A city walk through the Nobel Peace Prize history

Oslo is the city where the Peace Prize is awarded, and many of the city's central buildings have also played a role in the prize's history. This summer you can learn more about the Nobel Peace Prize while exploring some of the city’s most interesting buildings.

The city walk starts in front of the Nobel Peace Center. The museum of the Nobel Peace Prize is only 18 years old, but the building is an old Railway Station from 1872. Right now, it is undergoing rehabilitation and the museum is closed. That is why the story of Alfred Nobel and the Peace Prize has moved outdoors. Every day throughout the summer, there will be guided tours in English at 12:00, and Saturdays and Sundays there will be a tour in Norwegian at 14:00. From the Nobel Peace Center, the tour continues to the Oslo City Hall, where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in a ceremony on Alfred Nobel's death day, 10 December each year. On to the Norwegian Parliament, where the people who appoint the members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee sit, just as Alfred Nobel decided in his will. The Nobel Peace Prize ceremony was actually held here in the early years, from 1901 until the Nobel Institute opened in 1904.

Banquet and people's tribute

Across the street, at the Grand Hotel, the Peace Prize laureates are celebrated with a banquet on the evening of 10 December, and from the balcony they receive the people's tribute when the traditional torchlight parade passes by.

The university's Aula also has a large and important role in the history of the Peace Prize: The prize was awarded here in the years from 1947 to 1989, before the ceremony moved to Oslo City Hall. Both Martin Luther King Jr, Willy Brandt and the Dalai Lama received the award here.

The tour ends at the Norwegian Nobel Institute. This is where the decision on who will receive the Nobel Peace Prize is made, and it is also where the winners are announced to the whole world in October every year. Inside this building you also find the archive with all the nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize, which are kept secret for 50 years before they are revealed. No information about this year's nominations will revealed during the tour, but the Nobel Peace Center promises to share some stories about previous peace prize laurates' visits to Oslo.

The city walk takes approx. 75 minutes. It is free, and registration takes place via the Nobel Peace Center's website.