Minnehallen or Hall of Remembrance is a national memorial located outside

Stavern Stavern is a small water-side town in Larvik municipality in Vestfold County, Norway. It is south of the city of Larvik. Currently there are around 3,000 inhabitants in Stavern. It is a small town where tourism is one of the most important sour ...

Larvik Larvik () is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. The municipality of Larvik has about 46,364 inhabitants. The municipality has a 110&nbs ...

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered t ...

, Norway. The memorial was commissioned by the

Norwegian Parliament The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years base ...

after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

to commemorate the fallen Norwegian sailors of the war. It was unveiled by King

Haakon VII Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick VI ...

and was later converted to the national monument commemorating fallen sailors of both

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The monument itself is a pyramid of locally quarried rock and is designed by two architects from

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, Andreas Hesselberg Bjercke (1883-1967) and Georg Christen Eliassen (1880-1964).

Nic Schiøll Nicolai Marius "Nic" Schiøll (10 October 1901 – 29 December 1984) was a Norwegian sculptor and painter. He was most known for his public works, ornamental sculptures and memorials. Biography Schiøll was born in Oslo, Kristiania (now Os ...

has made a relief describing the lives and fate of the sailors as well as a decoration in the crypt. Copper tablets display the names of 1,892 sailors who died during World War I and 3,456 names of sailors who died in World War II. In addition, three protocols contain the names of 5,667 sailors. The interior of the hall is visited by some 20,000 people every year. Herman Wildenvey wrote ''Minnehallen'', a poem displayed on the rock altar in the hall. The first and last verse read as follows: :Landets egne, mand og kvinne :Konge, folk og raad, :reiste dette æresminde :over sjømænds daad. :Her hvor hav og land som brødre :deler storm og sol :Samles søsken, fædre, mødre, :om et stort symbol :''The country's own, man and woman'' :''King, people, and council'' :''raised this remembrance of honor'' :''over the deed of the sailor.'' :''Here where sea and land as brothers'' :''share storm and sun'' :''Bring together siblings, fathers, mothers'' :''around a great symbol.'' :Hvil i fred, hver fredens kriger :i din våte grav. :Taus du sank, mindet stiger :her som sol av hav. :Atter blir mot dagen hævet :alt som havet tok. :Og vi vet dit navn er skrevet :i en evig bok. :''Rest in peace, each warrior for peace'' :''in your watery grave'' :''Silently you sank, the memory ascends'' :''here like the sun of the sea.'' :''Everything which the sea took'' :''is increased by the day.'' :''And we know your name is written'' :''in an eternal book.''

References

{{reflist

External links

Minnehallen home page

Military monuments and memorials 1926 establishments in Norway Norway in World War I Norway in World War II Larvik