Pupletts in Sweden: Whirlwind Trip of Oslo (29-Feb) - Part 6 - Day 2

After having lunch at the Royal Palace, we headed down to the Nobel Peace Centre. It was a museum celebrating the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize and also highlighting the need for peace and the purpose of the prize.

The building was quite impressive from the outside:

Nobel Fredssenter (Nobel Peace Centre)

Nobel Fredssenter

We were warned when we entered that some of the pictures in the main exhibit would not be suitable for the kids, but there was a kids trail that they could follow.

The entry with hanging pictures of the Prize winners

Looking into the main exhibit hall - it used to be a train terminal

The pictures of the Prize winners

The main exhibit was called "Targets" and focused on a study of what images the military's of various countries used for training and target practice. It was interesting to see the profiling - often the targets were of obvious race or social class and in some cases were female. There were a couple of pictures not suitable for the children (one showed a soldier who had lost his legs to an IED), so Kristine took them into the first area of the kids walk while I had a look around. It was quite moving and coupled with the haunting music they had playing it really made you think.

The kids path had a series of wooden boxes that detailed a Nobel Prize winner and their achievements, and then asked a set of questions. The kids needed to align some dials to match the correct answer and then pull a lever. This opened a tray and they received a card:

The machine asking about Wangari Muta Maathai - who won the award in 2004 for starting a movement to counter deforestation in Kenya and assisting the in the struggle for democracy

Overall, the kids got five cards and then at the end there was a final machine that needed them to place the cards to match the achievement for each of the people. When they got this right they were rewarded with a seed packet that contained a condensed peat block and some pea seeds. We have one starting to sprout in our kitchen now:

The cards, booklet and seed pack

Working to solve the final card puzzle and receiving the seeds

The main parts of the museum were a room filled with screens that showed each of the winners and their achievements. Every 15minutes the screens would pick a winner and a speech from them would be played.

The screens

Screens

There was also a room with an interactive book that projected the words on blank pages and could be used as a touch screen to get more information on topics:

The book

There was a room focusing on the Dalai Lama and another which had an interactive wall where you could select a winner and hear speeches, watch videos and see articles about each of the winners:

The interactive wall - The kids are watching the Martin Luther King "I have a Dream" speech on the middle screen

The wallpaper in this room was made up of pictures of the prize winners:

Close up of the wallpaper

We then walked out of this room and the final display was details of all of the Prize winners who had (or still were) imprisoned for their efforts. We stopped in the gift shop and Kris bought a poster and book about the international rights of children as a classroom aid, and we headed outside.

Our next stop was the Town Hall. I wasn't terribly impressed to start with - It was fairly big, but blocky and not very ornate compared to what we had seen so far:

Harbour side of Oslo City Hall

In addition there were a group of people skating around the front of it and jumping bins. We weaved through them and came to the door, which said the entrance was around the back.

When we walked around we saw that it was completely different from that side, and amazing!

Facade on the side of the Town Hall

Path up the side

Walking up

As we walked up the stairs we came to a little alcove that had a series of facades, each telling a story:

On the left - Volund the Smith has Vengeful Thoughts (The evil king captured Volund, hamstrung him and forced him to forge jeweler for his own daughter. The princes are tempted by the jewels and travel to the island where Volund cuts off their heads, mounts their skulls in silver and sends them to the King as drinking mugs) - On the right - The Swan Maidens (Three Valkyries come to earth as swans and changed to beautiful maidens. Three brothers find and marry them. Volund the smith marries one.)

Veðrfölnir the hawk and the messenger squirrel Ratatosk on the world tree Yggdrasil.

Garm announcing Ragnarök (Death of the Gods) - Garm is the norse dog associated with Hel and - Guardian of Hel's gate

Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór the deer graze at Yggdrasil (Tree of Life)

Vidar (one of the younger gods, son of Odin) fights and slays Fenrir who devoured his father Odin

Odin on Sleipnir with the ravens Huginn (Thought) and Muninn (Memory)

Embla, the Scandinavian equivalent of Eve

Ask, the Scandinavian equivalent of Adam

Odin rides across the sky in his chariot pulled by goats

Freyr (god of cultivation and fertility) sending his servant Skirnir to woo Gerör/Gerd

Two Norns (Fates) watering Yggdrasil (the life tree)

Freyr courting Gerör/Gerd

Norse view of Hell - Dragon Nidhogg gnawing on the root of Yggdrasil (tree of life) that leads to Naströnd where murderers, adulterers and oath breakers are sent after death. Nidhogg sucks their blood.

The Death of Baldur - Baldur was immune to injury to everything except mistletoe. Hodr was convinced by Loki to throw mistletoe at Baldur and it killed him

Frigg - Godess of Love and Marriage

Town Hall Entrance

The clock

The doors

The entry

From the plaque by the door:
- The entrance is flanked by 16 reliefs card in wood by Dagfin Werenskiold Entitled the Yggdrasil Frieze, they illustrate themes from ancient Norse Mythology.
- The Swan Fountain is designed by Dyre Vaa
- The building is faced with handmoulded bricks.
- The astronomical clock, with reliefs by Nils Flakstad shows the phases of the moon and sidereal and calendar time.
- Nic Shiøll carved the three reliefs based on the legends of Sigurd Favnesbane on the centre doorpost of the double doors into the city hall
- Joseph Grimeland designed the three ornamental pieces over the entrance
1) The relief above the door depicts the meeting of people from land and sea
2) In the big window, which illuminated the Oslo Municipal Council Chamber, he placed the Coat of Arms of the City of Oslo: The figure of St Hallvard.
3) 30m overhead, the Oslo girl greets you.

Entering City Hall we were greeted by the Long Gallery with several more frescos:

The Long Gallery

but our breath was taken away when we entered the Rådhushallen (Main Hall/Function Room) where the Nobel Peace award ceremony is held each year:

Main Hall

Looking back towards the entrance - Depicting Norwegian Industry (265m2, by Alf Rolfsen)

The east wall - The Occupation Frieze - Norway under German Occupation in WWII (by Alf Rolfsen) - it shows bombers over Oslo and resistance fighters fleeing into the forests. The right side shows the executions of several Norwegian patriots by the Nazi. The top floor shows four marble women - Årstdene (The Seasons)

The west wall - Artistic representation of the City Coat of Arms

Close-up of the Representation of the Coat of Arm - St Hallvard. The story goes that a pregnant woman stole food from a market to avoid starving and merchants gave chase to execute her. She fell at the feet of Hallvard asking for help, so he took her to safety in his boat. The merchants fired and hit him with three arrows. When they saw who they had killed, they tied a millstone around his neck and dumped him in the ocean. The next day he bobbed to the surface despite the millstone. After other miracles occurred he was made the patron Saint of Oslo. The Arrows, Millstone and Woman can be seen in the arms below

The actual Oslo City Coat of Arms

Marble relief of Ofin and Mine. Above the stairs are lined with seagulls and a remake of the City Arms with swans as the shield bearers

Above the doors ahead of us - Nation at Work and Play, by Henrik Sorenson - Showing countryfolk mingling with laborers and taking up jobs. The centre shows Charity, Culture, Philosophy and Family.

Under the canopy by the doors - The Rise of the Trade Unions

Under the Canopy - Oslo's trade and industry

Next we moved up to the Munch room, which houses the "Life" painting by Edvard Munch:

Munch Room

The next room was the Festgalleriet (Ceremonial Gallery) which is the second largest function room:

Festgalleriet

On the wall behind us (the west wall) is the fireplace and Axel Revold's Skipsfart (Shipping) which shows foundry work and ironworking:

Skipsfart

The roof leading up the Fiske og jordbruk (Fishing and Family) mural by Axel Revold

The next room was the Bankettsalen (The Banqueting Hall). This was the biggest of the rooms:

Bankettsalen

On the walls were portraits of royalty - King Harald V (1937), Queen Sonja (1937), King Olav V (1903-1991) and King Haakon VII (1872-1957):

King Harald V and Queen Sonja

King Olav V

King Haakon VII

Oil Painting by Willi Midelfart (stop snickering its his name) - Sea bathers at Oslo Fjord

Next was the Krohg Room - The East Gallery. This room had some amazing murals but was quite dark and hard to photograph. It is covered by Per Krohg's fresco Byen og dens Oppland (The City and its Environs)

The City and its Environs

Wall and roof

After leaving this room, we walked into the City Council Assembly Room

Assembly Room

Taprestry by Elise Poulsson and Else Halling - Shows the Patron Saint Hallvard and the seven virtues.

After this was the West Gallery: which contained the fresco Human Rights by Aage Storstein accounting the Constitution's roots, the depiction of the revolution in 1789, King Carl John on his way to the Norwegian Princess and the dream saga of Queen Ragnhild.