Norway has opened a new memorial to the 77 victims of the country’s deadliest peacetime terrorist attack, days before its 15th anniversary.

On July 22, 2011, neo-Nazi Anders Breivik killed eight people with a car bomb in Oslo and shot dead 69 others, mostly teenagers, at a youth camp on the island of Utoeya. Hundreds more were injured in the worst atrocity in Norway in recent history.

On Sunday, survivors and relatives of the victims gathered in Oslo for the unveiling of a large work of art depicting a bird native to the island of Utoeya.

The artist said the work had a dual purpose: to remember the victims and engage the public in an act of democratic resilience against the far-right ideologies that inspired the attack.

The contemporary artwork features a massive blue steel frame holding a 12-meter (39-foot) tall stone mosaic depicting a small wading bird, as well as straw and sticks reflected in the water.

Called Upholding, the monument is located in Oslo’s renovated government district, near the site of the bomb explosion that started the 2011 attack.

The artist Matías Faldbakken said he saw the bird on the island of Utoeya. Many of those killed on the island were teenagers involved with the youth wing of the Norwegian Labor Party, the AUF.

The names of the 77 victims are engraved on the monument.

“July 22, 2011 was a brutal attack not only against individuals, but also against our democracy,” said Merete Stamneshagen, head of a support group for victims and survivors, quoted by the AFP news agency.

Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon and government officials also attended the opening ceremony in Oslo on Sunday.

Haakon also visited the new 22nd of July Centre, Norway’s national educational and memorial center dedicated to the attacks.

In 2012, Breivik was sentenced to 21 years in prison, the maximum a court can impose in Norway, although it can be extended as long as he is considered a threat.

Over the years, Breivik has questioned the terms of his sentence.

In 2016, he partially won his human rights case against Norway before it was overturned the following year.

In 2022, he failed in his attempt to obtain parole; The court ruling had not changed and he continued to be a risk to society. In 2024, he unsuccessfully sued the government over allegations of isolation, as he is kept separate from other prisoners for security reasons.