Trondheimsfjord (Norway)

Trondheimsfjord (or Trondheimsfjorden), an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, is Norway's third longest fjord at 130 kilometres (81 mi) long. It is located in the west central part of the country, and it stretches from Ørland in west to Steinkjer in north, passing the city of Trondheim on its way. Its maximum depth is 617 metres (2,024 ft), just inside of Agdenes.

The largest islands in the fjord are Ytterøy and Tautra; the small Munkholmen is located near the harbor of Trondheim; and there are several islands at the entrance of the fjord. The narrow Skarnsundet is crossed by the Skarnsund Bridge. The part of the fjord to the north of the strait is referred to as Beitstadfjorden. The main part of Trondheimsfjord is ice free all year; only Verrasundet, a long and narrow fjord branch in the northern part of the fjord, might be ice covered in winter. The Beitstadfjorden might also freeze over in winter, but only for a few weeks.

The towns Stjørdal, Levanger, and Steinkjer are found on the eastern and northeastern shore of the fjord. Aker Verdal in Verdal produces large offshore installations for the petroleum sector. A yard in Rissa completed the luxurious apartment ship MS The World. Fiborgtangen is a peninsula along the eastern shore of the fjord where a large paper mill owned by Norske Skog is situated.

Trondheimsfjorden has a rich marine life, with both southern and northern species; at least 90 species of fish have been observed, and the fjord has the largest biological production among Norway's fjords. In recent years deep water corals (Lophelia pertusa) were discovered in the fjord, not far from the city of Trondheim. Several of the best salmon rivers in Norway empty into Trondheimsfjord. Among these are Gaula (in Melhus just south of Trondheim), Orklaelva (in Orkdal), Stjørdalselva (in Stjørdal), and Verdalselva (in Verdal).

The lowland east and south of the fjord represents one of Norway's best agricultural areas. The more rugged and mountainous Fosen peninsula is situated to the west and northwest, giving some shelter from the wind common to coastal areas.

The Trondheimsfjord was an important waterway in the Viking Age, as it is still today. In 1888, an undersea mudslide caused a tsunami which killed one person in Trondheim and ruptured three railway lines.

Four giant squids have been found in the fjord, which is among the highest concentrations in the world.

Name

The fjord is named after Trondheim - but originally the name of the fjord might have been just *Þrónd or *Þróund in Old Norse. A name like that would be related to the verb þróast which means to "thrive" or "flourish" and the name Þrór which means "likeable" or "stoutish" (and it was one of Odin's nicknames).

If this is the case, then the people living around the fjord (the þrœndir, see Trøndelag) named themselves after the fjord. (Compare sygnir which means "the people living around the fjord Sogn".)

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National Theatre (Oslo) (Norway)

The National Theatre in Oslo (Norwegian: Nationaltheatret) is one of Norway's largest and most prominent venues for performance of dramatic arts.

The theatre had its first performance on 1 September 1899 but can trace its origins to Christiania Theatre, which was founded in 1829. There were three official opening performances, on subsequent days in September; First, selected pieces by Ludvig Holberg, then An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen, and on the third day Sigurd Jorsalfar by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson.

History

The National Theatre was founded as a private institution and weathered several financial crises until 1929, when the Norwegian government started providing modest support. A number of famous Norwegians have served as artistic directors for the theatre, but Vilhelm Krag who took over in 1911, is credited as having brought the theatre into its "golden age."

The theatre is often considered the home for Ibsen's plays, and most of his works have been performed here. Notable is also the children's Christmas play, The Journey to the Christmas Star (Reisen til Julestjernen), written by the then theatre's finance director Sverre Brandt and performed for the first time in 1924.

The main building is centrally located between the Royal Palace, Oslo and the Parliament of Norway. It is served by National Theatre Station and National Theatre metro stations. It was designed by architect Henrik Bull. The theatre organisation manages four stages: the main stage (Hovedscenen), the amphitheatre (Amfiscenen) and Painting Parlour (Malersalen) within the main building. The fourth is the Torshov Theatre (Torshovteatret) in the Torshov district of Oslo. As of 2009[update], the theatre's artistic director was Hanne Tømta.

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Skien (Norway)

Skien is a city and municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Skien. Skien is also the administrative centre of Telemark county.

The municipality of Skien was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The rural municipalities of Gjerpen and Solum were merged into the municipality of Skien on 1 January 1964.

The conurbation of Skien and Porsgrunn is considered by Statistics Norway to be the seventh largest city in Norway straddling an area of three municipalities: Skien municipality (about 52% of the population), Porsgrunn (35%), and Bamble (11.5%). The area is home to more than 85,000 people.

Skien was historically Norway's most important port town for shipping timber. The city was the birthplace and boyhood home of playwright Henrik Ibsen, and many of his famous dramas are set in in places reminiscent of 19th century Skien.

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was Skiða (from the word skiða which means "straight plank"), and the town is probably named after a brook (with a straight run) with this name.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms are derived from the oldest known seal of the city, dating back to 1609. The seal shows two skis and in the middle a cross, with a small star on the crosspoint. The skis are a semi-canting element (based on a misunderstanding of the meaning of the town's name) and the cross is a religious symbol. There have been several theories about the meaning of the cross, but its meaning is not clearly known. It has been suggested that it is a symbol for the main church in Skien, the Holy Cross church. The small star may be a symbol of St. Mary as the second medieval church of Skien was devoted to her. Besides the skis and cross, there are two meadow buttercups on each side.

In 1854, the arms were shown as two skis, but the cross was now made from ski poles, as another canting element. This remained so until the early half of the 20th century.

In the 1980s, the city officially adopted the current arms, which are identical to the oldest seal. The colours are the colours that have been used since the 19th century. The differences between the seal and the present arms are that in the arms the cross is placed on top of the skis and the star is changed from a four-pointed star to a six-pointed star, and that the cross is made of ski-poles.

History

Until 1979, it was believed that Skien was founded in the 14th century. However, the archaeological find of a carving of the Skien animal has established its founding to before 1000 A.D. The city was then a meeting place for inland farmers and sailing traders, and also as a shipping harbour for whetstones from Eidsborg (inland Telemark). The settlement can be traced back to the 11th century, and Gimsøy Abbey was founded in the 12th century. Skien was given formal commercial town rights by the Danish crown in 1358. Timber has historically been the most dominant export product from Skien, and the city was the Kingdom's leading port town for shipping timber from the 16th century onwards. The oldest remaining building is Gjerpen church (built in approximately 1150).

From the 16th century, the city came to be dominated by a group of families known as patricians. In an 1882 letter to Rasmus B. Anderson, Henrik Ibsen mentions the families Paus, Plesner, von der Lippe, Cappelen and Blom as the most prominent patrician families when he grew up there.

The current town layout was fixed after the last town fire in 1886. In 1964, the rural municipalities Solum and Gjerpen were merged together with Skien town, forming the Skien municipality.

Transportation

RoadsThe main road into Skien is from the E18 road and through Porsgrunn, on either road 36 or 354 that runs up along Skienselva on each side. Another common route used by most buses coming from Oslo is road 32, that goes through Siljan, Steinsholt, Lågendalen, Hvittingfoss and Hof. Road 32 enters the E18 in Hof.

Water

Skien is the main terminus for the Telemark Canal (Norwegian: Telemarkskanalen), which consists of two canals. In Europe, canals were commonly built in the pre-railroad period to transport goods, timber, and passengers.

The "Norsjø-Skienskanalen", with one terminus at Skien and the other at Løveid, was built in 1854–1861, and is the oldest of the two canals.

The "Bandak-Nordsjøkanalene" continued the canal beyond Løveid. It was opened in 1892.

Skien harbour is located at Vold havneterminal.

Railroads

Skien was connected to the Norwegian railway network (Vestfoldbanen) in 1882. In 1919, Bratsbergbanen opened between Skien and Notodden. Norges Statsbaner still operates regular train services on both railways.

Air

The local airport is called Skien Airport, Geiteryggen and serves domestic flights to Bergen and Stavanger as well as flights to Trondheim by the airline Vildanden.

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Norwegian Museum of Cultural History (Norway)

Norsk Folkemuseum

Norsk Folkemuseum, the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History at Bygdøy in Oslo, is a large open air museum. Norsk Folkemuseum is one of Norway’s largest museum of cultural history.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History is situated near several other museums, including the Viking Ship Museum; the Fram Museum; the Kon-Tiki Museum; and the Norwegian Maritime Museum;.

Log houses in Norsk Folkemuseum

History

It was established in 1894 by librarian and historian, Hans Aall (1867-1946). It contains over 150 buildings which have been relocated from different districts of Norway. Reidar Kjellberg became Director of the museum in 1947 and remained museum director until he retired in 1974.

Historic buildings from Hovin and Gransherad

Among its more significant buildings are Gol stave church from the 13th century which incorporated was into the Norwegian Folk Museum in 1907. The Gol Stave Church is one of five medieval buildings at the museum, which also includes the Rauland cabin (Raulandstua) from the 14th century, and the 18th century tenement building relocated from historic Wessels gate 15 in Oslo. In 1951, the Sami collection in the Ethnographic Museum of the University of Oslo was transferred to thr Norsk Folkemuseum.

Gas station relocated from outside Wessels gate 15

The museum also possesses a large photographic archive, including a significant portion of the works of Anders Beer Wilse. In 2004, the administration of the adjacent Bygdøy Royal Estate was transferred to the museum. In recent years, research has focused on building and furniture, clothing and textiles, technical and social culture, working memory and Sami culture.

Residential interior

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Oslo (Norway)

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality (formannskapsdistrikt), it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King Christian IV. It was rebuilt closer to Akershus Castle, and renamed Christiania in his honour (also spelled Kristiania in the late 1800s). In 1925, twenty years after Norway had gained independence, the city reclaimed its original Norwegian name, Oslo. The diocese of Oslo is one of the five original dioceses in Norway, which originated around the year 1070.

At the site of the ancient farm in Bjørvika, a new skyline is rising.

Oslo is the cultural, scientific, economic and governmental centre of Norway. The city is also a hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping. It is an important centre for maritime industries and maritime trade in Europe. The city is home to many companies within the maritime sector, some of which are amongst the world's largest shipping companies, shipbrokers and maritime insurance brokers. Oslo is a pilot city of the Council of Europe and the European Commission intercultural cities programme.

Bygdøy

Oslo is considered a global city and ranked "Beta World City" in studies performed by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network in 2008. For several years, Oslo has been listed as one of the most expensive cities in the world along with such other global cities, as Zurich, Geneva, Copenhagen, Paris, and Tokyo. In 2009, however, Oslo regained its status as the world's most expensive city. A survey conducted by ECA International in 2011 placed Oslo 2nd after Tokyo.

Example of Oslo's modern architecture. Detail from Oslo Opera House

As of 2010, the metropolitan area of Oslo has a population of 1,442,318 of whom 912,046 live in the contiguous conurbation. The population currently increases at a record rate of 1.64% annually, making it the fastest growing city in Europe. This growth stems from immigration, as the Norwegian population in the city is decreasing. The immigrant share of the population in the city proper now counts more than 25% of the city's total.

Stortinget is the seat of Norway's parliament.

Climate

Oslo has a humid continental climate (Dfb according to the Köppen climate classification system). Because of the city's northern latitude, daylight varies greatly, from more than 18 hours in midsummer, when it never gets completely dark at night, to around 6 hours in midwinter.[citation needed] Despite its northerly location, the climate is relatively mild throughout the year because of the Gulf Stream.

Slottet is the home of the Royal Family.

Oslo has pleasantly mild to warm summers with average high temperatures of 20–22 °C (68–72 °F) and lows of around 12 °C (54 °F). Temperatures exceed 25 °C (77 °F) quite often, and heatwaves are common during the summer. The highest temperature ever recorded was 35 °C (95 °F) on 21 July 1901. Due to the fjord being a relatively enclosed body of water, the water temperatures can get quite high during long warm periods. Winters are cold and snowy with temperatures between −7 °C (19 °F) up to −1 °C (30 °F). The coldest temperature recorded is −27.1 °C (−16.8 °F) in January 1942. Temperatures have tended to be higher in recent years.

Office buildings in Bjørvika, part of the redesign of former dock and industrial land in Oslo known as The Barcode Project.

Annual precipitation is 763 millimetres (30.0 in) with moderate rainfall throughout the year. Snowfall can occur from November to April, but snow accumulation occurs mainly from January through March. Almost every winter, ice develops in the innermost parts of the Oslofjord, and during some winters the whole inner fjord freezes. As it is far from the mild Atlantic water of the west coast, this large fjord can freeze over completely, although this has become rare. Even for its latitude, Oslo is outstandingly cloudy, receiving a diminutive average of 1,668 hours of bright sunshine annually. Of the 4,456 possible sunshine hours that could be received annually, Oslo receives only 1,668 (37%) of that total.

University of Oslo campus.

Cityscape

Oslo's cityscape is being redeveloped as a modern city with various access-points, an extensive metro-system with a new financial district and a cultural city. In 2008, an exhibition was held in London presenting the award-winning Oslo Opera House, the urban regeneration scheme of Oslo's seafront, Munch/Stenersen and the new Deichman Library. Most of the buildings in the city and in neighbouring communities are low in height with only the Plaza, Postgirobygget and the highrises at Bjørvika considerably taller.

Norwegian School of Management (BI) main building.

Architecture

Oslo's architecture is very diverse. Architect Carl Frederik Stanley (1769–1805), who was educated in Copenhagen, spent some years in Norway around the turn of the 19th century. He did minor works for wealthy patrons in and around Oslo, but his major achievement was the renovation of the Oslo Katedralskole, completed in 1800. He added a classical portico to the front of an older structure, and a semi-circular auditorium that was sequestered by Parliament in 1814 as a temporary place to assemble, now preserved at Norsk Folkemuseum as a national monument.

Historic buildings at Norsk Folkemuseum

Christiania, in 1814 promoted to the status of a capital city, had practically no buildings suitable for the many new government institutions. An ambitious building program was initiated, but realised very slowly because of a strained economy. The first major undertaking was the Royal Palace, designed by Hans Linstow and built between 1824 and 1848. Linstow also planned Karl Johans gate, the avenue connecting the Palace and the city, with a monumental square halfway to be surrounded by buildings for the University, the Parliament (Storting) and other institutions. Only the University buildings were realised according to this plan. Christian Heinrich Grosch, one of the first fully educated architects in Norway, designed the original building for the Oslo Stock Exchange (1826–1828), the local branch of the Bank of Norway (1828), Christiania Theatre (1836–1837), and the first campus for the University of Oslo (1841–1856). For the University buildings, he sought the assistance of the renowned German architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel.

Nobel Peace Center

The German architectural influence persisted in Norway, and many wooden buildings followed the principles of Neoclassicism. In Oslo, the German architect Alexis de Chateauneuf designed Trefoldighetskirken, the first neo-gothic church, completed by von Hanno in 1858.

The National Theatre is the largest theatre in Norway

A number of landmark structures, particularly in Oslo, were built in the functionalist style, the first one being the Skansen restaurant (1925–1927) by Lars Backer, demolished in 1970. Backer also designed the restaurant at Ekeberg, opened in 1929. The art gallery Kunstnernes Hus by Gudolf Blakstad and Herman Munthe-Kaas (1930) still shows influence from the preceding classicist trend of the 1920s. Oslo Airport (by the Aviaplan consortium at Gardermoen was Norway's largest construction project ever.

Train leaving Nationaltheatret (station)

Transportation

Oslo has Norway's most extensive public transport system, managed by Ruter. This includes the six-line Oslo Metro, the world's most extensive metro per resident, the six-line Oslo Tramway and the eight-line Oslo Commuter Rail.[74] The tramway operates within the areas close to the city centre, while the metro, which runs underground through the city centre, operates to suburbs further away; this includes two lines which operate to Bærum, and the Ring Line which loops to areas north of the centre.

Flytoget (Airport Express Train); a High-speed rail connecting the city with its main airport, Oslo Airport, Gardermoen.

Oslo Central Station acts as the central hub, and offers train services to most major cities in southern Norway as well as Stockholm and Gothenburg in Sweden. The Airport Express Train operates along the high-speed Gardermoen Line. The Drammen Line runs under the city centre in the Oslo Tunnel. Some of the city islands and the neighbouring municipality of Nesodden are connected by ferry. Daily cruiseferry services operate to Copenhagen and Frederikshavn in Denmark, and to Kiel in Germany.

Many of the motorways pass through the downtown and other parts of the city in tunnels. The construction of the roads is partially supported through a toll ring. The major motorways through Oslo are European Route E6 and E18. There are three beltways, the innermost which are streets and the outermost, Ring 3 which is an expressway.

The main airport serving Oslo is Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, located in Ullensaker, 47 kilometres (29 mi) from the city centre of Oslo. It acts as the main international gateway to Norway, and is the sixth-largest domestic airport in Europe.

 Gardermoen is a hub for Scandinavian Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Widerøe. Oslo is also served by two secondary airports, which serve some low-cost carriers, such as Ryanair: Moss Airport, Rygge and Sandefjord Airport, Torp, the latter being 110 kilometres (68 mi) from the city.

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