Norway inaugurates memorial for victims of 2011 massacre

Norway unveiled a new memorial Sunday, honoring the 77 lives lost in the devastating neo-Nazi attacks that occurred nearly 15 years ago. This event remains the deadliest peacetime massacre in the nation's history.

On July 22, 2011, Anders Behring Breivik first detonated a van bomb in Oslo's government district, killing eight people. He then proceeded to Utøya island, where he fatally shot 69 others, predominantly teenagers attending a summer camp.

Survivors, families of the victims, Crown Prince Haakon, and government officials gathered for the ceremony in the Norwegian capital. Merete Stamneshagen, president of a victim and survivor support group, stated, "July 22, 2011, was a brutal attack not only against people but also against our democracy."

The monument, situated in the capital's revitalized civic quarter, features a 12-meter-high mosaic depicting a wading bird and blades of grass reflected in water. Norwegian artist Matias Faldbakken created the artwork, inspired by sightings of such birds on Utøya. The names of all 77 victims are inscribed on the monument.

Crown Prince Haakon also visited the new 22 July Center, Norway's national memorial and educational hub dedicated to the attacks. Breivik received a 21-year prison sentence in 2012, the maximum penalty at the time, which can be extended indefinitely if he is still deemed a threat. The far-right extremist, now 47, claimed his victims supported multiculturalism.

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July 22, 2011, was a brutal attack not only against people but also against our democracy.