Utøya is an island in the Tyrifjorden lake in Hole municipality, in the county of Viken, Norway. The island is, situated off the shore, by the E16 road, about driving distance south of Hønefoss, and northwest of Oslocity centre.
Overview
Utøya is owned by the Workers' Youth League, a youth group associated with the Labour Party, which holds an annual summer camp there. The island is operated commercially by Utøya AS. The island is largely forested, with some open spaces. A small pier on the east side of the island is used to ferry people to and from Utøykaia on the mainland. There are also permanent buildings. Hovedhuset, Stabburet, and Låven are located together near the dock. Up on the hillside are the main campgrounds, the cafeteria building, and the sanitary building. Skolestua is located further south.
The name
The first element ut means 'out', or 'outermost'; the last element øya is the definite form of øy, meaning 'island'. Utøya is the southernmost island of three which lie in the lake of Tyrifjorden. The name is used in reference to its position in relation to two other islands ; Storøya and Geitøya. Storøya is the northernmost, and Geitøya lies between Utøya and Storøya. All of these islands were formerly used for herdingby the people at Sundvollen. Utøya is quite clearly connected to the name of Utvika on the shoreside.
On 22 July 2011, a mass shooting took place at the AUF's summer youth camp, where 650 young people were staying. Anders Behring Breivik arrived alone on Utøya dressed as a police officer and told those on the island that he was there for security reasons following the explosions in Oslo which took place a few hours before. He then began shooting at individuals, continuing until the police arrived one hour after the first alarm call. The suspect immediately surrendered. Combined, the attacks in Oslo and Utøya left 77 dead, with 69 killed on the island, 33 of whom were under the age of 18.
After the massacre
"Rapidly it became clear, that... needed more time. The construction was put on hold for two years", according to the island's manager, Jørgen Frydnes. After the attack, several donations were given to AUF for the restoration of the island. Some of the buildings would be demolished, including the cafeteria building where 13 people had been killed; some of the buildings have been demolished, as of 2016. With some disagreement having been bridged - the future of Utøya has been the source of disagreements among the victims and family of the attacks. While AUF's planned to rebuild and return to Utøya, others wanted to leave the island as a memorial to the dead. The massacre at Utøya remains the deadliest mass shooting worldwide committed by a single gunman.
Places and buildings
s on the island's coastline include Bolsjevika. There are paths including Kjærlighetsstien. A hill - "used by discussion " leads to Arbeidsmiljølåven. Other buildings are "the café building" and the pump house. "Bakken" is used by the audience of speeches.
Memorial place
The place of memorial is called Lysninga;"it lies at the highest point of the island". It was unveiled during the summer of 2015. Components of the memorial place include "Ringen" - a "ring of steel hangs between trees and here the names and age of the majority of those 69 killed are engraved". "The ring" weighs one ton; one part of it weighs 350 kilograms; Alice Greenwald gave advice about leaving some space on "the ring", so that some of the bereaved can later change their mind - so that their deceased relative's name is permitted to be engraved on "the ring".
''Hegnhuset'' ("safeguard house")
Hegnhuset - consists of "Parts of the café building ..., where 13 people were killed..., have been preserved ; around- and under the café building - a læringssenter" has been created; 69 columns support the roof, inside the glass walls. 495 "safeguarding" planks - positioned vertical in the ground - enclose the building; with space - svalgang - between the planks and the building. "The house will protect the memory of the 69 who were killed at Utøya", a father wrote in a news article. Etymology: The building has been named Hegnhuset - "a place that shall safeguard democracy". A synonym of hegn is the imperative form of the verb "safeguard"; therefore Hegnhuset can mean "safeguard house". Inside the café building, preserved are bullet holes in walls, "the open windows where several youths jumped out to escape" the murderer; an old chart that says "you must know the past, to understand the present and peer into the future", and pictures of dead victims; at least one heart-shaped stone, with the inscription "Missing you ", lies on the floor. In lillesalen there is a piano; one was there during the crime. Court testimony has indicated that persons hiding behind the piano on 22 July 2011, were shot. In 2016 Oliver Wainwright named it the "top 10 buildings of 2016", adding that " the Hegnhuset on the island of Utøya makes a simple, powerful record of an event that shook the very foundations of Norway’s national identity. The cafe building, where Anders Breivik murdered... before killing a further 50 on the island, has been retained as a stark relic, its walls sliced with Matta-Clark rawness, and encased in a simple timber and glass pavilion".
