Holmenkollbakken
Norway’s most visited tourist attraction and a truly iconic venue with nearly 130 years of history behind it, Holmenkollbakken continues to host major ski jumping and Nordic combined competitions as well as national and local events.
A 20-minute drive from downtown Oslo, Holmenkollbakken has staged the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships on four occasions and welcomed nearly 600,000 spectators for the most recent of those events, in 2011. The venue also figures on the annual FIS Ski Jumping World Cup circuit. Its World Cup round forms part of the Holmenkollen Ski Festival, an annual Nordic skiing competition held every March since 1892 and affectionately known as Norway’s “second national day”.
The ski jump is part of the Holmenkollen National Ski Arena, a state-of-the-art venue for cross-country skiing, biathlon and ski jumping, and has been redeveloped on 18 occasions in all. Entirely rebuilt for the 2011 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, it comprises 1,000 tons of steel and offers permanent protection against the wind.
The viewing platform at the top of the ski jump tower is open to the public and offers panoramic views of Oslo and the surrounding forests. The venue is also home to a ski simulator that recreates the experience of flying down the famous ski jump. Open all year round, the simulator can take 12 people at one time. Another of the ski jump’s popular attractions is the 361-metre Kollensvevet zipline, open throughout the spring, summer and autumn, which takes visitors on a thrilling ride down the hill.
The Oslo Ski Museum is located underneath the jump. Founded in 1923, it is the oldest museum of its kind in the world. It tells the story of more than 4,000 years of skiing history, including the Oslo 1952 Olympic Games, and its displays include artefacts from Norwegian polar expeditions and exhibits on snowboarding and modern skiing. The ski jump and museum receive around 1.2 million visitors a year, making them Norway’s most visited attractions.
Holmenkollbakken was the second main venue of the VI Olympic Winter Games after Bislett Stadium and attracted 120,000 spectators for the large hill ski jumping competition. An indication of the passion for winter sports in the Norwegian capital, that attendance remains an Olympic ski jumping record to this day.