Colourful houses along Sølvgata, Halden
Posted by admin in History and architecture, Photos and videos on March 29, 2011
A short history of Halden in 10 key dates
Posted by admin in History and architecture on March 29, 2011
1658: The treaty of Roskilde is signed, Bohuslan is lost to Sweden, and Halden becomes a key outpost on the border between Sweden and Norway (then under Danish rule)
1660-1701: Construction of Fredriksten Fortress.
1665: Halden is granted town status.
1716: Halden residents famously set fire to their beloved town to prevent it falling into the hands of King Karl Xll of Sweden and his men.
1718: King Karl XII again tries to take the town, but is killed by a bullet to the head during the siege.
1813: Halden Cotton Spinning Mill, the first mechanised mill in the country, is established, marking the beginning of the industrial era in Norway.
1840s: Extraction of granite in the Iddefjord begins. The quarries and export of Iddefjord granite will play an important role for the town for a century to come.
1928: The town changes its name from Fredrikshald back to Halden.
1940s: During WW2, many local guides help refugees cross the border with neutral Sweden. The (Old) Svinesund Bridge is opened in 1946.
2005: The new Svinesund Bridge is opened.
Jeløy Radio
Posted by admin in History and architecture on March 15, 2011
A beautiful Art Deco building on Jeløya, Moss, boasting great views over the Oslofjord. The hotel used to be a radio station – hence the name. The main building houses a spacious and tastefully decorated restaurant and a number of function rooms that can be used as conference or meeting facilities, or for a private event.
There is a small terrace and a pleasant garden – as well as horses grazing on the compound surrounding the hotel. You will also find a 2km-long beach nearby.
Should you want to stay the night, 41 comfortable rooms are available in the restored barn next door, all with en-suite bathroom and wi-fi access. Jeløya Radio can also arrange activities such as wine tasting, regatta sailing or fishing. A great place for a special occasion.
Double room with breakfast 1,100Kr. Tel: 69 24 60 00, www.jeloyradio.no
Top 10: Famous Norwegian women
Posted by admin in Uncategorized on March 8, 2011
Sonja Henie (1913-69): An Olympic and World Champion figure skater, Henie helped increase the popularity of competitive figure skating. She won the gold medal for her sport at three consecutive Winter Olympics (1928, 1932, and 1936). Later had a career in Hollywood, where she featured in a number of successful films.
Gro Harlem Brundtland (b. 1939): A Labour Party politician, Brundtland is the only woman to have occupied the post of prime minister in Norway. She is also the former Director General of the WHO (World Health Organization).
Liv Ullmann (b.1939): An internationally known actress, who has also worked as a director. Ullmann was one of Swedish director Ingmar Bergman’s many muses. Some of the films she appeared in include Shame, Scenes from a Marriage, Face to Face and Autumn Sonata. Ullmann received the Golden Globe for her part as Kristina Nilsson in The Emigrants in 1973. She has also been nominated twice for the Academy Award.
Marit Bjørgen (b. 1980): The undisputed queen of cross-country skiing, Bjørgen won an amazing four gold and one silver medals at the Ski VM in Oslo in March 2011, which came on top of three gold, one silver and one bronze medals she won at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver last year. She is the only athlete to have won so many medals in the history of cross-country skiing.
Sissel Kyrkjebø (b. 1969): Famous soprano whose combined solo record sales amount to 10 million albums, most of them sold in Norway. She is also the recipient of the prestigious Årets Spelleman, the Norwegian equivalent of a Grammy Award. More about her at http://www.elusivemoose.eu/2010/11/sissel-kyrkjeb%C3%B8/
Grete Waitz (b.1953): A champion long-distance runner, Waitz won the NYC marathon no fewer than nine times between 1978 and 1988 – more than any other runner in history. She also won a silver medal at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1984, and a gold medal at the World Championships in Helsinki the year before that.
Karin Fossum (b. 1954): Popular Norwegian crime writer who started her career writing poetry, before changing genre and finding international success with her inspector Konrad Sejer series. Her books have been translated into 16 languages. Among her best are Don’t Look Back, He Who Fears the Wolf, and Calling Out For You (American translation – The Indian Bride).
Sigrid Undset (1882-1949), Norwegian novelist, awarded the Nobel Prize in 1928. Her most famous work is Kristin Lavransdatter.
Harriet Backer (1845-1932), artist famed for her colourful interiors. A pioneer among female artists not just in Norway but also in the rest of Europe, she was influenced by the impressionists. Her most famous paintings include Christening in Tanum Church and Blue Interior, among many others. Another famous Norwegian female artist is landscape painter Kitty Kielland (1843-1914)
Edvard Munch (1863-1944)
Posted by admin in Art, culture and literature, Photos and videos on March 4, 2011
Look past icons such as The Scream and Madonna and discover lesser known (but just as fascinating) paintings by the master of expressionism. Personally I have a soft spot for those paintings inspired by Åsgårdstrand, a little seaside village where Munch spent many a summer – Moonlight, Train Smoke, Girls on the Bridge, Melancholy, The Voice, the list goes on. Do check out Munch’s woodcuts and lithographs too, which give a great insight into the man behind the artist. Self-portrait with Skeleton Arm for example is as striking as any of his oil paintings in my opinion. The Munch Museum in Tøyen, Oslo, houses the largest collection of works by Edvard Munch. The good news? Entry is free in winter (1 Oct-31 Mar). Rest of the year Kr95. Opening times vary, see www.munch.museum.no for more info.
Did you know? Edvard Munch’s mother, Laura Cathrine Bjølstad, was born in Fredrikstad, Østfold, in 1837. She married Edvard’s father, Christian Munch, in 1861. He was twice her age. They had five children together, including Edvard, before Laura died of tuberculosis in 1868. She was only 31 years old. Edvard was five. His mother’s premature death, which was followed by that of his favourite sister a few years later, was to have a profound impact on his life and career.
Forgotten gem: Fertility, painted in the late 1890s. Showing a much happier side of Munch’s work, this large scale painting (120 x 140 cm) has mainly remained in private collections in Scandinavia, and made only occasional appearances in a few European and US museum and galleries (as well as at Christie’s auction last year, where it was estimated at US$25-35 million – no buyer was found). A colourful scene depicting a young couple by a tree – a reference to Adam and Eve and the tree of life?
Check out this video featuring a selection of Åsgårdstrand paintings, as well as some black and white photographs of the Vestfold village (Norwegian only) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un4H1p1SmJ8
Roald Amundsen’s birthplace, Borge
Posted by admin in History and architecture on February 21, 2011
A great place to visit for anyone interested in one of Norway’s most famous sons – polar explorer Roald Amundsen. This is the house where he was born, the youngest of four brothers, on 16 July 1872. His family, which owned this farm and several others in the area, lived here for generations, and this place in Borge played a significant part in Amundsen’s upbringing. As a child the future explorer spent many a holiday here, watching the ships ply the River Glomma, already harbouring dreams of travelling to the far corners of the world. His childhood home has been preserved just like it was when Roald Amundsen lived there.
There is a cafe and a souvenir shop in the barn next door, which also houses a small conference centre. Guided tours in Norwegian, English and German every weekend during the summer (May to Aug), private tours can be arranged the rest of the year. Book via the tourist office in Fredrikstad (tel: 69 30 46 00)
Framveien 7, Torp (along Rv111 between Fredrikstad and Sarpsborg). Tel: 69 34 83 26, www.roaldamundsenminne.no (Norwegian only)
Eidet Timber Tunnel
Posted by admin in History and architecture on February 11, 2011
With so many big forests and the Glomma, Norway’s longest river, running through the county, it is little wonder that timber floating was a big industry in Østfold until well into the 1970s. But getting the timber down to Fredrikstad was not always easy. Two waterfalls in particular, Sølvstufossen and Sarpfossen, both near Sarspborg, were problematic, so the decision was taken to build a timber tunnel to avoid them. Construction started in 1906 and the tunnel was officially inaugurated on 18 September 1908. During busy years, such as 1953 for example, as many as 7 million timber stocks would travel through the 3km-long tunnel in the course of a year – over 300,000 a week. Up to 90 men would work at Eidet in season. With an incline of 21 metres, the tunnel, which runs between Isnesfjord and Eidet in Visterflo, was an innovative project, for which engineer Wilhelm Blakstad was later presented an honorary award by the Norwegian Engineer Association. The tunnel was bought by Fredrikstad Municipality in 1985, and is today a cultural monument.
Fishermen’s cabins at Kuvauen, Hvaler
Posted by admin in Photos and videos, Uncategorized on February 9, 2011
Did you know? A few facts about Østfold
Posted by admin in Uncategorized on February 9, 2011
- Østfold is home to Europe’s first ever marine national park. The Ytre Hvaler NP was opened in September 2009 (jointly with Koster NP in Sweden). It covers a surface of 354km2, most of it under water, and boasts unique coral reefs, as well as around 7,000 different marine species, including invertebrates, fishes, sharks and seals.
- Famous locals include Hollywood director Harald Zwart, jazz saxophonist Jan Garbarek, rally driver Petter Solberg, celebrity chef Eyvind Hellstrøm and artist Vebjørn Sand, among many others.
- Gamlebyen in Fredrikstad is one of Norway’s most popular man-made attractions, visited by hundreds of thousands every year.
- Østfold is among Norway’s oldest inhabited regions, and stunning rock carving sites, burial mounds and stone rings can all be found along Oldtidsveien, between Fredrikstad and Sarpsborg.
- Wildlife in Østfold’s forests includes moose, deer, red foxes, badgers, wild boars and even wolves.
- Østfold is a popular destination with anglers. There is much fish to be caught in the Glomma and the hundreds of lakes in the county, not least in Indre-Østfold. The Enningdal River in Halden is also one of the best rivers in Norway for salmon fishing.
- Østfold counts 25 manors (herregård), about half of all the manors found in Norway. Most of them date back to the 17th and 18th century, when Norway was under Danish rule.
- Rygge Airport in Østfold was formerly a military airport. Today it is Norway’s largest privately-operated airport, and one of Europe’s fastest growing. Last year 640,000 passengers travelled to/from Moss Lufthavn Rygge. The airport is now Norway’s fifth, and Oslo second largest by passenger numbers.
Winter in Skjebergsmarka
Posted by admin in Nature and the great outdoors, Photos and videos on February 5, 2011
