Gunnar Sønsteby - Oslo, Norway
N 59° 54.892 E 010° 44.094
32V E 597009 N 6643201
This statue of Gunnar Sønsteby, the most highly decorated citizen in Norway, is located across Karl Johans Gate from the University of Oslo's downtown campus.
Waymark Code: WMPDRM
Location: Oslo, Norway
Date Posted: 08/14/2015
Views: 8
ABOUT THE MAN:
"Gunnar Fridtjof Thurmann Sønsteby DSO (11 January 1918 – 10 May 2012) was a member of the Norwegian resistance movement during the German occupation of Norway in World War II. He is also known for being the most highly decorated citizen in Norway, including being the only one to have been awarded the War Cross with three swords, Norway's highest military decoration."
--Wikipedia (
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ABOUT THE STATUE:
The life-size bronze statue of Gunnar Sønsteby has him standing next to a bicycle. He is wearing a coat and breeches. He has a scarf wrapped around his neck. On his head is a beret. He has his left hand in his pocket, and his right hand on the bicycle's handlebars. The bicycle is leaning against his right thigh. The statue sits on top of a thin rectangular stone slab. There are two bronze plaques on the slab. One reads:
Gunnar Sønsteby
Frihetskjemper [ENGLISH: Freedom Fighter]
1940-1945
The other plaque reads:
Per Ung
Mannen Med Sykkelen (2007)
Gave til Oslo kommune i 2013 fra:
Erling S. Lorentzen
Inge Steenslands Stiftelse
Leif Høegh Stiftelse
Oslo Kommune, Kulturetaten
[ENGLISH TRANSLATION]
Per Young
Freedom Fighter
The man with the bike (2007)
Gift to the city of Oslo in 2013 from:
Erling S. Lorentzen
Inge First One's Country Foundation
Leif Høegh Foundation
The City Of Oslo, The Culture Agency
The statue was created by the artist Per Ung and was unveiled in 2007 at a different location in Oslo. However, after repairs from some vandalism, it was relocated in 2014 to its current location across from the University of Oslo's downtown campus.
"The location is where an historic photo taken on April 9, 1940 shows Sønsteby as a young man with his bicycle, standing and watching as German soldiers marched through Oslo after invading Norway. That’s also when the mild-mannered young Sønsteby decided to launch into resistance efforts during the German occupation of World War II. He went on to become one of Norway’s wartime heroes, for his myriad sabotage operations that frustrated the Nazi German forces until their surrender five years later." --Source (
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