Norway Oslo Places trip reports

Frogner Park, Oslo for Vigeland’s circle of life installation

Clear skies over Oslo, Norway with a late-April temperature climbing to over 21C/70F made for a perfect day to walk through Frogner Park. The Vigeland Park sculpture installation consists of more than 200 stone and metal sculptures depicting people of all ages from infants to the elderly. Vigeland’s sculptures represent the circle of life.  The artist spent the last 20 years of his life from 1924-1943 creating pieces for what is currently the largest single-artist sculpture park in the world. 

Frogner Park was created when the city administration of Kristiania, as Olso was then named, purchased the private land of Frogner Manor in 1896 and created a public park, which opened in 1904. A stadium and a park bridge were constructed and opened in 1914 as part of the Jubilee Exhibition celebrating the 100th anniversary of Norway’s constitution.

American football game at Frogner Stadium (1914), Oslo, Norway – April 2023.

 

Frogner Park is Oslo’s largest city park and the number #1 visited attraction in Norway.

The Bridge

Mann og kvinne inne i en ring / Man and Woman inside a ring.

 

The Bridge in Frogner Park was initially laid out for the 1914 Jubilee Exhibition. Vigeland’s bronze sculptures were added in the 1940s.

The Bridge in Frogner Park. The first Vigeland sculptures on the Bridge were installed in 1940.

 

46 of 58 sculptures on The Bridge were installed during summer 1940. Nazi Germany had invaded and occupied Norway in April 1940.

Dansende ung kvinne / Young Woman Dancing. Apparently, Norwegian dreadlocks are not a new contemporary look.

 

Mann løfter kvinne foran seg. / Man lifts woman in front of him.

 

Synchronicity. Ung mann og kvinne danser / Young man and woman dancing.

 

Playfulness.

 

Mann bærer to små barn / Man carrying two small children. Control.

 

Embrace.

 

Sinnataggen, The Angry Boy is the best-known Vigeland bronze sculpture.

 

‘Mann sjonglerer med fire småbarn’ / ‘Man juggles four small children’ is another popular sculpture seen in the background of this photo.

 

The Fountain

The Fountain with no water in April 2023.

 

The Fountain sculpture close-up.

 

The Fountain, Vigeland Installation, Frogner Park, Oslo.

 

The Monolith

The Monolith is a 17-meter column depicting 121 figures.

Decorated Gate to the Monolith plaza.

 

The Monolith – Vigeland Installation, Frogner Park, Oslo.

 

 

 

 

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3 Comments

  • Marilyn B July 1, 2023

    Great photos. We were just there in June. Did you realize that the pavement surrounding the Fountain was a maze?

  • Ric Garrido July 5, 2023

    I did not realize there was a maze in the pavement. I only have one photo showing part of the pavement around the fountain and I can’t see enough to discern the maze pattern.

    I will be back in Oslo in October. Kelley really enjoyed our time in the Frogner district and I might get the chance to visit the park again.

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