The History of Oslo Trivia Quiz

Answer: New research showed Oslo was actually founded before 1050

Archeologists determined that Oslo had been founded at least a few decades before 1050 but could not decide on a conclusive date. Gravesites found in excavated churches indicated people had been living in the area since at least 980 A.D. In 2000, the people of Oslo celebrated the city's 1000th anniversary because it was believed that the actual millennium had already passed without notice.

Answer: St. Clement's Church

St. Clement's Church was built around the year 1000 A.D. It went out of commission soon after the Reformation when the population of the Old Town declined. St. Clement's no longer stands but its ruin can be seen in Old Town Oslo.

Answer: Akershus Fortress

Akerhus Fortress was built after an unsuccessful attack by Alv Erlingsson. King Haakon V believed Oslo's existing defensive walls were not strong enough to protect the city. The fortress and the adjoining castle have been in continuous use since its construction and was the scene of mass executions when Nazi Germany occupied Oslo in World War II.

Answer: Christiania

There is still some confusion about Oslo's name and where the original Oslo is located. The original Oslo moved to the area around the Akershus Fortress, which was just beginning to be populated by civilians in 1624. The original Oslo was not rebuilt until years later.

The new neighborhood where old Oslo stood was incorporated into Christiania with the community's name being Oslo. Christiania was renamed (after its spelling changed to Kristiania) back to Oslo in its entirety in 1925.

Answer: Monarchs of Norway

Slottet was expensive to build and construction constantly started and stopped for nearly twenty-five years. King Oscar I was the first king to live in Slottet as his father, Charles III John, died before its completion. When King Harald V took the throne in 1991, Slottet was in desperate need of repairs and upgrading and the Norwegian people balked at how extravagant the king was in his renovations.

However, once Slottet became open to the public in 2002, the people have become more appreciative and approving of the renovations.

Answer: Ski jumping hill

Holmenkollbakken has hosted a ski festival nearly every year since its opening. It was the site of some of the events of the 1952 Winter Olympic Games. The hills and the slope have been redesigned and rebuilt several times since its opening, usually about every five to fifteen years.

Answer: The location of the newer city compared to the old city

The point the opponents were making was that Kristiania was never really the old Oslo and renaming it such was pointless and insulting to the original Oslo. Over 28,000 people signed a petition to keep the name and the town council voted against the switch, fearing riots.

But the Norwegian Parliament, the Storting, overruled them and the name switched during the 300th year of Kristiania.

Answer: True

The Oslo Metro opened on June 28, 1928. The first underground railway in Norway ran from Majorstuen to Nationaltheatret with a stop in Valkyrie Pass. The metro originally just ran through the commercial districts and expanded outwards as time went on.

Answer: "The Scream"

The armed thieves stole "The Scream" and "The Madonna" after threatening the guards. Both paintings were located in 2006 in good condition. "The Scream" had previously been stolen on February 12, 1994 when Oslo's attention was on the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer. "The Scream" has received some minor damage during its several thefts but remains in relatively good condition.

Answer: Anders Behring Breivik

Anders Behring Breivik was convicted of murdering 69 members of the Workers' Youth League, the youth wing of the Labour party, at a summer camp and eight civilians who were killed in a car bomb explosion in front of the office of Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. Breivik's motivation was the removal of the center-left government of the Labour Party and to install far-right ideology.