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Here - me myself in silhouette - handfiring a rack of 20 mm. roman candles at the 700th anniversary of Akershus Castle, sept 1999. I spent all summer handmaking fireworks in Denmark - shells inclusive - so everything was made for the occation.

The whole thing started by a phone from Denmark in 1992, so the whole project took 7 years, also resulting in a book on fireworks traditions in Scandinavia published in Danish in 2005. Excluding my military endevours easily the most interesting project I have had the fortune to be a part of in Norway.

Anyway, and in a way, this display by the famed danish fireworker Lars Barfod was a fitting finish for a near 400 houndred year old fireworks tradition in Norway. On this very place, Akershus Castle, the first powdermaker known by name, the German Paul Baumgarten, made the second fireworks display we are aware of in Norwegian history in 1602, to King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway second visit to our country. From 1602 and up and including the the 50th anniversay of the Swedish-Norwegian union the 4th of November 1864, military fireworkers at the artillery laboratory made what we today would call fireworks - for special occations. In Oct 1864, preparing for the anniversary display, two artillerists had an accident "driving" rockets in a shed just meters from where this picture was taken. One escaped unhurt out the window, another soldier lost his life. The accident was caused by friction ignition or pyrotechnic contamination of chlorates in an otherwise "black" fireworks assembly.

Sadly, the days of handmaking pyrotechnic devices for professional use is a thing of the past in Norway.

(Or at least so I thought more than 20 years ago.... Stay tuned)