There are three names engraved above the entry of the National Theater. Henrik Ibsen, a Norwegian playwright who is considered the father of realism. Ludvig Holberg, an 18th century author who is often called the founder of Norwegian and Danish literature. Finally Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1903, wrote the Norwegian National Anthem and was a political activist. Plays by each of these great men were performed on the first three nights when Nationaltheatret opened in 1899.
