page_title: Oslo
section_title: Museums, galleries
hierarchical_section_title: Oslo / Culture / Museums, galleries
caption_attribution_description: Norsk bokmål: Telemarkstunet på Norsk Folkemuseum. Loft fra Søndre Tveito i Hovin, ca 1300 og bur fra Nedre Nisi, Gransherad, 1797. This is a photo of a monument in Norway, number: 86191 in the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage database.
context_page_description: Oslo is the capital, most populous, and primate city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. As of 27 February 2020, the municipality of Oslo had a population of 693,491, while the population of the city's urban area of 4 November 2019 was 1,019,513. The metropolitan area had an estimated population of 1.71 million.
  During the Viking Age the area was part of Viken. Oslo was founded as a city at the end of the Viking Age in the year 1040 under the name Ánslo, and established as a kaupstad or trading place in 1048 by Harald Hardrada. The city was elevated to a bishopric in 1070 and a capital under Haakon V of Norway around 1300. Personal unions with Denmark from 1397 to 1523 and again from 1536 to 1814 reduced its influence. After being destroyed by a fire in 1624, during the reign of King Christian IV, a new city was built closer to Akershus Fortress and named Christiania in the king's honour. It was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. The city functioned as the capital of Norway during the 1814–1905 union between Sweden and Norway.
context_section_description: Oslo houses several major museums and galleries. The Munch Museum contains The Scream and other works by Edvard Munch, who donated all his work to the city after his death. The city council is planning a new Munch Museum which is most likely to be built in Bjørvika, in the southeast of the city. The museum will be named Munch/Stenersen. 50 different museums are located around the city.
  Folkemuseet is located on the Bygdøy peninsula and is dedicated to Folk art, Folk Dress, Sami culture and the viking culture. The outdoor museum contains 155 authentic old buildings from all parts of Norway, including a Stave Church.
  The Vigeland Museum located in the large Frogner Park, is free to access and contains over 212 sculptures by Gustav Vigeland including an obelisk and the Wheel of Life.
  Another popular sculpture is Sinnataggen, a baby boy stamping his foot in fury. This statue is very well known as an icon in the city. There is also a newer landscaped sculpture park, Ekebergparken Sculpture Park, with works by Norwegian and international artists such as Salvador Dalí.
  The Viking Ship Museum features three Viking ships found at Oseberg, Gokstad and Tune and several other unique items from the Viking Age.
  The Oslo City Museum holds a permanent exhibition about the people in Oslo and the history of the city.
  The Kon-Tiki Museum houses Thor Heyerdahl's Kontiki and Ra2.
  The National Museum holds and preserves, exhibits and promotes public knowledge about Norway's most extensive collection of art. The Museum shows permanent exhibitions of works from its own collections but also temporary exhibitions that incorporate work loaned from elsewhere. The National Museums exhibition avenues are the National Gallery, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the National Museum, the Museum of Decorative Arts and the National Museum of Architecture. A new National Museum in Oslo will open in 2020 located at Vestbanen behind the Nobel Peace Center.
  The Nobel Peace Center is an independent organisation opened on 11 June 2005 by the King Harald V as part of the celebrations to mark Norway's centenary as an independent country. The building houses a permanent exhibition, expanding every year when a new Nobel Peace Prize winner is announced, containing information of every winner in history. The building is mainly used as a communication centre.
caption: Historic buildings at Norsk Folkemuseum
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