Utøyakaia, the memorial.
The history of the Norwegian island of Utøya , about 38 km from Oslo, was marked in 2011 by the largest terrorist attack that Norway has had in its entire history. On July 22 of that year, Andrew Berwick, an anti-Muslim extremist, killed eight people in Oslo with a bomb and then shot 69 others, many of them teenagers at a youth summer camp on the island of Oslo. Utøya. Breivik was sentenced to 21 years in prison for terrorism and premeditated murder.
Almost 10 years after the tragedy, the memorial to the victims of the island of Utøya is still unfinished, although this time it could be the final one, as pointed out by the Statsbygg architecture studio.
A monument to remember the 77 victims.
Apparently Utøyakaia it has had nothing but problems since its planning. The residents of the area, very quiet and rural, fear that the creation of the monument will attract too many tourists. In fact, four years ago they managed to stop the commemorative acts , but this time they have not been able to stop its construction, which is scheduled for July 22.
But,** what do we know about the monument? How will it be?** Although we may think that it will be something megalithic, it is not. It is a structure with a bronze column for each of the 77 lives lost in the attack . Statsbygg has noted that it will be a "dignified and beautiful place to commemorate the terrorist attack".
It will be built right on the pier.
It will be located beachside north of the pier and it will consist of a staircase that curves in such a way that it forms two delimited spaces towards the water's edge. On the lower step of the stairs will be the 77 columns, and the arches will point to the sun creating the same light that was there at the time of the attacks.
At the southern end towards the pier where the ferry MS Thorbjørn , the curved stairs continue down to the water and form a jetty for visitors. MS Torbjørn will be added to the wharf so that every new ferry trip with young people, to and from Utøya, is connected to the memorial site.
"In this way, this is not only a place to remember those we lost, but also to rescue and revive them. When the water level rises, the monument will gradually be flooded, which emphasizes the contact with the water," they stress.
It will be a place that invites reflection.