HARALD SOHLBERG (1869-1935)
Rondslotett (2,178m - 7,146ft)
Norway
1. In Winter night in Rondane, 1901, oil on canvas, National Gallery, Oslo
2. In Winternight in Rondane, 1914, oil on canvas,National Gallery, Oslo
3. In Winter night in Rondane, 1918-24, oil on canvas,National Gallery, Oslo
The mountain
Rondslottet (2,178m - 7,146ft) is the highest mountain in the Rondane mountain range and is also the highest mountain in the county Hedmark. The landscapes of Rondane are well known to have inspired the work Peer Gynt (1867), a play by Henrik Ibsen, and a opera by Edvard Grieg which is partly set in Rondane. Rondane is the finite plural of the word rond. Several mountains in the area have the ending-ronden (Digerronden, Høgronden, Midtronden, Storronden and Vinjeronden), and this is the finite singular of the same word. The word rond was probably originally the name of the long and narrow lake Rondvatnet ('Rond water/lake') - and the mountains around were then named after this lake. For the meaning see under Randsfjorden.
Rondane National Park (Norwegian: Rondane nasjonalpark) is the oldest national park in Norway, established on 21 December 1962. The park contains ten peaks above 2,000 metres (6,560 ft), with the highest being Rondeslottet at an altitude (see above). The park is an important habitat for herds of wild reindeer. The park was extended in 2003, and now covers an area of 963 km2 (372 sq mi) in the counties Oppland and Hedmark. Rondane lies just to the east of Gudbrandsdal and two other mountain areas, Dovre and Jotunheimen are nearby.
Visitors to Rondane are free to hike and camp in all areas of the park, except in the immediate vicinity of cabins. Apart from being closed for motor traffic, not many special regulations apply. Fishing and hunting is available to licensees. The Norwegian Mountain Touring Association (DNT) is an association that owns and manages a network of mountain cabins in the service of hikers. In Rondane, there is a central cabin by the southern end of the lake Rondvatnet, Rondvassbu. There is also Dørålseter and Bjørnhollia at the northern and eastern rims of the park. All three cabins are manned, and provide food and limited accommodation. There are also un-manned cabins in the Park, like Eldåbu where a key is needed. The service cabins are also open during the winter season, although they are sometimes only self-serviced off season. Ski trails are marked and sometimes prepared, either by DNT or some of the hotels and skiing resorts close to the park.
The painter
Harald Oskar Sohlberg was a Norwegian Neo-romantic painter. Sohlberg attended the Royal School of Art and Design of Christiania. He later trained under the graphic artist and painter Johan Nordhagen. He also studied as a pupil of Kristian Zahrtman, Erik Werenskiold, Eilif Peterssen and Harriet Backer. He is particularly known for his depictions of the mountains of Rondane and the town of Røros. Perhaps his most widely recognized paintings, in several variations, is Winter's Night in Rondane, presently featured at the National Gallery in Oslo (Nasjonalgalleriet).Winter Night in the Mountains (Norwegian: Vinternatt i Rondane) is the name of several versions of the same place, created in several techniques and at different moments of the life of the painter, exactly like Claude Monet did with Mount Kolsaas (in Norway as well) or Hokusai did with Mount Fuji in Japan. The first version of Winter's Night in Rondane was painted in 1910, the last in 1918, but the most famous is the oil painting from 1914.
