Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Oslo Highlights
Sing like a soprano in the new
Oslo Opera House
(
Click here
)
Scream with delight at seeing
The Scream
in the
National Gallery
(
Click here
),
and see how today's artists shape up in the
National Museum of Contemporary
Art
(
Click here
)
Examine the ships and charts of the Viking Ship, Kon-Tiki and Polarship Fram
Museums on
Bygdøy Peninsula
(
Click here
)
Conquer your fear of heights from the summit of
Holmenkollen Ski Jump
(
Click here
)
Stroll the fortress walls and explore the quirky boutiques of Fredrikstad's charm-
ing
Gamlebyen
(
Click here
)
Pick summer blueberries and go winter skiing in Oslo's
Nordmarka
(
Click here
)
Reconsider parenthood while looking at the works of Gustav Vigeland at
Vige-
land Park
(
Click here
)
Eat your way around the world in the city's Norwegian and ethnic
restaurants
(
Click here
)
History
The name Oslo is derived from the words
Ás,
the Old Norse name for the Norse Godhead,
and
lo,
meaning 'pasture', yielding roughly 'the fields of the gods'.
The city was originally founded in 1049 by King Harald Hardråde (Harald Hard-Ruler;
Click here
), whose son Olav Kyrre (Olav the Peaceful) set up a cathedral and a corres-
ponding bishopric here. In the late 13th century, King Håkon V created a military presence
bybuildingtheAkershusFortress(AkershusFestning;
Clickhere
)inthehopeofdeterring
theSwedishthreatfromtheeast.Afterthemid-14th-centurybubonicplaguewipedouthalf
of the country's population, Norway united with Denmark, and from 1397 to 1624 Norwe-
gian politics and defence were handled from Copenhagen. Oslo slipped into obscurity, and
in 1624 it burned to the ground. It was resurrected by King Christian IV, who rebuilt it on
a more easily defended site and renamed it Christiania, after his humble self.
Forthreecenturies,thecityheldonasaseatofdefence.In1814theframersofNorway's
first constitution designated it the official capital of the new realm, but their efforts were
effectively nullified by Sweden, which had other ideas about Norway's future and unified
the two countries under Swedish rule. In 1905, when that union was dissolved and Nor-
way became a separate kingdom, the stage was set for Christiania to flourish as the capital
