Shortly after we arrived in Oslo early July, we decided to visit the Norwegian National Museum of Architecture. Alas, it opens again 23 September. So our take on the architecture of Oslo is tragically amateurish. That said, we’ve really loved the buildings here. You’ve already seen the recent ones: the Munch Museum, the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, and the Astrup-Fearnley Museum. (It doesn’t hurt that the last three reside in Oslo’s harbour, one of the prettiest we’ve ever seen.) So this post concentrates on older buildings.
We knew all about these new buildings because they have been much in the press. But we didn’t have a sense of what else to expect. Being, like most Americans, somewhat ignorant of European history, we did not know much about Norway in World War II. We assumed it had suffered damage from bombing raids. But it had not. Norway had originally declared itself neutral. Germany invaded in a surprise, coordinated raid in April 1940. The country was occupied until May 1945, although the Norwegians never formally surrendered and their king remained in exile in Britain. There was only one air attack during the war, by the British in September 1942, who attacked Gestapo headquarters in the Victoria Terrasse. It did some minor damage, but on the whole Oslo was spared.
So wherever you go in Oslo you can see a fantastic array of buildings from the 19th and early 20th centuries. We found some older wooden houses from the early 19th century just around the corner from our flat. These are on Damstredet, a lovely inclined street paved with cobblestones. They have pretty gardens, and a few sag (who wouldn’t at their age?), but look very cosy.
As for the other buildings in Oslo, we love their colors! And one of their characteristic features is a bevelled corner instead of a 90-degree angle (we believe the architectural term is ‘chamfered’). And this, at least to our eyes, makes them even more attractive.
We’ve only seen one of these places on the inside when we visited some friends last weekend. Were they as nice inside as outside? We don’t know if they are all as nice as our friends’, but suffice it to say that at least one of these minimalists thought he might cease meandering if he could live there!
