Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
plore that theory than at the Norske Sjøfartsmuseum. The museum depicts Norway's rela-
tionship with the sea, including the fishing and whaling industries, the seismic fleet (which
searches for oil and gas), shipbuilding and wreck salvaging. The highlight for many is a
20-minute film with footage of the Norwegian coastline.
GRÜNERLØKKA AREA
Munch Museum
ART MUSEUM
Offline map
Google map
(Munch-museet;
Click here
;
www.munch.museum.no
;
Tøy-
engata 53; adult/child Nkr75/40, free with Oslo Pass; 10am-6pm Jun-Aug, shorter
hr rest of yr)
FansofEdvardMunch(1863-1944)won'twanttomisstheMunchMuseum,
which is dedicated to his life's work and has most of the pieces not contained in the Na-
tional Gallery. The museum provides a comprehensive look at the artist's work, from dark
(The Sick Child)
to light
(Spring Ploughing).
With over 1100 paintings, 4500 watercolours
and 18,000 prints and sketching books bequeathed to the city by Munch himself, this is a
landmark collection. There's free admission between October and April. To get here, take
bus 20 or the T-bane to Tøyen, followed by a five-minute signposted walk.
PLEASE DON'T STEAL THE ARTWORK…
On 12 February 1994, the day of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in
Lillehammer, Norwegians woke to the news that arguably the nation's most prized
cultural possession,
The Scream,
by Edvard Munch, had been stolen from the Nation-
al Gallery in Oslo. There was nothing high-tech about this deeply embarrassing in-
cident - a patrolling police officer discovered the theft (carried out by breaking a
window and using wire cutters) when he found a ladder propped up against the gal-
lery wall. In place of the painting was a note: 'Thanks for the poor security'.
The nation was appalled, even more so when the authorities received a ransom de-
mand of US$1 million from people with ties to the anti-abortion movement. A
Lutheran minister who had helped plan anti-abortion protests during the Olympics
claimed that the painting would be returned if Norwegian national TV broadcasted a
graphic film showing a foetus being aborted.
Finally, after almost three months, the Norwegian police discovered four frag-
ments of the painting's frame in the northern Oslo suburb of Nittedal. Within days,
Edvard Munch's masterwork, which was painted on fragile paper, was found undam-
