Last night I wrote a marvelous post about the Oslo Frogner Sculpture Garden which has disappeared into the ether. And seeing how this has all been 2 thumb typing I expect sighs of sympathy from you all.
Round 2: When Norway declared its independence from Sweden by referendum in 1905, they wanted something to be proud of: something reflecting the people and the culture and so they hired a local sculptor Gustav Vigeland (1869–1943).who spent 20 years ( from about 1905 to 1942) creating this masterpiece.
This sculpture garden is beyond description, yet I’ll try. Covering about 80 acres is contain 212 granite and bronze sculptures. 350 different figures are portrayed. The govt supported him by provided land, housing and resources - he wasn’t actually paid for the art. His prediction of a 20 year project was pretty darn close. And amazingly it survived the war years unscathed. Here is a view of the monolith. On the left from the back and on the right it’s from the front.
Gustav died months after creating the park.
We walked through from back to front and I’m only showing you some highlights. It was a place I had been prepared to skip- so glad I didn’t. 
Starting from the back we have the section with the Monolith with supporting sculptures themed on the “circle of life.”
The monolith was cut from a single piece of granite weighing 250 tons. When it was brought to Oslo, it was a national event with crowds gathered waving it on as it was drawn down the roads. It took a full year just to transport it from the quarry in Sweden.
A building was erected to protect the stone while three stonemason spent three years carving the 120 figures. It stands 17 m high (about 55 feet) and is 4 meters in diameter. Amazingly, there are no cracks after all the years.
The bridge is the middle section seems focus on an human relationships, struggles and journey of life:
Some say that the above sculpture with the babies is the sculptors view of himself wrestling with all his “babies” (his ideas).
These last photos show a human fighting with a dragon. A metaphor for wresting with internal and perhaps external evils.
The fountain might portray working together to tackle a challenge.
The first section starts with a labyrinth (one that would run 3 kilometers if followed)
If you do it as designed, you start through the gates into an area with the labyrinth and then the big rose gardens. It feels like a calm, pretty introduction before you get to the main sculptures.
For more details on the park check out:
Gustav Vigeland also created the Nobel peace medal as well much of the art we’ll see in the city hall.
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