Steilene Islands

Oslo · Norway · Natural site

Sailors crossed themselves as they passed at dusk — out on the islands the bodies of the executed were nailed to wheels on poles, facing the approach to the city.

The five small islands off Nesodden carry a name that gives away what they were: Steilene, from steile og hjul, the breaking wheel. Out here the bodies and body parts of executed criminals were brought and nailed to wheels hoisted onto poles, in plain sight of every ship heading in towards Christiania. The archipelago idyll was the city's macabre shop window: the last station of justice, where the gulls and the weather slowly did their work on the condemned. Sailors are said to have crossed themselves as they passed at dusk, and the islands Persteilene and Landsteilene still recall the poles in their names. Today Steilene is a lighthouse station and a recreation area — but the name refuses to let the history sink.

FAQ

Where is Steilene Islands located?

Steilene Islands is in Oslo, Norway.

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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.

Image: Bjoertvedt · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons