Nobel Peace Center, Eastern Norway, Norway

4midway42 5:00 PM Jul 25, 2022

Peace in: a museum covering the world’s most prestigious prize.
Alfred Nobel is known to most everyone even if they’re not aware of it, and although one may argue with the title of the review (“most” and “best” tend to cause heated discussion), it’s a fact that the prizes associated with his name are widely publicized and discussed on the international stage. For reasons that remain unknown to this day, the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo and not Stockholm. The event itself is hosted at City Hall, with a reception following at the Grand Hotel (see separate review). The winners usually take a brief tour of the museum afterwards, as do thousands of people each year to learn what the fuss is about. The museum is divided into three parts, with the first covering Mr. Nobel and his life story along with the history of the prize. The wasn’t superficial as much as it wasn’t in-depth, with various lights and images creatively used to make the point of the curators. Portable story boards beneath the topical displays emphasize appropriate material. The second part of the museum was located upstairs, covering the Nansen Prize along with a room dedicated to all of the laureates; a real Peace medal appropriately has a room of its own. The final portion of the story is on the ground floor directly behind the desk: a rotating exhibit of the current winner(s) done in impressive detail; Mr. Dmitry Muratov and Ms. Maria Ressa were covered with the focus on journalism. Three daily guided tours are available: a history of the prize itself, the story of the current winners, and a review of Alfred Nobel's life. The requisite souvenir shop rounds out the experience. In summary, this was a worthwhile visit. The first third of the museum was creatively presented and did not shy away from controversial subjects (past “mistakes” the committee has made, Mr. Nobel’s personal faults, etc.). I took two of the tours (history of the prize and current winners) and the guides were well informed and engaging; I found the personal interaction with them really complemented the static displays. The tour about the current laureates was quite timely and detailed. My only quibble was found upstairs with the too-brief descriptions of the past laureates, but this didn’t detract from the visit. Oslo is an international city and you don’t get much more worldly than this. Enjoy.

5Catriona H 5:00 PM Feb 17, 2022

Very thought-provoking and worth a visit
Very thought-provoking and a good amount of information (not too much). The exhibition about the 2021 Nobel peace prize winners was particularly poignant and timely with the Russian/Ukraine situation. We were there for just over an hour, and it cost the equivalent of £20 GBP