The Unborn's Star

In the center of Roseslottet, we find "The Unborn's Star." This star points forward to the next generations, reminding us to preserve democracy and human dignity for the future. On the sign next to the star is Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948, "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." This is the most important message of the installation. Here at Roseslottet, some dark and serious stories are told, but we primarily aim to be an optimistic place. World War II is an example of a time when several countries allied to cooperate and fight for democracy when it was truly under pressure and freedom was threatened. Despite five grim years of war, democracy and freedom emerged victorious in the end. It gives us hope and optimism even though the values of freedom are threatened in many countries around the world today. We must be conscious of how valuable our democracy and freedom are, and Roseslottet is meant to provide us with a solid reminder of that. From the center of the spiral, we have a good view of the five golden sails. Each sail symbolizes a year of war and different parts of the resistance movement. From the left, you see the sail to commemorate the navy and war sailors, then the mountain for the resistance in Northern Norway. Far to the right is a quill for freedom of speech and civilian protection, and next to it, a spruce tree for the military resistance. In the middle stands the "King's Birch," symbolizing the king's refusal and his steadfastness for our constitution. At The Rose Castle, we say that we celebrate May 17th and our constitution every single day, all year round.