Crown Prince Haakon opens monument to terror victims

Crown Prince Haakon of Norway opened a new memorial to victims of the 22 July 2011 terror attack.

Marking the 15th anniversary of the tragic attack, the Crown Prince was on hand when the new memorial was opened in Oslo’s newly renovated Government Quarter. The memorial, “En sähtningelse,” is 11 metres high and 15 metres wide, consisting of a mosaic surrounded by a steel frame.

The mosaic has half a million black and white stones, and survivors and young people from Norway placed the last 7,000.

During the opening, Merete Stamneshagen, leader of the Support Group after July 22, said, “The monument belongs here where democracy is managed and developed every single day. Inside the centre, we can learn. Out in the square, we can feel. The memorial site and the learning centre belong together. Both remind us that democracy is never finished, but must be maintained.”

The Crown Prince and others went into the 22nd of July Centre, where he was one of the first visitors to lay a stone at the memorial cairn. Stones from visitors are being used to create the memorial.

Photo: Ola Vatn / The Royal Court

The 22nd of July Centre will reopen on the 15th anniversary after being closed since 2019 for renovations of the Høyblokka, the main target of the bombing.

A national memorial sits at Lysningen on Utøya and was opened in 2015.

On 22 July 2011, Anders Behring Breivik, a far-right terrorist, detonated a car bomb in Oslo’s Government Quarter. He then travelled to the island of Utøya, where a youth camp organised by the Labour Party’s youth wing was held. He was able to gain access to the island by dressing as a police officer and then commenced his shooting spree. One of those killed on the island was Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s stepbrother. In total, 77 people died (8 from the bombing and 67 from the shooting), and over 320 were injured.

Behring Breivik was convicted of 77 counts of aggravated premeditated murder, 42 counts of attempted murder, two counts of terrorism and causing a dangerous explosion. He was sentenced to 21 years in prison with the possibility of indefinite extension. This is the maximum penalty in Norway, except for war crimes and genocide, which carry 30 years. Norway practises preventive detention, which allows the courts to extend prison sentences for five years if the person is still considered a danger to society. It is unlikely that Behring Breivik will ever be released.