Tag: Norway

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Frogner Park aka Vigelandsparken

Frogner Park (Norwegian: Frognerparken) is a public park located in the borough of Frogner in Oslo, Norway, and is historically part of Frogner Manor. The manor house is located in the south of the park, and houses the Oslo City Museum. Both the park, the entire borough of Frogner as well as Frognerseteren derive their names from Frogner Manor.

Frogner Park contains, in its present centre, the well-known Vigeland installation (Norwegian: Vigelandsanlegget; originally called the Tørtberg installation), a permanent sculpture installation created by Gustav Vigeland between 1924 and 1943. Although sometimes incorrectly referred to in English as the “Vigeland (Sculpture) Park,” the Vigeland installation is not a separate park, but the name of the sculptures within Frogner Park. The sculpture park consists of sculptures as well as larger structures such as bridges and fountains.

The park of Frogner Manor was historically smaller and centered on the manor house, and was landscaped as a baroque park in the 18th century by its owner, the noted military officer Hans Jacob Scheel. It was landscaped as a romantic park in the 19th century by then-owner, German-born industrialist Benjamin Wegner. Large parts of the estate were sold to give room for city expansion in the 19th century, and the remaining estate was bought by Christiania municipality in 1896 and made into a public park. It was the site of the 1914 Jubilee Exhibition, and Vigeland’s sculpture arrangement was constructed from the 1920s. In addition to the sculpture park, the manor house and a nearby pavilion, the park also contains Frognerbadet (the Frogner Baths) and Frogner Stadium. The Frogner Pond is found in the centre of the park.

Frogner Park is the largest park in the city and covers 45 hectares; the sculpture installation is the world’s largest sculpture park made by a single artist. Frogner Park is the most popular tourist attraction of Norway, with between 1 and 2 million visitors each year, and is open to the public at all times. Frogner Park and the Vigeland installation (Norwegian: Frognerparken og Vigelandsanlegget) was protected under the Heritage Act on 13 February 2009 as the first park in Norway.

The Vigeland installation (Norwegian: Vigelandsanlegget), originally called the Tørtberg installation, is located in the present centre of Frogner Park. It is the name of the arrangement of sculptures and not of an area as such, as the entire park is called Frogner Park.

The Vigeland installation in Frogner Park is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the “Vigeland Park,” but this name has no official status, is not commonly used in Oslo and is considered inaccurate. The legal name of the entire park in accordance with the Place Name Act (stadnamnlova) is Frognerparken (Frogner Park). The sculpture installation was, as part of Frogner Park, protected under the Heritage Act on 13 February 2009 under the name Frogner Park and the Vigeland installation (Norwegian: Frognerparken og Vigelandsanlegget).

The sculpture area in Frogner Park covers 80 acres (320,000 m2) and features 212 bronze and granite sculptures, all designed by Gustav Vigeland. The Bridge was the first part to be opened to the public, in 1940. The Bridge forms a 100 metre (328 ft)-long, 15 metre (49 ft)-wide connection between the Main Gate and the Fountain, lined with 58 sculptures, including one of the park’s more popular statues,

Angry Boy (Sinnataggen). Visitors could enjoy the sculptures while most of the park was still under construction. At the end of the bridge lies the Children’s Playground, a collection of eight bronze statues showing children at play.

Text source: Wikipedia – Photos: My Oslo Norway

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St.Hanshaugen Oslo

St. Hanshaugen is one of Oslo’s largest parks, just north of the city centre. This popular recreational area is great for walks, and from the top of the hill you have a nice view of Oslo.

St. Hanshaugen was originally a bare rock hill. In the 1840s the name St. Hanshaugen (“midsummer hill”) came into use, as the hill was a popular place for midsummer celebrations. In 1855 it was decided that parts of the hill was to be planted, and a big part of the hill was turned into a park in the next 30 years. The park also got a park keeper house, an artificial creek and a pavilion on the square Festplassen, and the park was expanded.

t has a triangular shape, with its northern border just north of the buildings of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and Ullevål University Hospital, and south of the University of Oslo campus at Blindern. In the east, the boundary runs just west of the river Akerselva, then down Storgata before it turns north, up Grensen, Pilestredet and Suhms gate.

The district has its name from St. Hanshaugen Park that lies centrally within it, where the citizens used to celebrate summer solstice (St. Hans in Norwegian). The park was planted by the city in the years 1876-86; it has a pavilion, and a reflecting pool covering a reservoir. The neighbourhood St. Hanshaugen is located west and south of the park, with shopping, eating and public transport where the streets Ullevålsveien and Waldemar Thranes gate meets.

To the southeast of the park is Oslo’s oldest building – Aker Kirke, built around 1100, but restored from ruins around 1860, and then again in the 1950s in a more authentic style. Next to the church is the cemetery Vår Frelsers gravlund, created in 1808 as a result of the great famine and cholera epidemic of the Napoleonic Wars. The nearby area around Damstredet and Telthusbakken is interesting since it retains the small town character of Oslo in the first part of the 19th century.

Text source: Wikipedia – Photos: My Oslo Norway

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Kampen Neighbourhood

Kampen is a neighborhood in Oslo, Norway. It is located Gamle Oslo borough, between Tøyen, Hasle, Vålerenga and Galgeberg.

Galleri Bastian and behind is Kampen Church

The name may come from kamp, meaning outcrop, though it may also come from a military campment. During the 18th century, the home guard had military practices at Kampen. The area belonged to the farms Bergsløkken and Oslo Ladegård, before being parcelled up in 1820.

Wood and Brick Buildings

A wooden suburb was built between the city expansions—meaning acquisitions of territory belonging to Aker municipality—of 1859 and 1878. Part of the wooden housing burned down in 1879, and was replaced with brick block housing and Kampen Church.

Flowershop in Nannestadgata

The northern part of Kampen has many brick buildings from the 1930s, though the wooden housing still dominates in other parts. There was a controversy related to demolishment and rebuilding in Brinken during the 1980s.

Kampen Charm
Grafitti in Normannsgata
http://www.gallerikampen.no

Text source: Wikipedia – Photos: My Oslo Norway