Kongsberg Daily Photo

Glass tree

2007-03-01T09:52:00.000+01:00

Before Christmas last year a glass tree was put up beside the river that runs through the center of Kongsberg. The tree was a gift from Kongsbergs 'friendship city' that we have sent a real Christmas tree to for many years now. The tree is made of lots of glass plates. I think it's quite nice :o)

Snow

2007-02-24T16:07:00.000+01:00

Well, it's been a long while since my last post but I'm trying again. Life has been (and is) busy so I don't get to take as many photos as I would like, but I hope to post a couple of new photos each week.

It has been snowing a lot the last week so we decided to check out the snow today and went cross country skiing. We had a nice trip and the picture is taken at Heistadmoen just outside Kongsberg where they arranged the Norwegian Championship in cross country skiing last year.

More photos coming soon...

2006-08-24T23:17:00.000+02:00

Sorry for the lack of photos lately. I haven't been able to take any pictures the last few days. More photos coming soon....

Bridge refurbish

2006-08-21T23:29:00.000+02:00

I think that I mentioned that the city centre bridge was going to be refurbished this year. Well, now they have started and one side of the bridge is now under reconstruction. Here is a shot so you can compare when they are finished.

End of a series - Walking the ladder

2006-08-20T23:43:00.000+02:00

I have told you about the different elevators that they used in the mines, and also mentioned that they had to climb ladders in the beginning. This shot shows how the ladders were placed in the mines. All ladders went down to a kind of platform where they could get to the next ladder. You can imagne that doing this for a couple of hundred meters or more is quite hard.

Working in the mine 2

2006-08-19T17:25:00.000+02:00

This shot is taken from a part of an exhibition inside the mines that shows the visitors different work situations. It wasn't explained exactly what these to guys were doing, but they might be working with drills to get further into the mountain, or they could be repairing and fixing the tools used to drill. Sorry for the "spots" on the photography but it was taken through a plexi glass window that made some reflections.

New elevator

2006-08-18T23:20:00.000+02:00

This is the second generation of lifts in the mine. This one at least start to look like what we think of as an elevator today. They stuffed four to five people inside this elevator, and on the way down one or two people were riding along on top of it as well. At least they could relax a bit more in this elevator compared to the one in the previous post.

The first elevator

2006-08-16T23:04:00.000+02:00

This is the first type of motorized elevator that they had in the mines. Before this one the workers had to claim ladders up and down which caused quite a few accidents.

As you can see there are two solid beams with a platform on each. The beams are much longer than you can see on this shot, and they have platforms every ten meters or so. When one beam goes up the other one goes down. So if a worker wanted to go down in the mine he stepped on to a platform on the beam going down. Just before the beam started to go up again he switched over to the platform of the other beam that now was about to go down. Working his way from one beam to the other he could than go down into the mine.

This kind of elevator was called the "Fahrkunst". It is a german word and would translate into something like "The art of travelling", which is a good description since it's not the easiest kind of elevator to use.

Ready to explore

2006-08-15T21:56:00.000+02:00

I just had to post this picture of my daughter (to the left) and her cousin. They were really exited to explore the inside of the mines. They even enjoyed the bright yellow helmets :o)

Where is the path...

2006-08-13T21:59:00.000+02:00

It's obviously very dark in the mines, so you only see a few meters ahead when walking on the different paths inside. Considering that there sometimes might appear holes in the "floor" it was a risky business walking there. The tourist path is made safe by a boardwalk as you can see.

Working in the mine

2006-08-12T15:29:00.000+02:00

This shot shows one of the tasks that had to be done in the mine. Lots of stone had to be removed from the mine to the outside. Before they had engines to pull the wagons, they had to do it manually.

No way back

2006-08-11T20:06:00.000+02:00

The doors are securely closed, the train has started, and a few meters ahead total darkness is waiting.... (a bit scary, isn't it?).

The train ride takes about 10 minutes. Everybody is warned about the danger of putting head or arms outside the wagon. And with good reason, because at some parts of the train ride the mountain walls are just centimeters away from the wagon. The ride is very noisy and bumpy but it's exiting as well.

Start of a series - Into the mines

2006-08-10T22:43:00.000+02:00

As I mentioned in a post the other day, I said I would try to get some photos from inside the mines. Well, my wife went in today with one of her brothers and his family, and a family from England that was visiting them. I had to work but I asked her to take som pictures.

This shot shows the train and the wagons that take you into the mines. The wagons are quite small and it's a bumpy ride. The ride is a bit over 2 kilometers and takes about 10 minutes. It's quite noisy as well so you get free ear plugs :o)

Sakkerhusene 2

2006-08-09T23:18:00.000+02:00

This is one of the other houses that together makes what we call Sakkerhusene. You can see that it's not a modern style, but I like the way they built the houses back in those days as well.

Mining Wagon

2006-08-08T23:29:00.000+02:00

This is the kind of wagons they used to move the remains after digging in the mines. It was not until the later years that these more modern wagons were used, but I'm not sure exactly what year they started to use them.

Sakkerhusene

2006-08-07T23:20:00.000+02:00

This is one of three buildings called "Sakkerhusene". I don't have any translation to english. The buildings were built by the Silver Mines as a place to live during the week for the workers that had to long way home to travel back and forth each day. Today the buildings are used for arranging dinners/parties, and there is a museum there as well.

Magician

2006-08-06T23:27:00.000+02:00

We went out with for pizza with some friends the other day, and stumbled upon a clown/magician that was having a show nearby. He was quite good so we watched his show. Here he is *cutting* a volunteers arm in two with knives.

The Mine Entrance

2006-08-05T21:49:00.000+02:00

One of the big tourist attractions here in Kongsberg is to visit the mine called "Kongens Gruve", that translated would be something like "The Kings Mine". This shot shows the entrance where the small train takes you about 2,3 kilometers into the mountain. At arrival you can enjoy the frisky temperature of 6 degrees Celsius (which stay the same all year) and the thought of the 330 meters of mountain above your head. If I get chance I will bring you some photos from inside the mine later.

Old Kongsberg

2006-08-04T11:02:00.000+02:00

Here is a shot from one of the older parts of Kongsberg. The house owners in this area has kept the old buildings as close to their original looks as possible, and I think they have done a good job as well. Photo courtsey of my dad.

Fisherman

2006-08-02T23:48:00.000+02:00

This statue of a fisherman is placed along the city river a little downstream from the city centre bridge. As you can see of his fishing rod he is about to pull up a nice catch. It is possible to do some real fishing in the river, so if you ever visit, bring your fishing gear. Photo courtesy of my dad.

Bergseminaret

2006-07-31T21:26:00.000+02:00

This building is called "Bergseminaret" and was finished in 1786. The building was originally built for the first Seminary for higher education in mining. This seminary was the first of its kind in Europe. Today the building is owned by "Bergverksmuseet" which is a museum for mining etc. here in Kongsberg.

Methodist church

2006-07-30T22:02:00.000+02:00

This is the local Methodist Church here in Kongsberg. It's quite old, it was dedicated in 1887 and they did a refurbish of the outside of the building last year. As a personal side note I can mention that may aunt has been organist in the church for over 40 years. She is now 82 years old, but are still playing.

Fountain

2006-07-28T22:45:00.000+02:00

Nothing better than to see some water on a hot day. Our warm summer continues so I went looking for some water to take a picture of. This fountain is placed nearby the church. Actually it is right behind where the new stage was placed during the Jazz Festival.

House

2006-07-27T23:50:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I had to walk from work to my parents house to pick up our daughter that had been visiting them. I was going to ride my bike but had to walk because of a flat tire. On my way I passed this house where the front side is almost covered with plants. My parents told me that there had been lots of flowers there as well a few days ago. Too bad I didn't get to take a picture of it then.

Rainbow

2006-07-26T22:28:00.000+02:00

Because of the heat lately we have had some late afternoon thunderstorms and some rain showers. Yesterday this rainbow appeared just after a short rain shower.

Library

2006-07-25T23:19:00.000+02:00

If you ever come to Kongsberg and would like to borrow a book or just read some newspapers, this is the place to go. The library used to be in an old building on the other side of town, but it burned to the ground some years ago. After the fire they rebuild the library here.

Dry weather

2006-07-24T23:48:00.000+02:00

We've had a really warm and dry summer so far and that really shows on the city river. This shot is taken from the bridge called Nybrua (translates to something like The New Bridge). The rocky area you see is usually filled with lots of water. We had a small thunderstorm and some rain this afternoon, but it's still really dry.

Festival opening

2006-07-23T23:50:00.000+02:00

This picture is also from the opening of the Jazz Festival.

Youth orchestra

2006-07-22T23:50:00.000+02:00

Since I've been away on vacation I haven't been able to take new photos, so the next couple of days will be shots from the Jazz Festival early in July.

This shot shows a youth orchestra that played during the opening ceremony. Photo courtesy of my dad.

Troll

2006-07-20T09:30:00.000+02:00

In Norway we have many old tales about trolls. According to the tales trolls are turned into stone if they see sunlight. The remains of this tree actually looks a bit like a troll that has been surprised by the sunlight. Photo courtesy of my dad.

Old tree

2006-07-19T23:51:00.000+02:00

This old and apparently dead tree is next to a lake not far from my dads cabin. I think it makes an interesting picture. Photo courtesy of my dad.

Big crane

2006-07-18T23:02:00.000+02:00

Lots of construction going on around in the city these days. Here is a photo of the biggest crane used right now.

Balloons

2006-07-17T23:41:00.000+02:00

This shot was taken by my dad. During the opening of the Jazz Festival they released a bunch of ballons.

Jazz life

2006-07-16T23:53:00.000+02:00

The Jazz Festival brings lots of new things to town. Here is a shot from the park where lots of different stuff is for sale during the festival. You can buy clothes, candy, hand made things, rythm instruments and lots more.

Sorry about the lack of posting the last few days, but I have been away on vacation and did not have internet access.

Childrens parade

2006-07-08T06:18:00.000+02:00

As usual they have a childrens parade the first day of the jazz festival. This photo shows the start of the parade. Thanks dad for mailing me the photo :o)

Band and stage

2006-07-07T23:57:00.000+02:00

I thought this was an interesting view of the *hole in the back* of the new stage and a couple of the members from Buddy Guy's band.

Buddy Guy

2006-07-06T22:31:00.000+02:00

Went to a concert with Buddy Guy yesterday. The concert was great. Even though Buddy is around 70 years old he is still going strong, and delivered 100%. I'm not to much into jazz so it's great that they have some blues artists as well. This photo shows Buddy "in action".

Preparing for the festival

2006-07-05T16:24:00.000+02:00

Kongsberg Jazzfestival is opening today and the city surroundings has been prepared for the event. Here is one of the decorations from the old part of the city.

City sheeps

2006-07-04T22:45:00.000+02:00

These two sheeps are located just a ten minute walk from the city centre. As you can see their wool has recently been cut, which I guess they enjoy since it's been quite hot the last week.

In memory of

2006-07-03T23:30:00.000+02:00

This monument is in memory of Christian IV which founded Kongsberg in 1624. It is placed near Konsberg church, not far from the new stage that I have posted photos of earlier.

Bull

2006-07-02T23:35:00.000+02:00

This is a bull calf. I'm not sure how old he is but he is very social and loves that people visit him. Right now he is kept in an enclosure just five minutes walk from our house.

Off season - 2

2006-07-01T08:12:00.000+02:00

This picture shows a part of our local ski resort. it's quite popular so people come here from large parts of south Norway, as well as tourists from Scandinavia. The big ditch is the Super Halfpipe for snowboarders and twin tip skiers. They do some amazing stuff there in winter.

Off season - 1

2006-06-30T22:58:00.000+02:00

Winter sports is quite big here in Kongsberg (for those of you that don't know: Our winter is from early November to late April). This is a photo from our local ski jump area. It looks a bit different now with green grass all over it than it does in winter when it's covered in snow.

City mall construction - update 1

2006-06-29T22:39:00.000+02:00

It's about a month since I posted the first photo from the construction site of the new city mall. Here is an update. Not to many changes yet, but it has been a lot of digging and other ground works. I guess it will speed up a bit now.

Toilet transport

2006-06-28T23:20:00.000+02:00

Well, for many of you I guess that the summer holidays are coming up soon. If you really *need to go* while travelling, this is your solution. Hook it up, drive on, and *go* anytime you like...

Nice duck

2006-06-27T22:10:00.000+02:00

Remember the photo a few weeks back where my daughter was feeding a duck? Well this is a close up of the same duck. The interesting thing about this duck is that it was the only one up in the woods. All the others usually hangs out near the river in the city, but this one had found a new place to find some food as well.

Small building

2006-06-26T23:22:00.000+02:00

This little *thing* is hidden away in one of the smaller streets in Kongsberg. It's quite a few years old and I'm not sure what it originally was used for. If anyone have an idea, please let me know.

Birger Ruud

2006-06-25T20:04:00.000+02:00

This bronze statue of Birger Ruud is situated in the city centre of Kongsberg. Birger Ruud was ski jump World Champion several times in the years before World War II. Wickipedia and IOC have more information about this great athlete from Kongsberg.

Evening skies

2006-06-23T23:08:00.000+02:00

The view from our balcony this evening.

New stage - cool view

2006-06-22T22:06:00.000+02:00

As I mentioned the other day, I didn't get the best view of the stage because most of the area around it was closed. Well, now it's open and I think it looks even better from this angle.

Memories from a summer day

2006-06-21T22:38:00.000+02:00

The day was hot. The children were playing in the water. After a good meal prepared on the barbeque we heated marshmellows over the coal. Warm, sweet, and perfect....

New stage - part 6

2006-06-20T22:01:00.000+02:00

The stage is up! Today they finished the main part of the construction. From this angle you actually don't see the whole stage. There is a part in the back as well, but I couldn't get a picture from a better angle since the area on the sides were closed. More pictures will follow when the festival starts.

New stage - part 5

2006-06-19T23:44:00.000+02:00

They have started to lift the top part of the stage off the ground today. This is how it looked around 18:30. I think they will finish the work in a day or two now.

Summer

2006-06-18T00:02:00.000+02:00

The last couple of weeks has brought some really good and warm weather. These ones are enjoying that summer finally has arrived.

New stage - part 4

2006-06-16T23:41:00.000+02:00

This is the stage from another angle. Most of the work is done now and I think they will rise it up to full height on Monday. I'm not sure if they will work on it during the weekend but I'll check and see what's happening.

New stage - part 3

2006-06-15T23:36:00.000+02:00

The stage is starting to get its shape now. I have heard that it will be about 18 meters high when it is finished. If they keep their schedule the stage will be finished on Monday.

New stage - part 2

2006-06-14T23:40:00.000+02:00

Ok, it's day two of building the new stage. A lot of the tubing is up now. I think they are supposed to have it completed early next week so I will follow the progress.

New stage - part 1

2006-06-13T23:56:00.000+02:00

Kongsberg Jazzfestival is going new ways this year, and will build a one-of-a-kind stage to be used as one of the concert arenas this year. What you see here is the first part of the process of mounting the stage. When it's finished it will look quite spectacular. You can see some illustration pictures of the scene at Kongsberg Jazzfestival's homepage.
I will post pictures as the work progresses.

Inside the mine

2006-06-12T23:20:00.000+02:00

This picture is taken inside one of the mines. it shows an opening where you can go further inside the mine. When they started the mining here in Kongsberg there was no explosives so they had to do the job manually. That included building a big fire next to the mountain wall and heating it up. Afterwards they threw cold water on it to make it crack. After that they had to use hammers and other small tools to dig into the mountain. It was a tedious process and they did not get very far each day.

Mining tools

2006-06-11T23:25:00.000+02:00

In Norwegian this is called a "hjulstue". The building housed a large water wheel that they used in the mining. As far as i remember the water wheel was (among other things) used to run pumps so they could pump water up from the mines.

Spooky

2006-06-10T22:40:00.000+02:00

This is the remains of a dead tree I found the other day. With a little imagination it almost looks like a person wearing a hooded cloak.

Back again

2006-06-10T22:37:00.000+02:00

I have been away for a couple of days and haven't been able to post any pictures. Now I'm back so new pictures are on their way... :o)

Scenic view

2006-06-07T01:30:00.000+02:00

This picture is taken from a local area in Kongsberg called "Knuten". It's about a 15 minute drive from the city centre. The tower that can be seen in the background is where the tv signals is taken down and distributed to Kongsberg. Before cable tv and satelite dishes this was where everyone in Kongsberg got their signals from.

More water

2006-06-06T00:15:00.000+02:00

Found this little waterfall when we were out walking the other day.

The legend

2006-06-04T21:00:00.000+02:00

According to the legend a bull found the first silver in Kongsberg in 1623. The present king, Christian IV, came here in 1624 and named the place Konnigs Berg (the King's mountain). Later the name was changed to Kongsberg. This picture shows a statue of the bull revealing the silver with one of the horns.

Church

2006-06-03T18:42:00.000+02:00

Kongsberg Church is Norways largest church built in the rococo and baroque style. You can read some more about it here.

Cinema

2006-06-01T21:37:00.000+02:00

This is the cinema in Kongsberg. We only have one. The special thing about this cinema is the shape. When I was growing up I thought that all cinemas was round so I was a bit surprised the first time I saw a cinema in another town that actually just looked like an ordinary building on the outside. Anyway it's a bit cool that they built it in this shape.

Contrasts

2006-05-31T22:56:00.000+02:00

This old grain silo hasn't been in use for quite a few year except for local graffiti artists using it to show off their paintings. They made the top piece as an assignment from Kongsberg Jazzfestival a couple of years back. The faces are of local politicians. The bottom half is more like the graffiti we usually see.

Ketchup anyone?

2006-05-30T15:45:00.000+02:00

I don't know if the local artist got paid for this Heinz graffiti ad, but it's hard not to see it when you pass by.

Lake view

2006-05-29T23:26:00.000+02:00

This is the lake from yesterdays picture of my daughter feeding a duck. This small lake is one of many found in Kongsberg, and it is part of the citys water reserve.

Feeding the duck

2006-05-28T23:16:00.000+02:00

Todays picture shows my 6 year old daughter feeding a duck on a trip we had the other day. She thought it was fun feeding it, but since the only food she had available was her chocolate chip muffin she didn't want to give it to much.

Historical site

2006-05-27T22:44:00.000+02:00

This picture shows the monogram of Norwegian kings from 1623 and up to our present king. The tradition of carving the monograms on the wall the first time the king visited Kongsberg started in 1704. The monograms from previous kings visits was also made then. The reason why all the kings started to visit Kongsberg is that in 1623 silver was found here. All the silver belonged to the king so they came to check that everything was taken care of as they wanted. They stopped digging for silver quite a few years back but the tradition of putting up the kings monogram on his first visit has continued.

Glass church

2006-05-26T20:05:00.000+02:00

This small church of glass was made as an art project some years ago in connection with Kongsberg Jazzfestival. From this angle it also has a nice photographic effect since it almost seems that you see right through it.

In the woods

2006-05-25T14:31:00.000+02:00

Here in Norway we have a public holiday today so we went for a walk in the woods close to where we live. This picture shows the path that we followed.

Funny art

2006-05-24T22:44:00.000+02:00

I spotted these little fellows on my way to work this morning. It didn't say if they represented something special, but it was an interesting piece of art. Sorry about the not so good picture quality but my camera was not cooperating today. I might have it checked to see if there is anything wrong with it.

Under the bridge

2006-05-23T22:03:00.000+02:00

This picture is taken from under the bridge in centre of Kongsberg. This summer the city has started a project to refurbish the bridge. The opening of the *new* bridge will take place in October.

River Wild

2006-05-22T20:27:00.000+02:00

This is the river that divides Kongsberg in two, east and west. Right now the river is quite big because the snow has started to melt in the mountains causing lots of water to fill it up. What looks like fog in the picture is actually water being thrown up into the air from the rapids.

Construction

2006-05-21T21:24:00.000+02:00

This used to be a dead end street, a parking lot, a small overgrown green area, and a few buildings. These days it's a construction site for the new city mall. I'll post new pictures as construction advances.

Taking off

2006-05-20T20:06:00.000+02:00

This jet fighter is placed outside Volvo Aero Norge, a company in Kongsberg that manufacture jet engine components for the world's largest aircraft engine manufacturers. I don't know what kind of jet fighter this is so if anyone knows you're welcome to share it.

National day

2006-05-19T23:30:00.000+02:00

May 17th is the Norwegian national day and all the kids have a big parade with lots of marching bands. This year the weather was not to good but quite a few people came to participate and watch anyway. This picture shows the start of the parade as they march through the crowd.