Kategori: Historical monument

Oscarsborg Fortress

Oscarsborg Fortress is a jewel in the Drøbak narrow. In summer, Oscarsborg is perfect for families and for those interested in nature, culture and history. Oscarsborg Fortress Museum presents the history of the place and organises guided tours. There are plenty of activities for children. A safari through the subterranean tunnels below the fortress, obstacle courses, bathing beaches and crab fishing.

The unique surroundings of the fortress provide a fantastic arena for the theatre, opera and concerts which are organised during the summer season. At Oscarsborg you will find an art gallery, exhibitions, hotel and a good selection of places to eat. In summer you can travel by ferry from Drøbak and Oslo, or arrive with your own boat to Oscarsborg Marina.

History

Akershus Fortress had been the defender of the capital Oslo/Christiania for hundred of years. In the sixteenth century there was a great deal of unrest in Europe and it became important to have a fortification further out from the capital. The Drøbak Sound was identified as a strategic position for defence. In 1640 King Christian IV in Copenhagen ordered a blockhouse to be built on the Southern Kaholmen, which was finished in 1643.

The state bought the two Kaholmen Islands in 1845. The planning began immediately and the construction works started in 1846. After the visit of King Oscar in 1855 the fortress was given the name Oscarsborg. However, already in the 1860’s the fortress was out of date, developments in artillery had been rapid and the technical revolution had created a transformation in the way warfare was conducted.

Originally the fortress Oscarsborg was created to resist attack from sea and not over land. To withstand attacks over land the fortress was extended from 1890. New gun batteries were placed on Kaholmen, Håøya and on both sides of the fjord. An underwater stone wall (jeté), minefield, torpedo battery and entrenchments was also built.

When the negotiations with Sweden took place in 1905, the Oscarsborg fortress was regarded as the strongest fortress in northern Europe, with a defensive line that stretched 10 km from the Heer Entrenchment in the east to the top of Håøya in the west.

On the 9th of April 1940 Oscarsborg Fortress endured its first real trial. The fortress delayed the German attack by sinking the heavy cruiser “Blücher”; the newest cruiser of Germany. This slowed the attack, which gave the King, Government and Parliament sufficient time to evacuate Oslo and later on take up the fight against the occupation of Norway.

After the Second World War the strategic importance of Oscarsborg reduced and the last fortification was ended on the 1st of January 1993 and in 2002 the fortress became finally abolished.

In 2004 the Parliament decided to create The National Fortifications Heritage(“Nasjonale festningsverk”) which has the responsibility for the maintenance of 14 historical fortresses, among them Oscarsborg Fortress.

Cultural arena

Oscarsborg is a unique cultural arena for opera and concerts throughout the summer season. This year has an exciting programme with an acoustic pop/rock festival, wandering theatre troupes and fantastic opera experiences in the courtyard throughout August – just to mention a few. Oscarsborg has an art gallery run by Avistegnerne in Drøbak. “Forsvarets Hus” (“Military House”) in Kommandantboligen shows how the Norwegian military is today.

Getting here

The island can be reached by boat from Drøbak all year and there are buses from Oslo to Drøbak with regular departures. During spring and summer months you may take the ferry B21/B22 from Oslo, Aker Brygge to Oscarsborg and Drøbak. Ferry scedules

 

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Kjeller Airport – one of the oldest airports in use

Kjeller Airport – one of the world's oldest airports.

Not far from Oslo, on the outskirts of Lillestrøm is Kjeller Airport. The place that gave Roald Amundsen Norway's first international pilot certificate in 1914, still offers pilot training. But for the average Joe, it might be more it tempting to stay grounded on soft grass with a view of the skies?

The airport for light aircrafts, Småflyhavna at Kjeller, welcomes you to pack a lunch and enjoy flying activity in historic settings, as long as you stay away from the still military areas, marked to not enter; “Adgang forbudt”.

The modest beginning

It started at Kjeller in 1912, just nine years after the world's first motorized flight, when the first plane arrived in boxes from France and was assembled at Kjeller. The first flight took place a week later and this was the forerunner of the Norwegian Armys Air Force, which was established in 1914. In 1913, maintenance and construction of aircraft began.

Throughout the years of war

World War I increased the allocation to the defense budget so Kjeller was developed and equipped for what turned into World War I. Nearly 100 buildings, of which 16 were sheds or hangars for planes, were erected by 1918.

During the interwar period, aircraft construction gained momentum. Aircraft types on the license were developed (one of these has been preserved and still flies at Kjeller to this day).

On April 9th 1940, the Germans bombed the airport base, before occupying it, making further expansions to the site. The aircraft factory became a maintenance base for German aircraft and engines, thus exposed to first, one American bomb attack in 1943, and then a British one in 1944.

 

From 1945 until today

After the war, the Armed Forces of Norway has continued to maintain aircraft and expanded its operations at Kjeller, in line with the aircraft operated by the Norwegian Air Force. Today, the business at Kjeller Airport is one of the largest workplaces in the municipality. In 1955 the civilian flying club, Nedre Romerike Flyklubb was founded and given permission to operate from the airport. Today, several organizations operate their activitis from the airport. They offer flight schools and basic training for pilots.

Enriched with a unique collection of old aircraft, the fflying club has set up a Veteran Aircraft Group that takes care of these and keeps them flying. About 20 of these aircraft are over 50 years old and are classified as cultural monuments.

Kjeller also has a self-build environment! The most modern constructions appear in the hangars – so, those who think that self-built planes consist of an old engine, some aluminum plates, worn-out tools, should stop by to see.

 

The historic Eidsvoll -Sundgata 3

The original Sundgaarden was located where Sundgt. 8, Dokkengården, is now, i.e. on the north side of Sundgata.

At some point, probably in the late 1850s, the property Nedre Sundgaarden was separated. It was located here, on the south side of Sundgata. Here is a house called Sundgaarden to this day, but this is a fairly new house that was put up in 1994-1996, after the original house burned down in June 1993.

The house that burned down was called Stefferudgården, after the owner of the business, Petter Stefferud. From the beginning it was probably also called Vengergården, since it was Jens A. Venger who set up the house, probably around 1870. In the 1870s, the Eidsivja Trade Association was based here, one of the two trade associations in Sundgaarden.

The other was the Workers' Trade Union, which was located just across the street, in Sundgt. 6. In 1909, the house was registered by Eidsvoll Meieri, but in 1920 they sold it to Lovise and Petter Stefferud. They had then run a men's outfit and shoe shop in rented premises in Gaardergården further down Vormaveien since 1918. 

Trandumforest

During the Second World War, executions took place in Trandumskogen in Ullensaker.

173 Norwegians, 15 Russians and 6 Britons were executed and buried in the forest.

136 Norwegians had their death sentences made public. The remaining 37 were executed without trial. The Russians who were shot were prisoners of war who had escaped from a prisoner transport. 5 of the 6 Britons who were executed in Trandum were caught for sabotage attempts at the heavy water plant in Rjukan. There were a total of 18 mass graves in Trandumskogen. Today, the forest is a place of remembrance for those who lost their lives there.

Trandum forest is a national monument. The memorial is made of  Iddefjord granite and conducted by Per Palle Storm. The memorial is written:

"I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM IN THE WAR IN NORWAY 1940 – 1945. Here in the forest Trandum 173 Norwegians, 15 Soviet and 6 Brite executed enemies."

Right behind is a name plate on the executed. 18 grave sites / places of the north of the memorial is marked by numbered stone cross.

Every 17 May morning will be held at the memorial monument.  

 

It is also the remains of a tank training ground, often called the tank firing range.

The course was built by the Germans during the Second World War. The shooting range consists of several large walls in reinforced concrete with openings, without a superstructure.

The walls, up to 10 meters high, stand at intervals of a few meters, and the course ends in a rampart . The track is approx. 300 meters long. The walls were to act as a large silencer for practice shooting, as well as to stop boom shots. Although the walls have some marks from such boom shots, the intention was to shoot through all the openings to hit the embankment at the end. The tank shooting range is accessible to the public, and is located close to the memorial in Trandumskogen, which has been set up in memory of those who were shot here during the war. 

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