“The Nobel Peace Prize medal is an 18-carat gold award measuring 6.6 cm in diameter and weighing 196 grams. Designed by Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland, it features a portrait of Alfred Nobel on the front and three men linked in brotherhood on the back, with the Latin inscription “pro pace et fraternitate gentium” (“for peace and the fraternity of nations)” (AI)
“The FIFA Peace Prize is much bigger and more golden so a much better prize.” (Donald Trump) It looks like something I might have found in a packet of Corn Flakes. I don’t suppose there are small toys in cereal packets any more or tigers’ tails at Esso filling stations.
But I digress; it is the only Nobel prize presented in Norway, the others are handed out in Stockholm and they are all presented on 10th December. It was designed by Gustav Vigeland and it is he of whom I treat today.
He produced a vast body of work most of which belongs to the city of Oslo and are exhibited en masse in Frogner Park in west Oslo. The park is 110 acres and has everything a park should have including a lake and the largest collection of roses in Norway; 14,000 plants of 150 species. Vigeland’s 212 sculptures in granite and bronze cover 80 acres and it is breathtaking to see such a large body of work together. On the other hand it is hard to appreciate them individually. The park, probably because of the sculptures, is the most visited tourist attraction in Norway.
The park is an excellent destination on a sunny day and seems much bigger than it is. I guessed it is the same size as Hyde Park but actually it is much smaller. Still, all those roses and about 3,000 trees are a fine sight.