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Key Attractions Akershus Slott and Festning (Akerhus Palace and Fortress) King Haakon V Magnusson ordered the building of Akershus Slott on a commanding headland, in 1299. Although damaged, repaired, fortified and renovated over the centuries, the ancient walls and central medieval tower of this imposing fortified palace still dominate the sea front. Originally separate from Oslo, the town was rebuilt within the fortress walls, after the great fire of 1624. The 17th-century renovations of the castle, with magnificent banqueting halls and reception rooms, lie above dank medieval dungeons and underground passageways. During World War II, the castle was used as a prison for resistance fighters captured by the Nazis. The grounds house Norges Hjemmefront Museet (Resistance Museum), with poignant displays related to the Nazi occupation of Norway. In front of the museum is a memorial to the Norwegian Resistance, located at the place where 42 of its members were executed. Akershuskaien Tel: 2309 3917 (Festning), 2241 2521 (Slott) or 2309 3138 (Norges Hjemmefront Museet). Website: www.osloguide.com Transport: T Bane Stortinget; bus 60; tram 10, 12. Opening hours: Festning open Mon-Fri 0900-1700, Sat-Sun 1100-1700 (Jun-Aug), Mon-Fri 0900-1600, Sat-Sun 100-1600 (Sep-May); Slott open Mon-Sat 1000-1600, Sun 1230-1600 (May-Sep); guided tours of the Festning available daily (Jun-Aug). Admission: Free (Festning); NOK30 (Slott); NOK25 (Hjemmefrontmuseet); concessions available. Oslo Rådhus (Oslo City Hall) On the waterfront overlooking the fjord, this modern twin-towered building opened in 1950, to celebrate the city’s 900th anniversary, dominates but does not particularly enhance the landscape. However, the colourful frescos and murals of the interior, designed by Norwegian artists, redeem the solid exterior. Themes of Norwegian history and culture predominate, depicting daily life and Viking mythology, although references to the war are inescapable in a building long delayed but finally built in the aftermath of World War II. The huge oil painting Administration and Festivity by Henrik Sørensens, in the vast Central Hall, is typical of the determination to establish a worthy location for Oslo’s political administration. This is where the Nobel Peace Prize is presented each December. Rådhusplassen Tel: 2346 1600. Website: www.osloguide.com Transport: T Bane Nationaltheateret; bus 30, 31, 32, 45, 81; tram 10, 15. Opening hours: Mon-Sat 0900-1700, Sun 1200-1700 (May-Aug); Mon-Sat 0900-1600, Sun 1200-1600 (Sep-Apr). Admission: NOK25; concessions available. Nasjonalgalleriet (National Gallery) Norway’s National Gallery houses a respectable pre-1945 international art collection, including Gauguin, Picasso, Cezanne and El Greco. But the Norwegian collection, with its emphasis on works from the ‘National Romantic’, is undoubtedly the main interest. Several rooms are given over to the work of the great Edvard Munch. There can be few people who view his most famous painting ‘Skrik’ (The Scream), without a shiver of recognition at its portrayal of deep 20th-century angst. Powerful as Munch’s work is, it does not eclipse other Norwegian artists displayed here. The 19th-century Romantic paintings of Dahl, Tidemand and Gude, such as Bridal Voyage in the Hardanger Fjord, depict the spectacular Norwegian landscapes of forest and fjord, while the museum continues to collect modern Norwegian artists. Universitetsgata 13 Tel: 2220 0404. Website: www.museumsnett.no/nasjonalgalleriet Transport: Tram 10, 11 or 17 to Tullinløkka, 13, 15 or 19 to Nationaltheatret; T Bane Nationaltheatret. Opening hours: Mon, Wed and Fri 1000-1800, Thurs 1000-2000, Sat 1000-1600, Sun 1100-1600. Admission: Free. Bygdøy The short ferry trip from central Oslo to the peninsula of Bygdøy transports visitors into Norway’s varied maritime past. All the attractions on Bygdøy are within a ten- or 15-minutes walking distance of one another. One of Europe’s biggest open air museums, the Norsk Folkemuseum (Norwegian Folk Museum) is a walk through Norway’s geography and history, featuring a variety of period buildings that have been transported from all over the country. Turf-roofed farms and barns in one section give way to the streets of the Old Town, complete with shop, houses and early petrol station. A five-minutes walk away, the elegant Oseberg, excavated in 1904, dating from about 800, is the finest of the ships at the Vikinkskipshuset (Viking Ship Museum). The museum also contains finds from burial chambers, where two skeletons once lay amid their riches and jewels. The biggest of the ships, the Gokstad, is the best preserved. However, the burial chamber had been looted. The intricate patterns, which scroll and twist all over the ships, the jewellery and the artefacts all testify to the links with the Celtic nations where the Vikings traded and raided. The Norsk Sjøfartsmuseum (Norwegian Maritime Museum) brings home the central part that the sea has played in Norway’s economy, from Vikings to fishing to oil tankers, with magnificent model boats, film footage, artefacts and paintings. Outside, a war memorial recalls the Norwegian sailors who perished in World War II, beside a replica of the Gjøa, the first ship to sail through the North West Passage. Fjord tours aboard a veteran steamship are offered in summer. Nearby, at the Frammuseet, is the 1892 polar vessel, Fram, which Fridtjof Nansen sailed toward the North Pole and Roald Amundsen to the South Pole. The Kon-Tiki Museum houses Thor Heyerdahl’s famous balsa raft, Kon-Tiki, and reed raft, Ra II, as well as other items, including Easter island statues and a stuffed whale shark. Bygdøy peninsula Transport: Ferry 91 from Pier 3 outside the City Hall (May-Sep); bus 30 from Jerbanetorvet to the various individual attractions. Norsk Folkemuseum (Norwegian Folk Museum) Museumsveien 10 Tel: 2212 3700. Website: www.norskfolke.museum.no Opening hours: Daily 1000-1800 (May-Sep); Mon-Fri 1100-1500, Sat-Sun 1100-1600 (Sep-May). Admission: NOK70 (May-Sep); NOK50 (Sep-May); concessions available. Vikinkskipshuset (Viking Ship Museum) Huk Aveny 35 Tel: 2213 5280. Website: www.ukm.uio.no/vikingskipshuset Opening hours: Daily 0900-1800 (May to Sep); daily 1100-1600 (Oct to Apr). Admission: NOK40; concessions available. Norsk Sjøfartsmuseum (Norwegian Maritime Museum) Bygdøynesveien 37 Tel: 2411 4150. Website: www.norsk-sjofartsmuseum.no/ Opening hours: Daily 1000-1800 (mid-May-Sep); Sun-Wed 1030-1600, Thurs 1030-18 (Oct-mid-May). Admission: NOK30. Frammuseet (Fram Museum) Bygdøynes Tel: 2328 2950. Website: www.fram.museum.no Opening hours: Vary between daily 0900-1845 and 1100-1445, according to time of year. Admission: NOK30. Kon-Tiki Museum Bygdøynesveien 36 Tel: 2308 6767. Website: www.kon-tiki.no Opening hours: Daily 0930-1745 (Jun-Aug); daily 1030-1600 (Oct-Mar); daily 1030-1700 (Sep and May). Admission: NOK35. |
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