1914 Jubilee Exhibition
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The 1914 Jubilee Exhibition took place in
Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
,
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 ...
, from May 5 to October 11, 1914. It marked the centennial anniversary of the 1814
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...
and focused on industry and agriculture. The main location was the grounds of
Frogner Manor Frogner Manor (''Frogner Hovedgård'') is a manor house and former estate in today's borough of Frogner in Oslo, Norway. The estate comprised most of the modern borough of Frogner, which has been named after the estate, and Frognerseteren wit ...
(the site of the current
Frogner Park Frogner Park ( no, Frognerparken) is a public park located in the West End borough of Frogner in Oslo, Norway. The park is historically part of Frogner Manor, and the manor house is located in the south of the park, and houses Oslo Museum. Both ...
), in addition to a subsection on shipping 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 ...
at
Frognerkilen Frognerkilen is a bay in the inner Oslofjord of Norway, east of the Bygdøy peninsula. Its name stems from the neighbourhood Frogner, a name which was taken from a farm. It was formerly known, with Bestumkilen, under the name of Ladegaardsfjord ...
. The exhibition opened on 15 May, and was closed on 11 October 1914. The total number of visitors was more than 1.5 million. On 11 October, the final day, more than 100,000 visitors visited the exhibition.


Planning

The idea for the exhibition is credited to architect
Torolf Prytz Torolf Prytz (26 December 1858 – 16 June 1938) was a Norwegian architect, goldsmith and politician for the Liberal Party. He led the goldsmith company ''J. Tostrup'' of Oslo from 1890 to 1938, having inherited it from his grandfather-in-law ...
, in a proposal to the board of in 1907. Prytz became chairman of the planning committee, and later also chairman of the exhibition. Various location alternatives were discussed, including
Hovedøya Hovedøya is one of several small islands off the coast of Oslo, Norway in the Oslofjord. The island is quite small, no more than 800 metres across in any direction, the total area is 0,4 square kilometre. It is well known for its lush and green ...
, but it was finally decided on Frogner. In August 1911 the Kristiania
city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
granted a funding of to the exhibition, in addition to extra funding for street modifications.


Exhibition pavilions

The park area was designed by architect
Josef Nickelsen Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) *Josef (film), ''Josef'' (film), a 2011 Croatian war film *Musik Josef, a Japanese manufacturer of musical instruments {{disambiguation ...
, and leading architects were
Henrik Bull Henrik Bull (28 March 1864 – 2 June 1953) was a Norwegian architect and designer. Among his works are the Paulus Church at Grünerløkka in Oslo, the National Theater, the Historical Museum in Oslo, and the Government Building. He also d ...
,
August Nielsen August Bendix Christofer Nielsen (7 May 1877 – 21 February 1956) was a Norwegian architect. August Nielsen was born in the village of Vik at Sømna in Nordland, Norway. He was a son of politician Sivert Nielsen (1823–1904) and Jonethe Cor ...
, Rudolf Emanuel Jacobsen and
Adolf Jensen Adolf Jensen (12 January 1837 – 23 January 1879) was a German pianist, composer and music teacher. Biography Jensen was born in Königsberg to a family of musicians. Although largely self-taught, he also had instruction from Louis Ehlert, ...
. The exhibition showcased developments in Norway over the last 100 years. Among the pavilions were the Industry Hall, the Machinery Hall, restaurants, and more than hundred other buildings. Two locomotives were on display, one constructed at
Hamar Jernstøperi og Mekaniske Verksted Hamar is a town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the traditional region of Hedmarken. The town is located on the shores of Mjøsa, Norway's largest la ...
, the other at
Thunes Mekaniske Verksted Thunes Mekaniske Værksted A/S, Thune for short, was a Norwegian manufacturing company that among other things built locomotives. The production facilities were last located at Skøyen. History Thune traced its roots to a workshop founded by And ...
. Kværner Bruk won a gold medal for their contributions, which included construction elements of the Machinery hall.
Lilleborg Lilleborg AS is a major hygiene and Washing, cleaning article company in Norway, owned by the Orkla Group. It was established in 1833, and was one of the first companies in Norway to start manufacturing brand, brand name products. It currently o ...
's soap bubble fountain, which was placed in the Industry Hall, attracted some attention. A department of agriculture included a farm with barn and living house, in addition to separate exhibition buildings for forestry and agriculture. Among the exhibitions was a village with 80 inhabitants brought in from
Kongo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...
; it was called the Congo Village. Other amusements were a 700 meter long roller coaster, the Tanagra theatre, and . Another display was
Hjalmar Welhaven Hjalmar Welhaven (26 December 1850 – 18 April 1922) was a Norwegian architect, palace manager, and sportsman. Biography Personal life Welhaven was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was the son of writer Johan Sebastian Welhaven ...
's large collection of skis. A maritime department was located in Frognerkilen, at Skarpsno. Most of the pavilions were demolished after the exhibition, with a few exceptions.


Events

The exhibition opened on 5 May 1914, and was met with great interest from the public. Among the performances in "Sangerhallen" was
Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...
's , and a new cantata written by Nils Collett Vogt with music by Christian Sinding. Actor Johan Fahlstrøm recited the national hymn "
Ja, vi elsker dette landet "" (; en, "Yes, we love this country") is the Norwegian national anthem. Originally a patriotic song, it came to be commonly regarded as the ''de facto'' national anthem of Norway in the early 20th century, after being used alongside "" since th ...
". The exhibition was declared open by King Haakon. In the evening a dinner was given for 1,400 invited guests, which included 300 mayors from various municipalities. Several large gatherings took place during the exhibition period. At one assembly the restaurant served dinner for 4,000 guests. On 4 July a dinner was served for 2,600 guests. In July the exhibition faced some unexpected problems. A tram strike reduced the accessibility drastically. At the outbreak of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
the Tyrolean orchestra and a German brass band had to leave, heading for the front. On 8 August the number of visitors was below 2,000 for the first time, but from then on the daily number of visitors increased again. On 4 October there were 30,000 visitors. On the closing day, Sunday, 11 October, there were more than 100,000 visitors, and a
fireworks Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...
ceremony ended the exhibition. During the whole period, the exhibition had total of about 1.5 million visits.


The Congo Village-exhibition

The Kongo village was regarded as popular and exotic; "the public appeared as they were mesmerized. All day they could stand and stare at the activities of the around 80 aborigins"; spectators "let themselves mesmerize by the fantastic African village", according to Sverre Bjørstad Graff. (At the time there probably were not any Africans who lived in
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, but at traveling fairs () Africans were occasionally encountered.) The exhibition also led to a heated newspaper debate. During the planning stage of the exhibition, a ''
Dagbladet ''Dagbladet'' (lit.: ''The Daily Magazine'') is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally ''Dagbladet'' is considered the main liberal newspa ...
'' article said that it would be preferable with a large open-air theatre in the entertainment area rather than a "gang of filthy, begging rascals from the fever swamps of Zulu".
Benno Singer Bernhard Henry "Benno" Singer (28 February 1875 – 17 May 1934) was a Hungarian-born British entertainment administrator. He was born in Budapest, and settled in London from the age of eleven. He was married twice, first to Evelyn Mary Davis ...
was the man behind this exhibition, and he "clearly knew what was required to catch the public's attention", according to Graff. The village's inhabitants were from
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ðž ...
. Reactions to the Congo Village include the 2014 "construction of a copy of the Congo Village that stood in
Frogner Park Frogner Park ( no, Frognerparken) is a public park located in the West End borough of Frogner in Oslo, Norway. The park is historically part of Frogner Manor, and the manor house is located in the south of the park, and houses Oslo Museum. Both ...
in 1914", according to ''
Dagbladet ''Dagbladet'' (lit.: ''The Daily Magazine'') is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally ''Dagbladet'' is considered the main liberal newspa ...
''. The constructors of the 2014 "village", will be artists Mohammed Ali Fadlabi and Lars Cuzner.Eg er rasist, men ...
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References


Further reading

* {{List of world's fairs in Nordic countries Exhibitions 1914 in Norway 1910s in Oslo 1914 in science