PinayOdyssey

What about a nice summer visit to “the world’s largest sculpture park made by a single artist”?

Thanks to my wonderful, wonderful hosts, Petter and Mirry, I got the chance to stroll along this magnificent park. The Vigeland Park, named after the artist, Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943), is one of Norway’s most visited attractions. There are about 200 sculptures in the park, and the architectural layout was designed by Vigeland himself. It took a decade to finish Vigeland, ie, from 1939-1949, and what a splendid outcome it was! Just imagine a park being built during the World Wars.

Another interesting trivia about Vigeland: He designed the medal for the Nobel Peace Prize. 😉

Here are some of the statues and sights in the park:

“Most of the sculptures are placed in five units along an 850 meter long axis: The Main gate, the Bridge with the Children’s playground, the Fountain, the Monolith plateau and the Wheel of Life.”

Now we go to the Monolith Hall, where there are “several of the original plaster models to the 36 granite sculptures on the Monolith plateau, as well as the Monolith itself. This sculpture was carved in one piece (hence the name Monolith), but it was first modelled in clay, and then casted in plaster in three parts, as displayed in the museum today.”

At the farthest end of the park is the Wheel of Life. “In the axis further west from the Monolith is a Sundial, completed around 1930, and finally the Wheel of life, modelled in 1933-34. The wheel is a symbol of eternity and is here executed as a garland of women, children and men holding on to each other. In a sense, this sculpture sums up the dramatic theme of the entire park: Man’s journey from cradle to grave, through happiness and grief, through fantasy, hope and wishes of eternity.”

You can also catch a glimpse of the Holmenkollen where the Holmenkollbakken is located. The Holmenkollbakken is a large ski jump hill with “a hill size of HS134, a construction point of K-120, and a capacity for 30,000 spectators.”

What I like about the sculpture park is that nature surrounds it. There are lakes and trees and grasses to keep the ambiance fresh and cool.

Just like many parks in Scandinavia, entrance to Vigeland is free and it’s open 24/7. 😉 How I wish we have big and entertaining parks like this in PH. More of Oslo City in my next post! See you 😉

More info about the park here: http://www.vigeland.museum.no/en/vigeland-park/vigeland-park