A diorama of Digerud lighthouse
This is a diorama of Digerud lighthouse, with a little house and a walkway to the shore. The most striking thing about the diorama is what is written on the walkway: “Welcome to Oslo. Please help to keep this fjord, our bathing pool, clean.” The words are written between what appear to be two swans – but they are not swans, they represent the shape of the Oslofjord.
An actual event
The diorama reproduces an event that happened in the summer of 1956, when the Campaign against the Pollution of the Oslofjord hung this message on the walkway between the lighthouse and the shore. Digerud lighthouse is located about 7 km north of Drøbak. It was important to the campaign that the sign would be clearly visible to passing ship traffic and leisure boats in the fjord. What was at stake for the campaigners?
More than just sediment
During the 20th century, pollution in the Oslofjord became a bigger and bigger problem. It was visible to everyone, and affected everyone: murky water, sludge on the beaches, algae on the rocks. The sewage system and industry were most to blame. In the 1950s, some commentators started talking about “total pollution”. Measurements in the 90s started to show a major decline in the pollution levels . Could the fjord now be declared fit and well?
Help!
The fjord is far from fit and well. In 2021, the government published an action plan to improve conditions in the fjord. It states that urgent action is necessary to protect wildlife in the Oslofjord. In some places, the seabed is reminiscent of a desert. The reasons for the problems in the fjord are many: increased shipping, construction on the beach zone, runoff from agriculture, rising temperatures in the fjord ... the list goes on.
Imagine
Soon it will be 70 years since the Campaign against the Pollution of the Oslofjord was formed. Imagine if the campaigners’ vigilance had quickly been taken up by everyone and spread to the next generations. What difference would that have made to the Oslofjord and the life in it?
Chosen by Brage, History student (23)
On loan from the Norwegian Maritime Museum