St Hallvard
St Hallvard is the patron saint of Oslo and is depicted on the city’s great seal.
Hallvard Vebjørnsson (1020–1043) came from Lier, near Drammen. According to legend he was related to St Olav. In 1043, Hallvard is said to have attempted to protect a pregnant woman from some men who had accused her of theft. He tried to row her to safety across Drammensfjord, but their pursuers caught up with them and he was killed by arrows. Hallvard’s body was weighed down with a millstone and dropped into the fjord. Miraculously, however, both the body and the millstone floated to the surface again. He was then buried beside a church at his home, Huseby Farm. After several miracles had occurred by his grave, he was declared a saint.
King Sigurd the Crusader built a cathedral in Oslo that was consecrated to St Hallvard. Circa 1130, St Hallvard’s remains were transported there and placed in a golden casket, which was unfortunately destroyed during the Reformation 400 years later.
The statue
On the West Front, he is depicted with a millstone and the arrows that killed him.
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Feast day
15 May (Hallvardsmesse, Hallvardsok, Hallsok)
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Attribute
Millstone and arrows.
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Patron saint of
Oslo and Eastern Norway.
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The sculpture
The statue was modelled by Nic. Schiøll and carved by Jakob Skaufel in 1942.
