Oslo is a city of culture and it is characterized by numerous museums and galleries that cover various areas of interest. The collections are dedicated mainly to contemporary art, while some put their main focus on the history of Norway, the culture of the first settlements, as well as their customs and living habits. Numerous museums have interactive rooms where visitors can experience, on an authentic boat, the northern expeditions.
The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo is a Norwegian national museum established on 1st July 2003 by the merging of The Museum of Architecture, The Museum of Art Industry, National Galleries, The Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, The Museum of Contemporary Arts and The National Gallery of Norway. The National Museum collects, preserves, displays and conveys the largest collection of art, architecture and design in the country. Its collection contains up to 400 thousand works of art.
The Nobel Peace Center is situated in the heart of Oslo and is an unavoidable site for many tourist photographs. It is an independent foundation, financed through entry tickets, private donations and state stipends. His Majesty King Harald V of Norway opened the Nobel Peace Center in 2005, and the opening ceremony was attended by both the Norwegian and Canadian royal families. Visited by around 250 thousand people every year, it is a place where you can learn about various Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, their achievements, as well as the unbelievable life story of Alfred Nobel.
The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History is one of the oldest and biggest outdoor museums, situated on the Bygdøy Peninsula. Established in 1894 by librarian and historian Hans Aalla, it was first open for the public in 1901. The museum houses 160 authentic historical buildings from all of Norway, the oldest of which is the “Gol Stave” church, dating back to the XIII century. The Church, one of five medieval buildings in the museum, includes the Rauland village house from XIV century and an apartment house dating back to the year 1864.
The Holmenkollen Ski Museum is located beneath the ski piste on Homenkollen hill. It was first opened in 1923 and it is the oldest museum dedicated to skiing in the world. The museum exhibits allow you to experience 4 thousand years of exciting ski history. The founder of the museum, Norwegian architect Hjalmar Welhaven, first displayed his own collection of antique and historical skis. Today, you can witness skiers and skis dating back to the Viking Era, and you can even see the skis used in polar expeditions by Fridtjofa Nansen and Roald Amundsen.
