St. Hanshaugen Park is a large public park located just north of the city center of

Oslo, Norway 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 i ...

. It is a classic urban park located within the borough of

St. Hanshaugen St. Hanshaugen (Norwegian for St. John's Hill) is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. Area It has a triangular shape, with its northern border just north of the buildings of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and Ullevål University Hos ...

, which was named for the park which lies within its center. St. Hanshaugen Park is situated between Geitmyrsveien, Colletts gate, Ullevålsveien and Knud Knudsens plass. Nearby are

Bislett Stadium Bislett Stadium ( no, Bislett stadion) is a sports stadium in Oslo, Norway. Bislett is Norway's most well known sports arena internationally, with 15 speed skating world records and more than 50 track and field world records having been set here ...

and

Alexander Kiellands plass Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

Description

St. Hanshaugen Park has a mixture of intimate and romantic areas together with rolling hills which provide picturesque and scenic views to downtown Oslo. The park has a reflecting pool covering a reservoir. Through the years, a number of statues were also placed in the park. The park also has a groundskeepers house, an artificial creek and a pavilion on the square Festplassen. St. Hanshaugen Park has a stage used for outdoor concerts and entertainment which is quite popular. St. Hanshaugen Park is also the site of ''Kongene på Haugen festivalen'', an annual local music festival. St Hanshaugen map 1917

History

The park location was originally a bare rock hill. During the 1840s, inhabitants of Oslo began to use the site of the future park as location for their Midsummer Eve bonfire. St. Hans is a Norwegian term for Midsummer Eve while haugen (from Old Norse ''haugr'') refers to a hill. Fritz Heinrich Frølich (1807-1877) first initiated development of St. Hanshaugen Park around 1850. Frølich was a successful banker who served as director of

Christiania Bank Christiania Bank og Kreditkasse, branded domestically as Kreditkassen or K-Bank and internationally as Christiania Bank was a Norway, Norwegian bank that existed between 1848 and 2000 when it merger, merged with MeritaNordbanken and became Nordea ...

. He was a key figure in the business and community life of Christiania (now Oslo) during the mid 1800s. From 1843 until his death, Frølich was also a prominent member of the city council. During the middle of the 1860s, over one thousand trees were planted creating the first major park outside the city center. Starting in 1867, the city took responsibility for the park and the last major works were carried out in the years 1876–1890. The final part of the park was added with purchases of land in 1909.

Notable Statues

*'' Peter Chr. Asbjørnsen'' by Brynjulf Bergslien (1885) *''Kvinne'' by

Ørnulf Bast Ørnulf Bast (25 January 1907 – 28 October 1974) was a Norwegian sculptor and painter particularly known for his public monuments. Background Ørnulf Bjarne Bast was born in Oslo. His parents were Halsten Andersen Bast Birklund (1870–19 ...

(1947) *''Musikanter'' by Arne Vinje Gunnerud (1970) *''Svane'' by

Arne Durban Arne Durban (16 June 1912 – 18 March 1993) was a Norwegian sculptor and art critic. He was born in Kristiania, and was a brother of Halvor Durban-Hansen. His works are represented in more than thirty cities in Norway. Among his works are sc ...

(1981) *''Løvinne med unger'' by H. Stuetzer (1891)

Gallery

File:Fra toppen av St. Hanshaugen.JPG, Stairs from the top of St. Hanshaugen Park File:Steinhvelvbrua.JPG, Stone bridge in St. Hanshaugen Park File:Sydenden av St Hanshaugen.JPG, Southern end of St Hanshaugen Image:St Hanshaugen andedam.JPG, Swan pond at St. Hanshaugen Park File:St. Hanshaugen 9. juni 2014..JPG, Meadow at St. Hanshaugen Park File:StHanshaugen nord.JPG, North end of St. Hanshaugen Park

References

External links

Wikimapia – St. HanshaugenKongene på Haugen festivalen NorwegianNature Guide to St.Hanshaugen Park Norwegian
{{Coord, 59, 55, 36.28, N, 10, 44, 27.38, E, source:nowiki_region:NO_type:landmark, display=title Music festivals in Oslo Parks in Oslo