Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, The statue

"Ja, vi elsker landet" or Yes, we love the country, is the national anthem of Norway, written by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson posing in front of you now. He was Norway's great national poet from the middle of the 19th century, and has since had a place as one of the "big four" alongside Kielland, Ibsen and Lie. As a brilliant public speaker and committed participant in public debate both in Norway and abroad, he was very controversial - and much loved. Bjørnson was born on Tynset in 1832, but grew up on Nesset in Møre og Romsdal. He moved to Oslo to start university, but started as a journalist instead. The art of communicating in writing quickly showed itself, a gift he also received orally. Multiple theater reviews contributed to close ties around theater business. For a while he was artistic director at Ole Bull's theater in Bergen, before returning to Oslo as both theater director and editor. National romanticism flourished in Norway. Bjørnson was influenced by his contemporaries, but was also versatile in his writing and concerned with portraying darker aspects of Norwegian folk life. All his qualities were rewarded with the Nobel Prize in Literature. Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson died in 1910. Left behind were his wife Karoline and their five children.