The Nobel Peace Prize and the laureates

In his testament from 1895 Alfred Nobel instructs the executors of the will to give the Peace Prize “to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”.

In The Nobel Chamber on our second level, you will find the magic book about Alfred Nobel’s fascinating life. Here, his experiences and inventions come to life. The book is in itself an adventure, and provide the visitors with a reading session very much out of the ordinary. There is also a lot of information about Alfred Nobel in The Wall Papers and on the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s website.

Among those who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize since 1901, are some of the most significant figures in our recent history. True to their ideals, but at the same time focused on dialogue and collaboration, and of doing mankind good.

Laureates like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Fridtjof Nansen, The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Albert Schweitzer and Alva Myrdal all contribute to making the Nobel Peace Prize the worlds most prestigious prize.

Meet all the laureates in The Nobel Field, in The Wall Papers or in one of our temporary exhibitions.

The Nobel Field on our second level is often referred to as “the heart of the Nobel Peace Center”. Here you may find your favourite Peace Prize laureate, rediscover the ones you have not learned about in a long time, or discover laureates you never heard about. On each screen there is a portrait of a laureate and a short text that describes the reason for this person being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Wall Papers are filled with information, photos, texts, videos and animations about the Peace Prize laureates’ life and work. On five large screens, you may navigate your way through facts about the Nobel Peace Prize, the Peace Prize laureates and the Nobel system. More than 2,800 articles, 1,500 images and hundreds of videos and animations can be retrieved and explored.

Here you may listen to excerpts from the famous speech “I have a dream” by Martin Luther King Jr., read up on why Barack Obama was awarded the Peace Prize, and also get information on how you may get involved yourself.

The 2004 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Kenya’s Wangari Maathai was here when the Nobel Peace Center opened. She later visited us seven times, and used to say that “The Nobel Peace Center is my home away from home”. She died in 2011. Watch the Nobel Media interview with her here.