Frognerkilen is a bay in the inner

Oslofjord The Oslofjord (, ; en, Oslo Fjord) is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the and lighthouses and down to in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the Nor ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, east of the

Bygdøy Bygdøy or Bygdø is a peninsula situated on the western side of Oslo, Norway. Administratively, Bygdøy belongs to the borough of Frogner; historically Bygdøy was part of Aker Municipality and became part of Oslo in 1948. Bygdøy is a popular ...

peninsula. Its name stems from the neighbourhood

Frogner Frogner is a residential and retail borough in the West End of Oslo, Norway, with a population of 59,269 as of 2020. In addition to the original Frogner, the borough incorporates Bygdøy, Uranienborg and Majorstuen. The borough is named after ...

, a name which was taken from a farm. It was formerly known, with

Bestumkilen Bestumkilen is a bay in Lysakerfjorden in the inner Oslofjord area of Norway. Located west of the Bygdøy peninsula and east of Vækerø, it is bordered by the islet Killingen in the southwest and the mouth of the river Hoffselva at Sjølyst in ...

, under the name of Ladegaardsfjordene. This stems from older times, when Bygdøy was an island, named Ladegaardsøen. Bygdøy later became a peninsula due to

post-glacial rebound Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound a ...

, separating Bestumkilen from Frognerkilen. Propositions to reconnect Bestumkilen and Frognerkilen through a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

were made in 1928 and 1937, but not carried out. It was an important shipping port for timber in the 17th and 18th centuries, but today a large part of the bay is used as a harbour for leisure boats. During the winter, Frognerkilen was used as a venue for

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australi ...

—from 1875 to the 1920s—as well as

speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors racing, race each other in travelling a certain distance on Ice skate, skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marath ...

in the pioneer days before 1900. A skating competition between

Axel Paulsen Axel Paulsen (18 July 1855 – 9 February 1938) was a Norwegian figure skater and speed skater. He invented the figure skating Axel jump and held the world title in speed skating from 1882 to 1890. In 1976 he was inducted into the World Figure ...

and

Renke van der Zee Renke () is a small village on the right bank of the Sava, Sava River in the Municipality of Litija in central Slovenia. The area is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola. It is now included with the rest of the municipality in the Cent ...

from the Netherlands on Frognerkilen in 1885, when van der Zee challenged Paulsen for his title "amateur champion of the world", attracted approximately 30,000 spectators. Kristiania Skøiteklub had Frognerkilen as its competition arena until

Frogner stadion Frogner stadion is a sports stadium in Oslo, Norway, which has artificial ice in the winter for speed skating and bandy. The artificial grass is used in the summer for soccer and American football. It is located close to the Frogner Park, between ...

was opened in 1901. Frognerkilen was also a popular site of boat sports. The

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...

club

Christiania RK Christiania Roklub is a rowing club from Oslo, Norway. Established in 1878, it is based in Frognerkilen in the Oslofjord, not far from Skarpsno. Its characteristic club house is called "Kongen" ('The King'), and was erected in 1925. Well-know ...

had its headquarters at the mainland, in a locality known as " Kongen" ('The King'), whereas the

Royal Norwegian Yacht Club The Royal Norwegian Yacht Club ( no, Kongelig Norsk Seilforening, KNS) is a yacht club in Oslo, Norway. The club was founded in 1883 as country-wide organisation with affiliated local yacht clubs. In 1884, it was granted the right for members ...

had its headquarters at the opposite shore of Frognerkilen, in a locality known as "Dronningen" ('The Queen'). Frognerkilen was formerly trafficked by

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

; one ferry sailed between the railway station at

Skarpsno Skarpsno is a neighborhood in Frogner borough in Oslo, Norway. The area is located near Frognerkilen. Skarpsno was a former ferry landing site with traffic to Bygdøy, and a storage yard for timber. It is served by the tram station Skarpsno (s ...

and

Oscarshall Oscarshall Palace is a ''maison de plaisance'' located in the small fjord Frognerkilen on Bygdøy in Oslo, Norway. History The palace was built from 1847 to 1852 by the Danish architect Johan Henrik Nebelong on commission from King Oscar I of ...

at Bygdøy, and the other sailed between Skillebekk and Kongen. Also, Frognerkilen was probably the site where ''Fiskerlivets farer'', depicting perils at sea, was filmed. Released in 1908, it is considered to be the Norwegian drama film.

References

{{coord, 59, 54, 43.77, N, 10, 41, 42.22, E, source:nowiki_region:NO_scale:4000, display=title Oslofjord Sports venues in Oslo Speed skating venues in Norway Harness racing venues in Norway