Oslo

Oslo - darkometer rating : 3 - The capital city of Norway . A very pleasant and culturally rich place. Often underrated in public perception, it is in reality these days almost a match for more widely acclaimed northern cities such as Copenhagen or Stockholm . For the dark tourist, Oslo offers even more than any of these, mostly sites related to WWII and the German occupation. > More background info > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos More background info: Oslo can trace its history back to the 11th century, but it wasn't until much later that it became the capital of Norway and eventually superseded Trondheim and Bergen in significance. For a good part of its existence it was called Christiania (after King Christian IV, who rebuilt the town after a devastating fire in the 17th century). But it reverted back to its original name Oslo in 1925, twenty years after it had finally become the official capital city of modern Norway again, which had finally regained its independence from Sweden in 1905, ending a 500-year period of either Danish or Swedish rule. For many years and well into the second half of the 20th century, Oslo remained in the shadow of the more glamorous Scandinavian cities elsewhere, but things have changed a lot in more recent times. In classic architectural terms Oslo may not quite have the grandeur of some of its competitors on this front, but it offers cutting-edge modernity, has become a veritable cultural centre of the highest order, also boasting a vibrant night life, a wide-ranging restaurant scene with lots of multi-ethnic influences, a still developing scenic waterfront, and a generally tolerant and peaceful atmosphere overall (the Breivik episode excepted – see under Norway in general).