Home2

The Silver City in Norway

Tor Kjølberg

December 16, 2019

A legend has it that two shepherd children discovered silver in a valley in the Kongsberg area, Norway in 1623. When the Kongsberg Silved Mines were closed in 1958 it was the largest mining field in Norway from pre-modern time, with more than 200 different mines. At its peak in 1770, 4,000 workers were engaged there. Visit the silver city in Norway. The silver mines are still open for tourists.

The city of Konsgsberg (meaning ‘the mountain of the king’) lies just a little more than one hour by train from Oslo. The Silver Mines in Kongsberg were once the place where all the silver was mined to produce coins for the whole country. Today, the city still has an eerie energy that brings Middle Earth to mind.

Related: Norway’s Mining Past

Silver mining
Between 1623 and 1957, silver mining made Kongsberg Norway’s second largest city for a brief period. The city produced over a million kilograms of the world’s most coveted form of silver, the native wire silver. Today, you can join a train ride that takes you, 342 meters below the surface and 2.3 kilometers into the deepest mountains through stopes, adits and shafts- The “Fahrkunst”, a mine elevator built in 1881 is just one of many attractions to experience on a guided tour which takes about 1,5 hours.

Kongsberg’s Mining Museum is in fact five museums housed under the same roof and there you can see one of the biggest raw silver collections in the world, learn the history of coinage and even brush up your knowledge on Norwegian minerals in a range of extraordinary presentations. The exhibitions include the world’s largest crystalized silver exhibition, the Ski exhibition, The Royal Norwegian Mint Exhibition, the Kongsberg Industry exhibition and the Norwegian Minerals and Mining exhibition. The Mint Collection holds the Norwegian central bank’s collection of coins and medals dating back over 300 years.

The Stone Chambers
Be sure to be dressed warm, for the temperature in the mines is just 6 degrees Celsius. The Stone Chambers, built in 1943, was once a storage room for the National Archives of Norway with 2,000 shelf meters of documents. From July 1943 to June 1945 a dozen people had their daily work there. Today, it is a banquet hall with a capacity for 200 people used for events, concerts and company get-togethers.

The Silver Mines, located 8 kilometers west of Central Kongsberg, are open seven days a week from May to September.

The Activity Square
Outside the Silver Mines, the Activity Square provides fun and educational activities where children can learn and take part in the tasks of a traditional miner. You can make your own coin in the same technique as was used in Kongsberg 300 years ago. With a hammer and chisel you can “excavate” minerals that are yours to keep.

There is also a popular spot for bathing, a café (Sakkerhuskroa) and a museum shop in “Sakkerhusene”. Sakkerhusene was traditionally the shelters used by the miners during the week. These magnificent buildings were built by architect Georg Andreas Bull between the period 1867 and 1874. Sakkerhuskroa is open daily from 18 May to 30 August, and during weekends in September.

Beer as cold as your ex’s heart
Kongsberg Bryggeri is a small microbrewery hidden in an alley. Once they had a sign declaring that they served “beer as cold as your ex’s heart”. The beer selection is indeed cool and not to be missed. Groups should definitely arrange a beer tasting.

Cultural center
Krona Kino in Kongsberg is part of a cultural center and also a part of the local university. Going to watch a movie there feels almost like you just stepped on campus. When it comes to your viewing experience, however, the shows are just as professionally as in any good cinema in the world with 4D movies, latest releases and all.

The Silver City in Norway
In 2014 Kongsberg celebrated 200 years in business, emerging as a pioneering global technology provider. Today, Kongsberg is Norway’s leading industrial technology enterprise in a number of fields within the maritime, defense, aerospace, oil, gas and digitalization sectors.

In April, Kongsberg Maritime parent company Kongsberg Gruppen, following European Commission approval, completed the acquisition of Rolls-Royce Commercial Marine (RRCM). Officially part of Kongsberg Maritime, RRCM will operate under the Kongsberg brand and the Kongsberg Maritime legal entity.

The Silver City in Norway, written by Tor Kjolberg

Nationalmuseum in Stockholm in a New Light

Tor Kjølberg

December 13, 2019

Nationalmuseum in Stockholm in a New Light

Nationalmuseum in Sweden opened its doors for the first time in 1792 in the Royal Palace, Stockholm. In 1866 it was moved to the current building at Blasieholmen was considered one of the most modern museums in Europe. 150 years later, however, the museum was outdated and the Swedish government decided to close the museum for five years to undertake a renovation project. Today, you can experience the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm in a completely new light.

Last year, Sweden’s museum of art and design, Stockholm reopened in a new light. Daily Scandinavian has interviewed senior curator Dr. Helena Kåberg, who took an essential part in the process and has also edited and co-written the book, Nationalmuseum in a New Light.

Dr. Kåberg tells us that the museum had never been renovated and the biggest challenge of the renovation process, which started in 2014, was to maintain the 150-year-old cultural building and develop it for modern requirements and needs, including climate, lightning, logistics and extensions.

A demanding task
In October last year, the museum building designed by the German architect Friedrich August Stüler, had undergone a wide-ranging renovation and refurbishment carried out by the National Property Board Sweden.

“Collaborating with architects as well as the National Property Board Sweden has been a demanding task,” says Kåberg, “but it has been a constructive process to get an old building to function as a modern museum able to offer diverse activities as well as exhibitions. The construction of technical installations has been a challenge in itself, but we are proud of the result», she adds.

From 1,700 to 5,300 pieces of art
5,300 cubic meters of stone carved out from the ground have been removed and given place for both technical rooms buried in the rock under the museum and raised the capacity to display works from about 1,700 pieces to 5,300. Now, the National Museum can have up to 2,000 people in its premises at the same time, twice the previous number.

Kåberg emphasizes that the most important part of the whole process has been to present the artworks in the best possible way. For most paintings, it’s essential to consider the background as part of the composition. Therefore, it was important to find the right colors on the walls to present different paintings in the best possible way. Even if the color scheme is new, it has been inspired from the Stühler’s color scales from the 1860s, and in our view the result has become a fine-tuned balance of creativity and elegance.

Background colors and light
Deciding on the colors was, however, not an easy process, admits Dr. Kåberg. In the 1800s, architects were more focused on colors other than white on the walls, and the cultural-historical views eventually gained a foothold.

A background color is best suited to a particular type of images, while other colors emphasize others better. Combining paintings with sculptures and artefacts from the same period, has also proven to create environments that other museums can learn from.

The windows to the south atrium were covered by bricks in the 1960s and turned into an auditorium and a magazine. Other windows were covered from the inside. These windows have now been opened up, letting the light in. The atrium has been given new roofs and an impressive, enormous lift has been installed to take a large number of people and artworks up and down the three floors to simplify the logistic. Imagine an elevator big enough to host an opening party for the co-workers.

One million visitors last year
Since the opening last year, more than one million people has visited the Nationalmuseum compared to about previously 390,000 annually.

«The future challenges», says Kåberg, “is to present more diversified exhibitions and attract a younger audience. This can be done by linking stories to exhibitions from different eras and thereby creating relevant conversation topics based on visual experiences».

Nationalmuseum In A New Light book-cover

National Museum in Stockholm Stockholm in a New Light
In the beautiful book, Nationalmuseum in a New Light, Dr. Helena Kåberg and other experts invite the reader to follow the entire process, from the founding of the Nationalmuseum and on through its early developments and the changes in the 20^th century and the beginning of the 21^st century. The book is richly illustrated with the original watercolor drawings of Friedrich August Stüler, archive pictures and newly taken photographs by Bruno Ehrs. This publication marks a milestone in the museum’s history. Nationalmuseum in a New Light is published in a Swedish as well as an English version.

The renovation has been financed by the Swedish government and some private funds.

All photos: Tor Kjolberg

Nationalmuseum in Stockholm in a New Light, Dr. Helena Kåberg interviewed by Tor Kjolberg

Scandinavia Ranked One of the Safest Areas in the World

Tor Kjølberg

December 5, 2019

Scandinavia Ranked One of the Safest Areas in the World

In a new index of 150 countries’ friendliness towards gay, lesbian and trance travelers performed by the LGBTQ+ Danger Index, Sweden is ranked no. 1 followed by Canada and Norway. Denmark ranks no. 14. So, Scandinavia Ranked One of the Safest Areas in the World for gay people.

The LGBT+ Danger index ranks the 150 most visited countries on eight different factors that may impact gay, lesbian and trans travelers, including legalizing same-sex marriage, worker protection and whether, based on Gallup poll findings, it is a good place to live.

Gallup on gay issues
Gallup first polled on gay issues in USA in 1977. Since then, Gallup has gone on to ask dozens of questions about LGBT people and their rights and polling about LGBT acceptance internationally since 2005.

While some of the factors in the LGBTQ+ Danger Index do not directly impact travelers, the research reveals such factors are a decent overall indication of the attitudes within a culture. The authors of the research is an American couple, Asher and Lyric Fergusson, who also has a blog about safe traveling.

Scandinavia Ranked One of the Safest Areas in the World
Sweden has a long history of LGBT rights. Sexual activity between those of the same gender was legalized as long ago as 1944. Sweden was the first country to allow transgender persons to change their legal gender after reassignment surgery.

Norway has a law prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity and expression since 2013, and is one of the few countries in the world to explicitly protect intersex people from discrimination. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression shall be prohibited.

The rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender persons in Denmark are some of the most extensive in the world. Same-sex sexual activity was legalized in 1933, and since 1977, the age of consent has been 15, regardless of sexual orientation or gender.

Same-sex relationships
Same-sex relationships are illegal in 38 of the countries on the list and punishable by death in five (Nigeria, Qatar, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Iran). Some of the countries where it is illegal to be gay are also popular tourist destinations such as Jamaica, where in a 2013 survey of 71 LGBT people conducted by Human Rights Watch, more than half said they had been victims of homophobic violence.

The index notes: “These countries where homosexuality is illegal are also often severe human rights violators, usually penalizing male/male sexuality and/or trans women most harshly.”

Countries at the bottom of the index include Nigeria, Qatar, Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

Scandinavia Ranked One of the Safest Areas in the World, compiled by Tor Kjolberg