Drøbak

 city, Second World War 1939-1945, town, place with historical importance, old city

 Upload a photo

Drøbak is a town and the centre of the municipality of Frogn, in former Akershus county (now Viken county), Norway. The city is located along the Oslofjord, and has 13,409 inhabitants (2017). Drøbak is famous for being the "Christmas town" in Norway and takes this season serious by decorating the sity with light and it even has its own Nissehus which translates "Santa House". A Santa in norway is very much more than the man from the North Pole. In Norway it exist many types of santas! We got Farm Santas, Mountain Santas, Forest Santas, House Santas and even Barn santas and Church santas. The Farm Santa is the most popular one in Norway and often lives on the old farms in plural. The Barn Santa is mostly the same as the Farm Santa but the name says barn where the Farm santas also live. House santas are regular santas in each household in Norway which lives in the Attic of the house. These Santas lives alone and are well known for stamping in the roof when someone wakes him from his long hybernation or if someone have done something bad. Enough of santas. Drøbak is also famous for its war history. During the second world war The fortifications in the middle of the Strate of Drøbak, Oscarsborg fired oppon and sank the Super Heavy German Battle-Cruiser, Blücher from the Admiral-Hipper class. This ruined the Nazis main goal during the opperation Weserübung-Nord and delayed the invasion of Norway. The order to fire oppon Blücher was given by the Colonel of the fortress when the General was unabel to reatch., despite not knowing what they where looking at. This Heroic desision sank the Flagship of the Kriegsmarine during the invasion of Norway and also gave the Norwegian Royal family together with the government some vital time to escape together with the Norwegian Gold Reserves. Oscarsborg castle was bombarded in the time after the sinking by the Luftwaffe to revenge the Blücher. Ironicly there where no cassualties on the fortress during the many days of bombardment. Today Oscarsborg is a Museum which you can visit by ferry. Later in the war a German Transport vessel the SS Donau was sabotaged by the Norwegian resistance movement forcing the captain to beach the Vessel on the shore of a beach in Drøbak. Donau was targeted because of being a kriegsmarine slave ship for the SS and Gestapo transporting Norwegian Jews over to consentration camps like the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Sabotage group working for the Norwegian resistance movement MILORG and NORIC-1 consisted of only to menn where the most famous Norwegian Activist Max Manus was one of the two planting the bombs in Oslo Harbour. The plan was that the bombs was going to detonate on open sea but delays made the bombs go of while in the Drøbak Strait. Donau was salvaged seven years after the war ending and today the site is a popular beach where innhabitants go on hot summer days.

no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr%C3%B8bak
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr%C3%B8bak
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_cruiser_Bl%C3%BCcher
no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admiral_Hipper-klassen
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admiral_Hipper-class_cruiser
no.wikipedia.org/wiki/DS_%C2%ABDonau%C2%BB
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Donau_(1929)