Page 626 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Europe

624  SC ANDINA VIA

2 Opera House Aker Brygge, an old shipyard, is
now modern leisure complex
Kirsten Flagstads Plass 1. Tel 21 42 21
21.  Bjørvika. @ 32, 34, 70, 504. with shops, restaurants, bars,
Open 10am–11pm Mon–Fri, cinemas, and a theater.
11am–11pm Sat & Sun. 7 8 daily Continue along the Havne-
(Sat & Sun in English). ∑ operaen.no promenade and you enter
vibrant Tjuvholmen. The draw
The home of the Norwegian here is modern art. The most
National Opera and Ballet is renowned gallery is the Renzo
situated right on the waterfront Piano-designed Astrup Fearnley
at Bjovika, and much of this Museum, which houses works
building is positioned in or by Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, and
under the sea. Its defining Takashi Murakami.
feature is its sloping roof, which Oslo’s Nationaltheatret, overlooking its
is covered in white marble and 5 Kongelige Slottet attractive, busy piazza
granite, creating the illusion of
glistening ice. There are three Drammensveien 1. Tel 22 04 87 00.  6 Nationaltheatret
main performance spaces, and Nationaltheatret. @ 30, 31, 32, 34, 45, Johanne Dybwads Plass 1. Tel 22 00
concerts are also held in the 81, 83. v 11, 13, 17, 18, 19. Open end 14 00.  Nationaltheatret. @ 30, 31,
foyer or on the roof. Jun–mid-Aug: 6am–9pm daily. & 8 32, 34, 45, 81, 83. v 11, 13, 17, 18, 19.
compulsory. 7 =
Open Aug–mid-Jun: daily. 8 (call in
3 Rådhus and advance). 0 =
Aker Brygge The Neoclassical Royal Built in 1899, Norway’s National
Palace stands in the
Rådhuset i Oslo, Fridtjof freely accessible Palace Theater is Neoclassical in style,
Nansens Plass. Tel 23 46 16 gardens (Slottsparken). and flanked by imposing statues
00.  Nationaltheatret, Without gates or walls, of the nation’s two greatest
Stortinget. @ 30, 31, 32, 45, the gardens symbolize 19th-century playwrights –
81, 83. v 12, 13, 19. Open Norway’s “open” Henrik Johan Ibsen and
daily. Closed public hols. monarchy. The palace Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, who is
& (May–Sep). 7 = was built in 1825–48 little known outside Scandinavia
∑ oslokommune.no for King Karl Johan. these days, but was a prolific
Every day at 1:30pm, writer of plays and poetry
Inaugurated in 1950 the ceremony of the during the 19th century. The
to commemorate changing of the guard theater has four stages, and a
Oslo’s 900th year, takes place. On Norway’s varied program, with all perfor-
the Rådhus (City Hall) National Day on May mances given in Norwegian.
is the city’s most 17, the palace Visitors can make special
conspicuous landmark Viking warrior detail becomes the focal arrangements to have a guided
and has become a from Rådhus main doors point of celebra tions. tour of the interior.
popular symbol of
civic pride. The colorful murals,
sculptures, and frescoes inside Henrik Johan Ibsen (1828–1906)
the building celebrate Born in the southern town of Skien, the young Ibsen was brought
Norwegian artistic and up in poverty, after his timber merchant father suffered bankruptcy
intellectual achievements, as in 1836. Managing to escape, he lived first in Kristiania and then
well as those in exploration. Bergen, where he began writing and producing his first dramas.
The Rådhus is famous as the In 1864, he left for Germany and Italy, where
place where the Nobel Peace he spent the next 27 years. His most
Prize is presented. Past recipients famous plays include Peer Gynt (1867),
have included Mother Teresa A Doll’s House (1879), and Hedda Gabler
and Barack Obama. (1890). Regarded as one of the
founders of modern drama, Ibsen’s
4 Aker Bygge, legacy to the European stage was
his introduction of themes such as
Tjuvholmen, and the alienation of the individual from
Astrup Fearnley a morally bankrupt society, loss of
Museet religious faith, and women’s desire
to free themselves of their roles as
Astrup Fearnley Museet, wives and mothers – a clear
Strandpromenaden 2. Tel 22 93 60 60. departure from the unchallenging
 Nationaltheateret. @ 21, 32, 33, theater of the time. After returning
54, 122, 129, 132. v 12, 16. to Norway, he died in 1906. Playwright Henrik Johan Ibsen
Open Tue–Sun. ∑ afmuseet.no

For hotels and restaurants see p632 and p633

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