saturday.

But residents, including scores of children, woke up on Sunday to news that the model houses lay in ruin after an overnight attack.

Local woman Sofie Lekve said the attackers "managed to break a lot of hearts here in Bergen".

No one has been arrested yet bet there are unconfirmed reports from nearby residents who overheard a drunken man shouting responsibility.

The gingerbread town is a popular Christmas tradition in Bergen and dates back to 1991. Around 650 houses are built, some by children from local schools and kindergartens.

Steinar Kristoffersen, the manager of Bergen Centrum, called the incident a "tragedy", adding: "This is something small children and parents have been working on for weeks. We couldn't imagine such a bad thing to happen."

The town has vowed to remake the "houses" in time for Christmas.

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