Kristian Magdalon Bing (30 May 1862 – 6 July 1935) was a Norwegian jurist, author and mountaineer. He is commonly credited for re-introducing the tradition of celebrating

Olsok Olsok ("Olaf's Wake" or "Olaf's Vigil") is a national day of celebration on July 29 in the Nordic countries of Norway and the Faroe Islands, and also in the provinces of Härjedalen in Sweden and Savonlinna in Finland. Background King Olaf II H ...

(1897) and reviving it as an annual ceremony commemorating the death of St. Olav at Stiklestad.

Biography

Bing was born in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

, Norway. His parents were Lars Hess Bing (1833-1870) and Christine Marie Ingebrechtsen (1837-1935). He father was a judge in

Sunnhordland Sunnhordland is a traditional district in the western region of Norway. The district consists of the southern coastal regions of the old Hordaland county (now part of Vestland county). It includes the areas that surround the mouth of the Hardan ...

. Bing earned a law degree and starting practicing in his hometown in 1891 after serving a year as editor at the newspaper ''

Bergens Tidende ''Bergens Tidende'' is Norway's fifth-largest newspaper, and the country's largest newspaper outside Oslo. ''Bergens Tidende'' is owned by the public company Schibsted ASA. Norwegian owners held a mere 42% of the shares in Schibsted at the end ...

''. He was also a writer perhaps most associated with the work,
Guttekorpsene i Bergen
' from 1889. Bing was a pioneer in climbing in Norway, and made several first ascents of mountains and glaciers. He was a capable mountaineer and the first on a number of peaks and glaciers between

Finnmark Finnmark (; se, Finnmárku ; fkv, Finmarku; fi, Ruija ; russian: Финнмарк) was a county in the northern part of Norway, and it is scheduled to become a county again in 2024. On 1 January 2020, Finnmark was merged with the neighbouri ...

and

Folgefonna Folgefonna is a collective term for three plateau glaciers in the Hardanger region of Vestland county, Norway. They are located on the Folgefonna peninsula in the municipalities of Ullensvang, Kvinnherad, and Etne. The three glaciers are: * Nord ...

. The ice phenomenon Bings Gryte at the

Jostedalsbreen Jostedal Glacier or is the largest glacier in continental Europe. It is in Vestland county in Western Norway. Jostedalsbreen lies in the municipalities of Luster, Sogndal, Sunnfjord, and Stryn. The highest peak in the area is Lodalskåpa at a ...

glacier is named after him. In 1910, he discovered the

rock carvings at Vingen The Vingen rock carvings ( no, Vingenfeltet) are a set of petroglyphs located along the Frøysjøen strait in Bremanger Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. They are located about straight east of the village of Berle and about south of th ...

Sogn og Fjordane Sogn og Fjordane (; English: "Sogn and Fjordane") was, up to 1 January 2020, a county in western Norway, when it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland, the cou ...

. These were the first rock carvings with hunting motifs discovered in Norway. He was looking for a site he where he could access hydropower from the waterfalls in the area. In 1913, Kristian Bing purchased the property. He retained rights to several large waterfalls but subsequently sold the site where most rock carvings are located to the

Bergen Museum The University Museum of Bergen ( no, Universitetsmuseet i Bergen) is a university museum in Bergen, Norway. The museum features material related to anthropology, archaeology, botany, geology, zoology, art, and cultural history. History The Univ ...

in 1923.

Personal life

In 1915, he married Unni Mette Ingebrigtsen (1878-1966). He was the grandfather of law professor and science fiction author,

Jon Bing Jon Bing (30 April 1944 – 14 January 2014) was a Norwegian writer and law professor at the Norwegian Research Center for Computers and Law (NRCCL), and the Faculty of Law at the University of Oslo. Bing was considered a pioneer in internationa ...

Selected works

*''Guttekorpsene i Bergen'' (1889) *''Dræggens linjekorps historie'' (1906) *''Nordnæs linjekorps og bataljons historie'' (1908) *''Olsoktradition'' (1919)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bing, Kristian Magdalon 1862 births 1935 deaths Lawyers from Bergen Norwegian mountain climbers 20th-century Norwegian writers Sportspeople from Bergen Journalists from Bergen