Vestre gravlund

Cemetery in Oslo, Norway

59°55′54″N 10°41′50″E / 59.93167°N 10.69722°E / 59.93167; 10.69722Size60 acres (24 ha)Find a GraveVestre Gravlund

Vestre Gravlund is a cemetery in the Frogner borough of Oslo, Norway. It is located next to the Borgen metro station. At 60 acres (0.24 km²), it is the largest cemetery in Norway. It was inaugurated in September 1902 and also contains a crematorium (Vestre krematorium) and chapel (Gravkapellet).^[1]

The grave chapel was constructed in granite and clay stone and was designed by architect Alfred Christian Dahl (1857–1940). It was built in 1900 and consecrated in 1902. In the foundation wall, it has stained glass that was designed by artist Oddmund Kristiansen (1920–1997) in 1970.^[2]^[3]

Notable interments

Sven Arntzen (1897–1976), barrister
Per Aabel (1902–1999), actor
Eyvind Alnæs (1872–1932), composer
Finn Alnaes (1932–1991), novelist
Lasse Aasland (1926–2001), politician
Gunnar Andersen (1890–1968), footballer and ski jumper
Karsten Andersen (1920–1997), composer
Johan Anker (1871–1940), sailor
Kristian Birkeland (1867–1917), physicist and inventor
André Bjerke (1918–1985), writer and poet
Trygve Bratteli (1910–1984), prime minister
Edith Carlmar (1911–2003), actress and director
Lalla Carlsen (1889–1967), actress and singer
Johan Castberg (1862–1926), politician and jurist
Halfdan Christensen (1873–1950), actor and director
Sven Elvestad (1884–1934), journalist and author
Alfred Eriksen (1918–1991), Olympic fencer
Erling Falk (1887–1940), author and politician
Kirsten Flagstad (1895–1962), opera singer (unmarked headstone)
Ragnar Frisch (1895–1973), economist
Erland Frisvold (1877–1971), politician and colonel
Einar Gerhardsen (1897–1987), prime minister
Gregers Gram (1917–1944), resistance fighter and saboteur
Kjell Hallbing (1934–2004), writer
Gunvor Hofmo (1921–1995), poet and writer
Leif Juster (1910–1995), comedian
Franciszek Kawa (1901–1985), Polish cross-country skier
Janina Zagrodzka-Kawa (1918–2020), Polish poet
Casey Kasem (1932–2014), actor, voice actor and radio celebrity
Otto Richard Kierulf (1825–1897), military officer, politician and sports administrator
Ada Kramm (1899–1981), actress
Martin Linge (1894–1941), actor and army captain
Gerda Ring (1891–1999), stage actress and producer
Inger Sitter (1929–2015), painter and art instructor
Adolf Bredo Stabell (1908–1996), diplomat
Halvard Storm (1877–1964), 20th century artist/etcher of Norwegian landscapes
Carl Stoermer (1874–1957), mathematician and geophysicist
Olav Sundal (1899–1978), Olympic gymnast
Gunnar Tolnæs (1879–1940), actor
Egil Holst Torkildsen (1916–1979), Nazi editor and activist

British Commonwealth Graves

This cemetery is registered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as "Oslo Western Civil Cemetery". Plot 60 contains war graves of 101 British Commonwealth service personnel of World War II. Most were airmen shot down raiding the occupied Oslo Airport at Fornebu. Most of the others were killed in air crashes during Allied landings, 43 lives being lost on Liberation Day alone (10 May 1945).^[4]

The Cross of Sacrifice monument was unveiled during November 1949. The presiding officer was by General Otto Ruge, who had commanded the Norwegian Army at the time of the German invasion in April 1940. Opposite to the cross the citizens of Oslo erected a memorial to Commonwealth servicemen who died on Norwegian soil during the liberation of Norway. The memorial is in form of a kneeling figure of a mourning naked woman and was unveiled during June 1960 by King Olav V of Norway.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b Oslo kommune Gravferdsetaten (in Norwegian)
^ Geir Tandberg Steigan. "Arkitekter:Alfred Christian Dahl". artemisia.no. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
^ Albert Steen. "Oddmund Kristiansen". Norsk kunstnerleksikon. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
^ ^a ^b CWGC Cemetery Report Retrieved 7 January 2013.