Aker Brygge, Oslo

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when you're in Oslo you have to see Aker Brygge (Aker harbour). There are plenty of restaurants along the harbour and sometimes a fairground for the kids is present.

it was previously the site of an important engineering yard, Aker Mekanisk Verksted, which closed in 1982, this 62000 m2 waterfront erea in Oslo centre became one of Europe's most exciting urban development projects.
Note: the waitresses working along the harbour are usually swedish

update: they’re all Swedish!

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Aker Brygge, west of Pipervika in Oslo, was earlier a part of the ship yard Aker Mekaniske Verksted. The whole area was called Holmen.
The ship yard was shut down in 1982 and rebuild to a large shopping center and many apartment buildings. It is a popular harbour area with a shopping center and many outdoors restaurants along the waterside.
Aker Brygge has a small boat harbour and a terminal for the ferries.

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The Eternal Peace Flame was initially installed as a temporary donation to the city of Oslo from Sri Chinmoy. The original location was at the Pier of Honor, which is the pier of the King of Norway

The Eternal Peace Flame is a striking engineering marvel with numerous state-of-the-art controls enabling it to stay alight even during the most inclement weather

In 2002, the Eternal Peace Flame was installed permanently at Aker Brygge, a complex on the Oslo Harbor frequented by hundreds of thousands of people each year

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Aker Brygge is former shipyard area in Oslo harbour, right next to the City Hall and its plaza. In the last two decades a large development program was launched and today the area has been turned into a big centre with shops, restaurants, bars and pubs. At a cost of over 2.3 million Kroner, This is now one of Oslos most popular attractions with over 6 million visitors a year.

The area is packed with shops, theatres, cinemas and many restaurants and cafes all along the waterfront harbour. Especially on hot sunny summer evenings the cafes and restaurants are crowded with locals and tourists, who like to enjoy Oslo's expensive beer.

Be aware that because of its presige as the place to be seen in Oslo, prices are considerably higher than almost anywhere else in town so be warned.

Aker Brygge is the pedestrian only zone on Olso's Harbour. Filled with restaurants, pubs, and lots of little souvenir shops where you can pick up postcards, and assorted knick-knacks to bring home. Lots of fun to walk around. There is also a mall (http://www.akerbrygge.no/index.html) with such shops as Benetton, The Body Shop, etc.

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This attractive piece of artwork, was originally intended to be a temporary monument , dedicated to 'Goodwill and International Co-Operation' and donated to the City of Oslo, by Sri Chinmoy.

(Sri Chinmoy born 1931 in East Bengal- (Bangladesh) . Spiritual leader, athlete , philosopher and humanitarian. Founder of World Harmony Run)

On June 9th 2001, the instillation was witnessed by 1500 people including dignitaries and athletes. The original location was at the Pier of Honour (or The Pier of The King of Norway) which had a 180 degree view over the harbour of Oslo. Thousands of people visited the flame, and completed a register with messages of hope for Peace, and appreciation of the monument.

The flame was moved to its present site at the end of Aker Brygge, and re dedicated on September 12th 2002.

Apparently Sri Chinmoy visited this site in 2003 for the first time, and was inspired to give an impromtu concert by playing his flute!

It was quite an impressive sight, with the shining steel and flame glowing against the snow, and ice covered harbour. Lots of high tech engineering work has gone into ensuring that the flame burns, no matter how grim the weather is.

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Aker Brygge is a pleasant place to wander around. A place where you can spend as much or little time and money as you want.

Even without spending a Kroner, you can have a nice time enjoying the sights of the quirky statues and artwork, and people watching. A popular past time seemed to be posing for photos with some of the statues!

We visited Aker Brygge twice during our short stay, and enjoyed walking around in the snow. We didn't venture into the shopping mall, but enjoyed a couple of visits to Albertines Cafe Bar for a warming hot chocolate.

If You find Rorbua - a restaurant/bar with a nautical theme, check out the wooden seats and fittings - Sivs' (Vter Ruffen) Father designed and made these!
We didn't get to eat in here as we'd planned - (Ruffen had been so helpful before my trip - even checking the temperature outside her flat, when I enquired 'how cold was cold in Oslo'!- that I felt it was only right to check out her Dads work) as it was closed at the time we were there - it looked a great place though

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In 1982 work started on demolishing the former shipyards and workshops of the Akers Mekaniske Verksted, (Norways largest shipbuilding yard) owned by the Aker MV Company (Who instigated the idea of rejuvenating the area)

The architects, had the dream of creating Urban Qualities , the atmosphere of a living city, with the intention of providing identity, intimacy, drama,monumentality, friendliness, contrasts, humour and the feeling of festival!

At a cost of over 2.3 million N Kroner, This is one of Oslos most popular attractions with over 6 million visitors a year.

Architecturally, there is a blending of 19th century industrial brick buildings and modernist glass and chrome. The clocktower seen near the waters edge was the original clocktower from the shipyard.
A basement cinema and theatre, street level shops and restaurants, middle level offices, then rooftop appartments, taking advantage of the natural sunlight, views and distance away from the street noise.

The project took over 10 years to complete, with a renovation project being completed between June 04 and March 05. The project won many prestigious awards, and is a model for similar reclamations worldwide.

During our visit we could see where there was further building of appartments next to Aker Brygge.

There are plans underway to create residential and entertainment areas in the nearby area of Tjuvholmen, with the dream of exploiting the View or Outlook along Oslofjord.