Oslo, Norway: Henrik Wergeland Statue

This is quite a nice setting for a statue in the center of Oslo, and you'd have to think someone thought highly of the subject to place a tribute there. So it is for Henrik Wergeland.

This was a man who loved words. He wrote plays, poems and history. Wergeland's interests were all over the map, from theology and politics to science. It sounds like Wergeland didn't suffer fools easily, and had a lot of arguments along the way. He asked the Norwegian Parliament to repeal its prohibition on Jewish immigration in 1839. They agreed to it in 1852, seven years after his death. He picked up the title of Norway's National Poet, and became a symbol of Norway's independence. The man crammed a lot of thought into the 37 years of his life. 

It is interesting to note that Oslo is not the only city to host a statue in Wegeland's honor. There is a similar tribute to him in Fargo, North Dakota. Keep in mind that there was a great deal of immigration from Norway to the Midwest in the United States. Fargo beat out several cities for this statue, including Chicago, Minneapolis and Grand Forks.