Polhøgda is a property between Lysaker

Lysaker

Lysaker is a section of and a postal code area of the Norwegian municipality of Bærum, just west of Oslo.Geographically, it is bordered by Lysakerelven on the east, which also forms the border to Oslo; Fornebu to the south; Stabekk to the west; and Jar to the north...

 and Fornebu

Fornebu

Fornebu is a peninsular area in the suburban municipality of Bærum in Norway, bordering western parts of Oslo.Oslo Airport, Fornebu served as the main airport for Oslo and the country since before WWII and until the evening of October 7, 1998, when it was closed down...

 in Bærum

Bærum

is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sandvika. Bærum was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. A suburb of Oslo, Bærum is located on the west coast of the city....

, Norway.

Use by Fridtjof Nansen

The property originally belonged to Fornebo

Fornebu

Fornebu is a peninsular area in the suburban municipality of Bærum in Norway, bordering western parts of Oslo.Oslo Airport, Fornebu served as the main airport for Oslo and the country since before WWII and until the evening of October 7, 1998, when it was closed down...

 farm, but was separated from the farm in 1897. Construction on the property took place in 1900 and 1901. It was the home of Fridtjof Nansen

Fridtjof Nansen

Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In his youth a champion skier and ice skater, he led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, and won international fame after reaching a...

 and Eva Nansen

Eva Nansen

Eva Helene Nansen was a celebrated Norwegian mezzosoprano singer. She was also a pioneer of women's skiing.-Personal life:...

 from 1901, and was named Polhøiden in the day. Their son Odd Nansen

Odd Nansen

Odd Nansen was a Norwegian architect, author, and humanitarian, credited with his humanitarian efforts on behalf of Jews in the early years of World War II and for being a founder of UNICEF.-Biography:...

 was born and grew up here.

The building was designed by architect Hjalmar Welhaven

Hjalmar Welhaven

Hjalmar Welhaven was a Norwegian architect, palace manager, and sportsman.-Personal life:Welhaven was born in Christiania as the son of writer Johan Sebastian Welhaven and Josephine Angelica Bidoluac. He married painter Margrethe Petersen Backer in 1876...

, in cooperation with Fridtjof Nansen. Welhaven was Eva Nansen's first cousin. The architectural style is Neo-Roman

Historicism (art)

Historicism refers to artistic styles that draw their inspiration from copying historic styles or artisans. After neo-classicism, which could itself be considered a historicist movement, the 19th century saw a new historicist phase marked by a return to a more ancient classicism, in particular in...

.

The home was an important location of social life for a group of artists and intellectuals collectively known as Lysakerkretsen. The Nansen couple had lived at Godthaab near Lysaker since 1889, and was joined by people such as painters Eilif Peterssen

Eilif Peterssen

Hjalmar Eilif Emanuel Peterssen was a Norwegian painter.-Background:Hjalmar Eilif Emanuel Peterssen was born in Christiania, now Oslo, Norway. He grew up in the neighborhood of Hegdehaugen in the district of Frogner.He attended the Johan Fredrik Eckersberg School of Painting in Oslo in 1869...

 in 1894, Erik Werenskiold

Erik Werenskiold

Erik Theodor Werenskiold was a Norwegian painter and illustrator. He is especially known for his drawings for the...

 in 1895 and Gerhard Munthe in 1899. Erik Werenskiold designed the interior of the dining room at Polhøgda. In addition, many people who lived elsewhere frequented the area near Lysaker; including Gerhard Gran

Gerhard Gran

Gerhard von der Lippe Gran was a Norwegian literary historian, professor, magazine editor, essayist and biographer.-Personal life:...

, Andreas Aubert

Andreas Aubert

Fredrik Ludvig Andreas Vibe Aubert was a Norwegian art historian. -Biography:Andreas Aubert was the son of Ludvig Cæsar Martin Aubert who was a classical scholar and professor of philology at the University of Oslo. He was married to Martha Johanne Védastine Moe , becoming the son-in-law of...

, Hans E. Kinck

Hans E. Kinck

Hans Ernst Kinck was a Norwegian author and philologist who wrote novels, short stories, dramas, and essays.He was born in Øksfjord in Loppa, Finnmark, where his father was the local health inspector. He died in Oslo....

, Thorvald Lammers

Thorvald Lammers

Thorvald Lammers was a Norwegian baritone singer, conductor, composer and biographer. He made his song début in Oslo in 1873. He founded the choir known as Korforeningen in 1879, and conducted it until 1909. Around 1900, Lammers was regarded as Norway's most important male singer...

, Ernst Sars

Ernst Sars

Johan Ernst Welhaven Sars was a Norwegian historian, publicist and editor. His main work was Udsigt over den norske Historie, four volumes issued from 1873 to 1891. He co-edited the magazines Nyt norsk Tidskrift from 1877 to 1878, and Nyt Tidsskrift from 1882 to 1887...

, Georg Ossian Sars

Georg Sars

Georg Ossian Sars was a Norwegian marine biologist.Georg Ossian Sars was born on April 20, 1837, in Kinn, Norway , the son of Michael Sars and Maren Sars; the historian Ernst Sars was his elder brother, and the singer Eva Nansen was his younger sister. He grew up in Manger, Hordaland, where his...

 and Moltke Moe

Moltke Moe

Moltke Moe was a Norwegian folklorist.-Biographu:Ingebret Moltke Moe was born in Krødsherad, Buskerud County, Norway. He was the son of Church of Norway Bishop Jørgen Moe. After school graduation in 1876 he began to study theology, but eventually he was caught more by folklore and religious history...

. Eva Nansen held concerts here.

Later use

After the death of Fridtjof Nansen in 1930, he was buried at the property. It was sold for a nominal fee from his heirs to a group of donators, who in turn gave the property to the University of Oslo

University of Oslo

The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...

. Their conditions included that the building should be preserved, and not be used as a museum. It was later owned by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway.-History:The University of Oslo was established in 1811. The idea of a learned society in Christiania surfaced for the first time in 1841. The city of Throndhjem had no university, but had a learned...

, and from 1947 the Norwegian Geographical Society

Norwegian Geographical Society

The Norwegian Geographical Society is a Norwegian learned society founded in 1889. Among the initiators was geologist Hans Henrik Reusch, who chaired the society from 1898 to 1903, and again from 1907 to 1909, and was also an honorary member...

. In 1948 the Geographical Society created a foundation to administer the property; the foundation was named from 1958. It currently hosts the research foundation Fridtjof Nansen Institute

Nansen Institute

The Fridtjof Nansen Institute is named after the Norwegian polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen . It is housed in Polhøgda, Nansen's mansion from 1901 to 1930....

.