Welcome to Oslo, the capital and largest city of Norway, lying at the head of the Oslofjord. Oslo was founded at the end of the Viking Age, in 1040, and became the capital around 1300. After a fire destroyed the city in 1624, King Christian the Fourth built a new town closer to Akershus Fortress and named it Christiania after himself. Only in 1925 did the city take back the name Oslo. In 1948 it merged with the surrounding municipality of Aker, which was 27 times larger. Today Oslo is an important centre of maritime trade. Let's start by the water.
Oslo Opera House
Photo: Pierre Blaché · CC0 · Wikimedia CommonsIn front of you, a white building seems to rise straight out of the fjord. This is the Oslo Opera House, home of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. Its angled surfaces are covered with white granite and marble from Carrara in Italy. Inside are 1,100 rooms, and the main auditorium seats 1,364 people. Here is a remarkable fact: it is the largest cultural building constructed in Norway since Nidaros Cathedral was completed around 1300.
Vigeland installation
Photo: Palickap · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsWelcome to Frogner Park, the largest park in Oslo and the most visited tourist attraction in Norway. Within it stands the Vigeland installation, the sculptures created by Gustav Vigeland, built from 1924 onwards, with bridges, fountains and many figures. It is the world's largest sculpture park made by a single artist. Visitors often call it Vigeland Park, but one museum director said that name does not really exist and that locals simply call it Frogner Park. The park also holds the country's largest rose collection, with 14,000 plants.
Akershus Fortress
Photo: Ralf Roletschek · GFDL 1.2 · Wikimedia CommonsOn the banks of the Oslofjord stands Akershus Fortress, a medieval castle built to protect the city and to serve as a royal residence. Since the Middle Ages, it has given its name to the region of Akershus, once one of Norway's four main regions, covering most of Eastern Norway. Over the centuries the castle has had many roles. It has been a military base and a prison, as well as a royal home.
Royal Palace
Photo: Andreas Haldorsen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsAt the end of Karl Johans gate, surrounded by its park, stands the Royal Palace, official residence of the Norwegian monarch. It was built in the first half of the 19th century for the French-born King Charles John, who reigned over both Norway and Sweden. He chose the site on the western side of Christiania in 1821 and gave the design to the Danish-born officer Hans Linstow, who was an inexperienced architect. Until the palace was finished, royalty stayed in Paléet, a merchant's grand townhouse left to the state in 1805.
Holmenkollbakken
Photo: Gislus · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsHigh above the city rises Holmenkollbakken, a ski jumping hill with room for 70,000 spectators. The Holmenkollen Ski Festival has been held here since 1892, and the hill hosted the 1952 Winter Olympics and several world championships. It has been rebuilt 19 times, and between 2008 and 2010 the whole structure was torn down and built again. Stand at the top and imagine pushing off: the hill record is 144 metres, held by Robert Johansson.
Munch Museum
Photo: Premeditated · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsBy the waterfront in Bjørvika stands the Munch Museum, known as MUNCH, devoted to the life and work of Edvard Munch. It presents the full breadth of his art alongside contemporary exhibitions. Munch himself took part in discussions about creating a museum during his lifetime, but it only opened in 1963, one hundred years after his birth, in the district of Tøyen. In 2021 the museum moved into its new building here.
Fram Museum
Photo: Tore Storm Halvorsen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsOn the Bygdøy peninsula, the Fram Museum tells the story of Norwegian polar exploration and honours three great explorers: Fridtjof Nansen, Otto Sverdrup and Roald Amundsen. At its heart is the original ship Fram, built by the shipbuilder Colin Archer to Nansen's specifications. The best part? Its original interior is intact, and you can step aboard and look around. Nearby, in its own building, rests the Gjøa, the first vessel to sail through the Northwest Passage, a three-year voyage completed by Amundsen and his crew in 1906.
Oslo City Hall
Photo: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra from Paris, France · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsFacing the fjord stands Oslo City Hall, with its two red brick towers, 63 and 66 metres tall. It was built between 1931 and 1950, with a break during the Second World War, to designs by Arnstein Arneberg and Magnus Poulsson. Take a closer look at the bricks: they are larger than was usual at the time, roughly the same size as bricks from the Middle Ages. The eastern tower has a carillon of 49 bells. Every December, this building hosts the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.
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