St. Hanshaugen Park

St. Hanshaugen
Tower at St. Hanshaugen Park
View from top of St. Hanshaugen Park

St. Hanshaugen Park is a large public park located just north of the city center of Oslo, Norway. [1][2]

Background

St. Hanshaugen Park is a classic urban park located within the borough of St. Hanshaugen, which was named for the park which lies within its center. The park location was originally a bare rock hill. In the 1840s, inhabitants of Oslo began to use the park as site for their Midsummer Eve bonfire. St. Hans is a Norwegian term for Midsummer Eve while haugen (from Old Norse haugr) refers to a hill. [3]

Fritz Heinrich Frølich (1807-1877), a successful banker and industrialist, initiated development of the park around 1850. 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.[4][5]

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, an annual local music festival.[6]

Notable Statues

Wikimedia Commons has media related to St. Hanshaugen (park).

See also

References

  1. ↑ St. Hanshaugen
  2. ↑ St. Hanshaugen (Oslo Visitor Centre)
  3. ↑ Outdoor Recreation and Nature Management (Sights and Nature in Oslo. The forest, parks and the Oslofjord)
  4. ↑ Visit Norway – Oslo
  5. ↑ St. Hanshaugen Park History
  6. ↑ World Guide to Oslo (Oslo Parks and Gardens. 2009)

Coordinates: 59°55′36.28″N 10°44′27.38″E / 59.9267444°N 10.7409389°E / 59.9267444; 10.7409389


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