Offisiell reiseguide for området rundt Oslo
"Blücher" was a German cruiser that took part in the German invasion of Norway and was sunk on 9 April 1940 in Drøbaksundet. Blücher was sunk by the batteries and torpedoes at Oscarsborg fortress and one of the anchors was raised and unveiled in Badeparken in 1990. The anchor is located right next to the bust of Colonel Birger Eriksen in the Kirkeparken, in the Bathing Park in Drøbak.
Did you know that all mail addressed to Santa Claus, Norway ends up in Drøbak? Letters to Babbo Natale, Hoteiosho, Papai Noel, Viejo Pascuero, Dun Che Lao Ren, Père Noël, Father Christmas, Weihnachtsmann or Pai Natal, wishing for anything from material gifts to a better world – all find their way to this tiny cozy little village, only 30 minutes south of Oslo.
In January 1988, Eva and Willy Johansen opened Tregaardens Christmas house, located on the main square of Drøbak. The media was rife with news about this great new building devoted to spark the Christmas spirit all year around.
Today it´s open year around and you can find all kinds of Christmas decorations, some also designed by Eva her self.
In this yellow wooden house you also find Santa’s Post Office, over the years the norwegian Santa Claus has received approximately 500 000 letters to his address, 1440 Drøbak.
Here, both young and old get the opportunity to post their own Christmas letter, stamped with an official Santa Claus mark.
”Christmas is not a trend, it is a tradition” says Eva Johansen. Throughout the years, she has maintained the job opening, reading and answering letters.
In walking distance from the square, you find Drøbak’s harbor where you can snap a picture in front of the famous Santa Sign outside the Tourist Office.
Drøbak is also a great place to go christmas shopping, eat traditional norwegian christmas food or just wander around through the cozy streets with characteristic wooden houses.
The little town of Drøbak offers a Christmas atmosphere all year round, but embraces the spirit full on as the season builds up towards the holidays.
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Dutch ships came to fetch Norwegian timber, but they also brought trade goods from many different countries to Norway. However, the origins of Son goes back even further. Inside the mouth of the river Såna, at the bottom of the Bay of Son, a trading place was established in the Middle Ages, and perhaps already in the Viking Age.
The Oslofjord was called Zoon Water, which testifies to the importance of the fjord to the Dutch. Several of the buildings in Son are from this heyday, such as the trading house Thornegården from 1641, the tobacco spinning mill Spinderigården from the 18th century and Huitfeltgården from the 19th century, where Chr. M. Falsen wrote the draft of Norway's constitution (according to Sigrid Undset and Nils Kjær).
WATCH THE VIDEO about the history of Son city.
Son's growth stagnated after 1720 when Moss became a larger and more important trading place. At the beginning of the 20th century (1900-1910), Son was an artists' town like several of the towns along the coast.
Son also has a long tradition of boat building.
The narrow-gauge railway "Tertitten" came in 1898 to Skulerud, which was the terminus. Skulerud became an important hub between railways, canals and eventually buses.
The railway's traffic base was mainly forestry and agricultural products. Timber was driven to Skulerud and from there floated to Halden. Interconnection with DS Turisten also became a popular tourist attraction such as "The Great Round Trip".
The track was closed in 1960. Long before the railway came to Skulerud, the place was an important junction between road and waterway. Together with agriculture and forestry, Skulerud was an industrial site with rafting, a steam saw, a tannery and a lathe. Work is now underway to re-establish the railway environment at Skulerud. This has been made possible through the National Antiquities' conservation program for technical and industrial heritage. In 2016, part of the railway line at Skulerud was fully renovated. The forge looks the same on the outside as before, but the inside is furnished as a coastal cabin. On the site is the museum "Isbingen" with over 100 objects from the floating period. The timber crane has been restored. There is a service center on site.
On today's Skulerud you can start your journey through the Haldenkanalen. There is a launch ramp, guest jetty, service house, and you can even spend the night at the coastal hut, Smia. There are also plenty of parking spaces here. Here you also have the option to empty the boat's sanitary system. In the "Station area" is Skulerud Grendehus, which can be rented for small and large events.
The Geology Center in Slemmestad has an exhibition in the Trilobox containging fossils, rocks and minerals. A model shows the bedrock of Slemmestad which has a unique geology that we find only 3 places in the world.
In the outdoors, you can find octopus fossils, trilobites and snails that lived over 400 million years ago.
Slemmestad is a central part of the Oslo field and has a particularly complex geology. Next to Kolsås, this is probably the place in Norway most used for geological studies. Here you will find in a small area rich deposits of fossils and a wide variety of rocks from the earth's ancient times.
The fossils, which are perhaps the most fascinating, are found almost everywhere. You just need to know what to look for! The fossils here in the area date from the Cambrian, Ordovician and Silurian periods, a period from 541 million to 419 million years ago. At that time, Slemmestad's seabed was in a relatively shallow sea. Here it was teeming with animals and plants. Some are similar to those we know today, while others look completely foreign.
The most famous fossils from Slemmestad are squid and trilobites. The trilobites were very common arthropods related to shrimp and crayfish. Along with them lived octopuses, snails and sea lilies. Most notable in recent years are the "football pitch fossils" nedt to Slemmestad Ungdomsskole. It is a relatively new and unique discovery: a gigantic petrified seabed that contains thousands of octopus fossils. In retrospect, a smaller part of the same area has been uncovered behind the local gas station. Both surfaces are full of squid and are a fascinating sight.
We recommend going to Slemmestad to see unique world-class stones and fossils. Visit us at the geology center for tips on where to go.
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Kystkultursenteret (the coastal culture centre) is beautifully located in the middle of Son. The centre consists of a museum dock with old boats, exhibitions, a museum shop, a goldsmith and more. Jostushuset tells the story of a fisherman’s home in Son.
The smithy has changing exhibitions about life in Son in the old days.
From 1650, Nesset has been referred to as a port and loading place, where timber was loaded onto ships and sent to Holland or England. The settlement at Nesset in the innermost part of the Bunnefjord has a rich history characterized by small farms, shipping, wood and ice exports and fishing. At the end of the 1870s, steamships arrived, and with them new opportunities. The steamships made Nesset an important hub in Follo, and passenger traffic created the modern Nesset. Travellers from all over Follo came to Nesset by horse and carriage or car, and continued from there by ship to the capital.
The first passenger boat to visit Nesset was the wheeled boat Bjørn Farmand, built in 1855 and named after Harald Fairhair's son. Nesset has also had a general store established by Finn Eriksen in 1936 and a bakery started by Johs. Fredriksen
At the bus station at Nesset, a license was granted by the King as early as 1804 to run an inn here. Since then, Nesset Bad and Restaurant, known as "The White Horse", has been a popular meeting place where many young people in Follo found their spouse. The restaurant burned down in the 1960s, but the memories live on.
Oscarsborg Fortress is one of the most important historical fortifications in Norway. The Kaholmen Islands has been used for military purposes since 1640’s because of their strategic position in the Drøbak Sound where the Oslofjord is at its narrowest.
The task of the museum is to present the history of the fortress, with emphasis on the incidents of the 9th of April 1940. It also conveys the history of the Coast Artillery and its technical developments. The Coast Artillery was abolished as a self-contained service in 2002.
The exhibitions of the Museum
The various exhibitions show the different stages in the history of the fortress and the Coast Artillery.
The principal exhibitions are located in the eastern part of the main fort.
The old casemates in the outer building contain exhibitions that present the recent history of the coast artillery.
On North Kaholmen the Torpedo battery which gave “Blücher” the deathblows early in the morning on the 9th of April 1940 can be visited.
Guided tours
The Museum offers guided tours throughout the year. The public can choose themed tours last- ing from half an hour to two hours: Standard Tour, “1940”, Torpedo Battery, Older History, Artilleristic,
Mess History, the Defence House/ Commandant House. Tours can be combined but we recommend a total duration of no more than two hours. The admittance to the museum is free, but charges apply for guided tours.
See www.oscarsborgmuseum.no for more details.
Opening hours and contact
The Museum is open every day (except for festival days) from 10 o’clock till 16 o’clock. The Torpedo Battery and the Fire Control Museum is open only in connection with guided tours.
Booking office of the Museum will serve the accomodations for guided tours. The office opening hours are every weekday from 09.30 until 14.30.
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The artis says "I saw the potential in the wall along Rådhushagen when I held a workshop with young people at Atlas in the autumn of 2020, so when I was asked to do something with it less than a year later, I was more than happy to say yes!
I really enjoyed working on this project and met lots of lovely people who stopped by for a chat while I was painting.
A big thank-you also goes out to the young people who helped decorate the “ugly” generator box."
Rådhushagen has become a colourful and cozy little spot in Jessheim.
Infomation from Visit Greater Oslo