Frognerkilen is a bay in the inner

Oslofjord The Oslofjord (, ; ) is an inlet in southeastern Norway. The fjord begins at the small village of Bonn in Frogn, Frogn Municipality and stretching northwards to the city of Oslo, and then curving to the east and then south again. It then flows s ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, east of the

Bygdøy Bygdøy or Bygdø is a peninsula situated on the western side of Oslo, Norway. Administratively, Bygdøy is part of the borough of Frogner. It historically was part of Aker Municipality and became part of Oslo in 1948. Bygdøy is a popular recr ...

peninsula. Its name stems from the neighbourhood

Frogner Frogner is a residential and retail borough in the East End and West End of Oslo, West End of Oslo, Norway, with a population of 59,269 as of 2020. In addition to the original Frogner, the borough incorporates Bygdøy, Uranienborg, Norway, Urani ...

, a name which was taken from a farm. It was formerly known, with

Bestumkilen Bestumkilen is a bay in Lysakerfjorden in the inner Oslofjord area of Norway. Located west of the Bygdøy peninsula and east of Vækerø, it is bordered by the islet Killingen in the southwest and the mouth of the river Hoffselva at Sjølyst in t ...

, under the name of Ladegaardsfjordene. This stems from older times, when Bygdøy was an island, named Ladegaardsøen. Bygdøy later became a peninsula due to

post-glacial rebound Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound an ...

, separating Bestumkilen from Frognerkilen. Propositions to reconnect Bestumkilen and Frognerkilen through a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

were made in 1928 and 1937, but not carried out. It was an important shipping port for timber in the 17th and 18th centuries, but today a large part of the bay is used as a harbour for leisure boats. During the winter, Frognerkilen was used as a venue for

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...

—from 1875 to the 1920s—as well as

speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marathon speed skat ...

in the pioneer days before 1900. A skating competition between

Axel Paulsen Axel Paulsen (18 July 1855 – 9 February 1938) was a Norwegian figure skater and speed skater. He invented the figure skating Axel jump and held the world title in speed skating from 1882 to 1890. In 1976, he was inducted into the World Figure ...

and

Renke van der Zee Renke () is a small village on the right bank of the Sava River in the Municipality of Litija in central Slovenia. The area is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola. It is now included with the rest of the municipality in the Central ...

from the Netherlands on Frognerkilen in 1885, when van der Zee challenged Paulsen for his title "amateur champion of the world", attracted approximately 30,000 spectators. Kristiania Skøiteklub had Frognerkilen as its competition arena until Frogner stadion was opened in 1901. Frognerkilen was also a popular site of boat sports. The

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

club

Christiania RK Christiania Roklub is a rowing (sport), rowing club from Oslo, Norway. Established in 1878, it is based in Frognerkilen in the Oslofjord, not far from Skarpsno. Its characteristic club house is called "Kongen" ('The King'), and was erected in ...

had its headquarters at the mainland, in a locality known as " Kongen" ('The King'), whereas the

Royal Norwegian Yacht Club The Royal Norwegian Yacht Club (, KNS) is a yacht club in Oslo, Norway. The club was founded in 1883 as country-wide organisation with affiliated local yacht clubs. In 1884, it was granted the right for members to fly the naval Ensign (flag), ...

had its headquarters at the opposite shore of Frognerkilen, in a locality known as "Dronningen" ('The Queen'). Frognerkilen was formerly trafficked by

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

; one ferry sailed between the railway station at Skarpsno and

Oscarshall Oscarshall Palace is a ''maison de plaisance'' located in the small fjord Frognerkilen on Bygdøy in Oslo, Norway. History The palace was built from 1847 to 1852 by the Danish architect Johan Henrik Nebelong on commission from King Oscar I ...

at Bygdøy, and the other sailed between Skillebekk and Kongen. Also, Frognerkilen was probably the site where ''Fiskerlivets farer'', depicting perils at sea, was filmed. Released in 1908, it is considered to be the Norwegian drama film.

References

{{coord, 59, 54, 43.77, N, 10, 41, 42.22, E, source:nowiki_region:NO_scale:4000, display=title Oslofjord Sports venues in Oslo Speed skating venues in Norway Harness racing venues in Norway