This Unique History Museum Is One Of Norway's Top-Rated Tourist Attractions
Norway is quite a wilderness paradise, from its fjords on the coast to its Jotunheimen National Park for a mountain escape. However, city slickers and European history buffs can find plenty of enjoyment in Norway's capital and biggest city, Oslo. Oslo showcases Norway's popular Viking history through multiple museums near the city center, but this Scandinavian capital has plenty more to offer. A unique and specific museum also in the city center focuses on artifacts much smaller than Viking ships, but even more influential all over the world.
While Norway has a long history of Lutheran Christianity, it might not be a country typically associated with religious history, especially when compared to Italy or Israel. Even still, the Nordic Bible Museum (Nordisk Bibelmuseum) not only displays biblical texts from hundreds of years ago, but 96% of its TripAdvisor reviews are five stars (and the rest are no less than four stars). Reviewers noted the museum's helpful and informative guides, kind volunteer staff, and the sheer size of the collection as reasons behind such acclamation.
The Nordic Bible Museum features rare and influential artifacts
The Nordic Bible Museum seeks not only to display historical bibles, but to also explain their contents, explore the authors and their motivations, state where each book was written, and describe the bible's impact on society as a whole. Such impacts are not limited to religious practices either, as the museum reveals. However, do not feel that you must be a dedicated Christian to visit this museum or leave the property with newfound faith. The museum conveys an approachable tone, as indicated by its website's inclusion of the Mark Twain quote, "It ain't the parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand."
A trip to the Nordic Bible Museum dips into bookmaking in general. One of its exhibits is a page from a 1400s Gutenberg Bible. The Gutenberg Bible marked the first-ever use of moveable metal typing rather than handwriting. This change made books easier to make and therefore more affordable, accessible, and easier to distribute. The Nordic Bible Museum's artifact from a Gutenberg bible reveals the historic change in how the masses could access this religious text. Few copies of these bibles still exist.
The Nordic Bible Museum is easy to access via subway
Another notable artifact in the Nordic Bible Museum is one of Gustav I Vasa's bibles. Vasa was the king of Sweden from 1523 to his death in 1560. Though tyrannical, he helped create an independent Sweden and as for his religious significance, Lutheranism became more widespread under his rule. His bible at the Nordic Bible Museum is from 1541.
Significant portions of the exhibits at the Nordic Bible Museum come from the collection of acclaimed oil, construction, and product manufacturing businessperson Rune Arnhoff, who founded the museum. His collection of over 4,500 bibles includes ones from Norway itself and other countries. These artifacts combine to make a truly memorable experience which has helped make the Nordic Bible Museum TripAdvisor's number one thing to do in Oslo. Explore on your own for as long or as short as you would like, or book a guided tour with the contact information on the website. The museum is open every day except Mondays and is located near the Stortinget subway stop which is on all five of Oslo's subway routes.