Vikings in Oslo<\/h2>\n
The most famous (or infamous) inhabitants of this region were of course the Vikings<\/a> \u2013 or, more widely, Norse people who initially lived off the land and sea.<\/p>\n In the early Viking Age, from around AD 750, this was largely a non-literate culture. Writing as we know it, in the form of Latin script, really arrived in the Nordic world with Christianity, roughly around AD 1000.<\/p>\n But we know that during the eighth and ninth centuries, the people of Scandinavia became more outward-looking, with excursions characterised by raiding, trading, invading, exploration, and colonisation.<\/p>\n This companion piece accompanies our podcast miniseries History\u2019s Greatest Cities<\/em>. Listen to the full episode on Florence with Catherine Fletcher and Paul Bloomfield, then explore the entire series<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> Within Norway, there was a gradual consolidation of power into the hands of a small number of increasingly dominant petty kings. A semblance of the story can be pieced together using later textual sources \u2013 Old Norse sagas written down in the 13th century in Iceland \u2013 and some archaeological evidence from the soil itself.<\/p>\n The first really important figure of this era was King Harald Fairhair. According to the sagas, he swore never to comb his hair until he\u2019d brought all of Norway under his command \u2013 till that time, the story goes, he was known as Harald Tanglehair. He\u2019s said to have ruled all of Norway from about AD 872 to AD 930 \u2013 though that really means predominantly southern and coastal regions of the modern country.<\/p>\n Some of the most important archaeological discoveries from the Viking Age, dating from the ninth century, were made in Norway. The most extraordinary of these was unearthed at Oseberg, about 40 miles south of the capital near the mouth of the Oslofjord.<\/p>\n It\u2019s an enormous, ornately decorated and wonderfully preserved oak clinker-built ship, almost certainly buried in AD 834, though the ship itself was significantly older. Interred with the Oseberg Ship were two women, one of whom was probably in her fifties. The other was in her eighties \u2013 an exceptional age for that time.<\/p>\n They were buried with sleighs, a cart, carved bedposts and sacrificed horses, dogs and an ox. This indicates that at least one of these women must have had extremely high status within their community, though we don\u2019t know in what capacity. Perhaps royal, though it\u2019s also been suggested that they may have been practitioners of magic.<\/p>\n The Oseberg Ship was one of three displayed at the Viking Ship Museum, which is currently closed for renovation, due to reopen as the Museum of the Viking Age in 2026.<\/p>\n So how does Oslo fit into this history? The sagas are able to tell us. Haralds saga Sigur\u00f0arsonar \u2013 the saga of Harald, son of Sigurd, first written down in 13th-century Iceland, and now perhaps better known as Harald Hardrada<\/a> \u2013 claims that he founded Oslo in the middle of the 11th century.<\/p>\n This is the King Harald that was later killed on the battlefield at Stamford Bridge<\/a> near York<\/a> in 1066<\/a>, by the army of Harold Godwinson<\/a> (himself soon to be defeated by William the Conqueror<\/a> at Hastings<\/a>).<\/p>\n That saga says, to paraphrase: \u201cKing Harald had a market town built\u2026 And he stayed there often, because it was a good place for getting supplies, and the land surrounding it was very productive. It was also a very useful place for guarding the lands of the Danes, and for forays into Denmark.\u201d<\/p>\n It seems possible that Christianity was already making an impression in this area even before Oslo\u2019s \u201cofficial\u201d founding date.<\/p>\n Near the medieval St Clement\u2019s Church in the inner city of Oslo, archaeologists found a handful of apparently Christian burials. A few of these bodies have been dated to between 1000 and 1050 \u2013 the date when Harald reputedly founded the settlement.<\/p>\n You can still visit the site in Middelalderparken (Medieval Park) in Gamlebyen (The Old Town), where you\u2019ll also find the stone ruins of St Mary\u2019s Church, a fortified royal residence and a sort of circular defensive structure that may date back to Harold Hadrada\u2019s day.<\/p>\n Nearby Minneparken (The Memorial Park) also encompasses some medieval ruins \u2013 St Hallvard\u2019s Cathedral, St Olav\u2019s Monastery and Holy Cross Church, all built in the 12th or 13th century.<\/p>\n Oslo developed as a market town, with a clearly important Christian community. The first ruler who made Oslo his permanent residence was King Haakon Magnusson, or Haakon V, who reigned in the late 13th century. He started to develop the town\u2019s military strength, to defend the Oslofjord from attack. And it was attacked many times \u2013 for example, by the Norwegian noble Alv Erlingsson, who was a bit of a pirate and assaulted Oslo in 1287.<\/p>\n In response, in the 1290s Haakon ordered the construction of Akershus castle and fortress. It still looms over the city harbour today, though it took a bit of a battering over the years, besieged many times \u2013 often by the Swedes, occasionally by the Danes, and even in 1502 by Scottish soldiers in the pay of the Danish king.<\/p>\n The 14th century brought something worse than attack by Scandinavian neighbours: the Black Death<\/a>, which reached Norway in 1349 The plague killed between half and two-thirds of the country\u2019s population, shattering communities and leading to some degree of social breakdown. It also reduced taxes received by the crown.<\/p>\n In the same century, the Hanseatic League<\/a> \u2013 a powerful confederation of merchant guilds that originated in northern Germany \u2013 took control of quite a lot of Norway\u2019s international trade.<\/p>\n Then, in 1397, a much-weakened Norway became part of the Kalmar Union, together with Sweden and Denmark. The outcome was that Oslo lost its capital status, because the Kalmar Union was oriented towards Denmark, with Copenhagen as its political and diplomatic capital.<\/p>\n After the Kalmar Union collapsed in 1523, Norway remained subservient to Denmark. Conflict between Sweden and Denmark continued through the 16th and 17th centuries, with some of the fighting on Norwegian soil.<\/p>\n More importantly for Oslo, in August 1624 the city went up in flames. Five women were accused of causing the fire by witchcraft; three of them were executed at Akershus Fortress. Fires were nothing new, of course; Oslo had burned many times already.<\/p>\n But this time, King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway had it rebuilt \u2013 and, rather than siting his new city on the ruins of the old town, he constructed his new urban settlement closer to Akershus, and modestly renamed it after himself: Christiania. One remnant of that rebuild is the area known as Kvadraturen (\u201cThe Quadrature\u201d) for its rectangular street pattern.<\/p>\n Like many other European countries, in the 19th century Norway witnessed an upsurge in nationalist grumblings. Importantly, in 1814 Denmark was defeated by Britain during the Napoleonic Wars<\/a>, and was forced to cede Norway to Sweden in the Treaty of Kiel.<\/p>\n The Norwegians, not happy to be simply handed over, declared independence on 17 May 1814, naming Oslo as the capital. That move was swiftly crushed by Sweden, but Syttende Mai (Constitution Day) is still celebrated in Norway with big parades and singing of \u201cJa, vi elsker dette landet\u201d (\u201cYes, we love this land\u201d) \u2013 which, surprisingly, became the official national anthem of Norway only in 2019. It was composed in the middle of the 19th century, during that wave of nationalist feeling and accompanying Norwegian cultural renaissance.<\/p>\n This was the era when Edvard Munch painted The Scream \u2013 you can see more of his work at his namesake museum on Oslo\u2019s waterfront. Other important Norwegian figures from that century include playwright Henrik Ibsen, again commemorated with a house museum and theatre in Oslo, housed in his last home.<\/p>\n This was also, as in many other European cities, a period of industrial development. As was so often the case, the Industrial Revolution<\/a> created a few winners and a lot of losers, economically speaking.<\/p>\n In Oslo, this division was really stark. Akerselva, the river running through the heart of the city down from the hills, split the city between the wealthy, genteel west and the working-class east; still today that\u2019s reflected in the architecture. You\u2019ll find elegant townhouses in the west, and an edgier vibe east of the river, which was itself lined with water-powered textile mills and warehouses.<\/p>\n Norway finally gained independence from Sweden in 1905, with Christiania as capital. And in 1925, the city\u2019s name switched officially to Oslo which, over the following years, absorbed various surrounding districts to become a large capital.<\/p>\n The turn of the 20th century was also the great era of Norwegian polar exploration. You can find out more at the Fram Museum, on the Bygd\u00f8y peninsula. Fram, which means \u201cforward\u201d, was the ship built for zoologist, oceanographer and explorer Fridtjof Nansen<\/a>\u2019s attempt to reach the North Pole. The expedition was launched in 1893 and got closer than anyone had up to that point, reaching the northern latitude of 86\u00b014\u2032.<\/p>\n Nansen represents a period when Norway started to turn outwards, towards the wider world. As well as being an explorer and scientist, Nansen was also politically active. He argued strongly for the end of Norway\u2019s union with Sweden in 1905, and then became the Norwegian representative in London.<\/p>\n After the First World War<\/a>, he was appointed as the League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, working with people displaced by the Russian Revolution, the Greco-Turkish War and the Armenian genocide, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize<\/a>. This would have been inconceivable at points in Norway\u2019s past: the idea that it could stand on the international stage and do so much good as an independent country.<\/p>\n As in much of Europe, the Second World War<\/a> was traumatic for Oslo and the rest of Norway. The capital was invaded and occupied by the Nazis in 1940, though King Haakon VII escaped to London. From there, he broadcast to the Norwegians via the BBC World Service throughout the war.<\/p>\n Back in Norway, the resistance movement was very active, blowing up German warships and smuggling people back and forth across the North Sea via the so-called \u201cShetland bus\u201d \u2013 boats sailing mined and submarine-infested waters.<\/p>\n There was also civil disobedience: students at the University of Oslo wore paper clips as a symbol of solidarity. The H7 monogram, representing support for the king, was also widely worn, along with red bobble hats \u2013 which, incredibly, were banned by the Nazis. Find out more at the excellent Norwegian Resistance Museum in Akershus Fortress.<\/p>\n Over the second half of the 20th century, Norway developed socially and economically, particularly following the discovery of oil in its North Sea waters. Oslo became an exciting cultural hub, and a place where ideas are generated \u2013 for addressing the ongoing climate crisis, for example. It will be interesting to see how that plays out over the coming years.<\/p>\n Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough is lecturer in environmental history at Bath Spa University. Her latest book is Beyond the Northlands: Viking Voyages and the Old Norse Sagas<\/em> (Oxford University Press, 2016). Her new book, exploring the lives of ordinary people during the Viking Age, will be published by Profile in 2024. She was talking to Paul Bloomfield, travel journalist and host of our podcast series History\u2019s Greatest Cities. <\/em>Listen to the companion podcast on Oslo<\/a> or explore the entire series<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Founded by Vikings and occupied over the centuries by Sweden, Denmark and Nazi Germany, the modern Norwegian capital has experienced a tumultuous past.<\/p>\n Look north-west of the city centre and you\u2019ll see a huge, gleaming construction in the hills: Holmenkollen ski jump. This spot has hosted ski competitions for well over a century, though this structure is just over a decade old; there\u2019s an amazing viewing platform at the top providing sweeping vistas across Oslo.<\/p>\n At its foot is the immersive Ski Museum, which covers 4,000 years of skiing history, from prehistoric rock carvings through medieval skis to equipment used by Nansen and Roald Amundsen, and beyond \u2013 a clever idea to use a single artefact to explore such a long stretch of history. Note that it\u2019s closed for refurbishment for most of 2023.<\/p>\n Continue a little farther north for another slice of history at Frognerseteren, a wonderful wooden house carved with dragons and all sorts of twirls and twiddles that looks like my idea of Valhalla, the home of Odin\u2019s chosen warriors in the afterlife, according to Old Norse myths. It was built in 1867 by Thomas Heftye, one of the founders of the Norwegian Tourist Association; right from the beginning there was a tradition of welcoming in travellers to warm up and get something to eat \u2013 and the cafe is still a great place for cake and coffee.<\/p>\n Funnily enough, Oslo isn\u2019t awash with Viking Age sites. There\u2019s the Viking Ship Museum, housing three extraordinary ship burials from that period; it\u2019s currently closed, though, due to re-open in 2026 as the Museum of the Viking Age.<\/p>\n In the meantime, you\u2019ll find an impressive array of artefacts from that period (roundly AD 750\u20131050) \u2013 many of which will be displayed at the new museum when it opens \u2013 at the Historical Museum, in the city centre near the Royal Palace. Expect to see magnificent swords, diverse items from Viking burials, and many more objects related to this formative era.<\/p>\n The museum also has good displays about the history of the Sami, the indigenous people of norther Scandinavia.<\/p>\n The magical Norwegian Folk Museum shows how people lived in this region through past centuries. It\u2019s partly an open-air museum, with a large collection of historical buildings \u2013 some from Oslo, others collected from around the country and rebuilt here. One highlight is a huge wooden stave church, ornately carved and tiered a little like a wedding cake, dating from around AD 1200.<\/p>\n You can also explore turf-roofed, timber-framed farm buildings from the 17th century, and brick townhouses from the rebuilding of the city renamed Christiania after the great fire of 1624. These structures trace the evolution of Norwegian society from all sorts of angles and incorporating all sorts of social strata.<\/p>\n The museum also houses exhibitions on folk dress and art, and on Sami culture. Depending on when you visit, you might encounter a folk festival \u2013 midsummer or Christmas celebrations, for example.<\/p>\n The Folk Museum is on the Bygd\u00f8y peninsula, where you\u2019ll also find the Fram Museum\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n To find evidence of the first people who lived in the Oslo region, head south-east of the city centre to Ekeberg \u2013 \u201cOak Mountain\u201d.<\/p>\n Those earliest known inhabitants, who lived around the Oslofjord during the Stone Age between 4,000 and 5,000 years ago, left carvings on the rocks here. These petroglyphs form the outlines of deer, elk and birds, plus one smaller human figure, and provide an indication of the lifestyle of the people who made them, hunting and fishing around the area.<\/p>\n Ekeberg continued to be inhabited over the millennia \u2013 Bronze Age ritual sites and Iron Age burial mounds have been found in the area, too. The hill is also now home to the extraordinary\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n During the Industrial Revolution, water-powered textiles mills sprang up along the Akerselva, the river that divided the city between the wealthier, smarter western quarter and the more working-class east.<\/p>\n Many of the 19th-century brick-built factory buildings and ware- houses survived \u2013 much gentrified, of course \u2013 and a stroll along the beautiful riverside path is a wonderful way of discovering this grittier part of Oslo\u2019s heritage, passing all sorts of blue plaques and other historical nuggets en route.<\/p>\n A couple of miles north of the harbour, you\u2019ll find the fascinating Labour Museum (open weekends), with revealing displays about local working and living conditions as well as the Industrial Revolution more generally.<\/p>\n Amble over nearby Beierbrua (The Beier Bridge) to find the bronze sculpture Fabrikkjentene<\/em> (Factory Girls), by Ellen Jacobsen, a moving tribute to the many women who toiled in Oslo\u2019s textile factories.<\/p>\n Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough is lecturer in environmental history at Bath Spa University. She\u00a0was talking to Paul Bloomfield, travel journalist and host of our podcast series History\u2019s Greatest Cities. <\/em>Listen to the companion podcast on Oslo<\/a> or explore the entire series<\/a><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n Founded by Vikings and long coveted by Denmark and Sweden, the fortunes of Norway\u2019s capital have waxed and waned over many centuries. Historian and author Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough guides us through the ups and downs of the city now called Oslo. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":30016,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"15"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2023\/11\/norse-powered-exploring-the-history-of-oslo.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2023\/11\/norse-powered-exploring-the-history-of-oslo-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2023\/11\/norse-powered-exploring-the-history-of-oslo-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2023\/11\/norse-powered-exploring-the-history-of-oslo.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2023\/11\/norse-powered-exploring-the-history-of-oslo.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2023\/11\/norse-powered-exploring-the-history-of-oslo.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2023\/11\/norse-powered-exploring-the-history-of-oslo.jpg",620,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Founded by Vikings and long coveted by Denmark and Sweden, the fortunes of Norway\u2019s capital have waxed and waned over many centuries. Historian and author Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough guides us through the ups and downs of the city now called Oslo.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/30015"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}History\u2019s Greatest Cities: A HistoryExtra<\/em> podcast series<\/h2>\n
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<\/li>\n
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n![\"Cities](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/7\/2023\/02\/Cities-new-Sq-c8695f6.jpg?quality=45&resize=556,556\" "\\"Cities")
<\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/section> Oslo\u2019s Viking ships<\/h2>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/7\/2023\/10\/OsbergShipdreamstimexxl189241305-f334a55.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"The")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>Oslo\u2019s links to early Christianity<\/h2>\n
Medieval Oslo<\/h2>\n
![\"Oslo](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/7\/2023\/10\/Akershus-Fortress-GettyImages-502857073-f730771.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Oslo")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>Christiania replaces old Oslo<\/h2>\n
Oslo leads Norway\u2019s cultural rennaissance<\/h2>\n
Norwegian independence<\/h2>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/7\/2023\/10\/FramMuseumdreamstimexxl45758700-19e01a6.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"The")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>Oslo and the Second World War<\/h2>\n
What to see: Oslo in five places<\/h2>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/7\/2023\/10\/Oslo-map-with-numbers-C-Battlefield-Design-7c41e16.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Oslo")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>\n1. Holmenkollen<\/h3>\n
![\"Statue](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/7\/2023\/10\/1-Holmenkollen-Alamy-B5B5PR-91a69e5.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Statue")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>\n2. Historical Museum<\/h3>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/7\/2023\/10\/2-Historical-Museum-Alamy-J2B0D5-3e142e7.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"The")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>\n3. Norsk Folemuseum<\/h3>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/7\/2023\/10\/3-Norsk-Folkemuseum-Alamy-PXXXRH-a334cae.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Reconstructed")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>\n4. Ekeberg<\/h3>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/7\/2023\/10\/4-Ekeberg-C-Creative-Commons-e1fc60e.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"A")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>\n5. Fabrikkjentene & Labour Museum<\/h3>\n
![\"Fabrikkjentene](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/7\/2023\/10\/5-Fabrikkjentene-Alamy-E16C7X-0b1cb9a.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Fabrikkjentene")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"