The oldest settlements in the area surrounding the Oslofjord date from the
Stone Age and the
Bronze Age. It was here on the eastern and western shores that three of the best preserved Viking ships were unearthed, including the
Gokstad ship. In historical times, this bay was known by the current name of the region,
Viken (). Oslofjord has been an important body of water strategically due to its proximity to the capital city of Oslo. During
World War II, there were
German installations at several points on its coastline. One installation in
Hovedøya held 1,100
Wehrmacht soldiers and later women deemed Nazi
collaborators at the
National Internment Camp for Women in Hovedøya. Norwegian painter
Edvard Munch had a cottage and studio in
Åsgårdstrand on the fjord and the Oslofjord appears in several of his paintings, including
The Scream and
Girls on the Pier.
Second World War The fjord was the scene of a key event in the
German invasion of Norway in April 1940, the
Battle of Drøbak Sound. The invasion plan envisaged landing of 1,000 troops transported by ship to Oslo.
Colonel Eriksen, Commander of the
Oscarsborg fortress near Drøbak, mainly maintained for historical purposes, sank the German
heavy cruiser Blücher in the
Drøbak narrows. The fortress's resistance blocked the route to Oslo, thus delaying the rest of the invading group long enough for the Norwegian royal family, government, parliament, and national treasury to evacuate. Thus Norway never surrendered to the Germans, leaving the
Quisling government illegitimate and permitting Norway to participate as an
ally in
the war, rather than as a conquered nation. ==Demographics==