The Lysebu Hotel in Norway is a graceful mansion behind cabin doors
The old Norwegian capital city of Oslo lays out in a wide valley at the northern end of long fjord of deep blue ocean water, and this valley is surrounded on all sides by the vast Scandinavian forest and mountains of Norway. To the northwest, the city and its suburbs of the Vestre Aker district-run up against the hills of the Holmenkollen neighbourhood. The forest takes over here and in the winter the city of Oslo flood up to the area for winter sports. Among the forest of Tryvannshøyden Hill, you can find the Lysebu Hotel, a creation of the Danish-Norwegian Cooperation Fund, and a grand and luxurious five-star estate. When Norwegians received food supplies from the Danish people during World War II, a grateful nation presented Denmark with the gift of the Lysebu estate, designed by architect Markus Poulson. Poulson drew on traditional Norwegian motifs and materials and created a classic countryside estate in the hills above Oslo.
Today, conferences of all kinds, with frequent and friendly exchanges between Danish and Norwegian delegates, are a regular event at the well-prepared Lysebu. Casual visitors will enjoy the easy access to both the Nordmarka forests and hills on the estate, as well as the 20-minute subway trip to lively downtown Oslo, provided by a Metro station just a few minutes’ walk from the estate. The Lysebu can provide bespoken introductions to the Holmenkollen neighbourhood and the Holmenkollbakken, an Olympic ski jump, which in the summer is open to visitors who can enjoy the view at the top for a distance of thirty miles on a clear day.
