Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Pastel de nata
Portugal • 8 days, 7 nights
Portugal: A Culinary Adventure from Porto to Lisbon
from
Italy • 9 days, 8 nights
Flavors of Italy: Roman Carbonara, Florentine Steak & Venetian Cocktails
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The wall commemorating 11,908 Jewish victims of the Shoah from Frankfurt.
Börneplatz Memorial
Entrance to the munitions area of the lower part of the bunker
Simserhof
Carlos Calderón Yruegas calls the villa his personal playground.
Villa Tabaiba
Apples and pears, Spitalfields Market.
Brick Lane Roundels
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
The exterior of the Hall of Records.
Atlas Obscura Mailbag: Urban Exploration, Illegal Carvings, and Repeat Vacations
1 day ago
Biosphere 2 campus (2016)
Biosphere 2: How Volunteers Survived for 2 Years in an Airtight Habitat
2 days ago
Places like Forest Grove linger on the edge of wilderness and civilization.
Listening for Echoes of the Forest Grove Sound
2 days ago
Longwood House, where Napoleon Bonaparte spent his final years.
The Longwood House: Napoleon Bonaparte’s Beautiful Prison
3 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Norway Oslo Forest of the Future Library

Forest of the Future Library

One thousand trees were planted in Norway to be used to print books a century from now.

Oslo, Norway

Added By
Aaron Netsky
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
A tree that will become an anthology in 100 years   Photo © Bjørvika Utvikling by Kristin von Hirsch
A tree that will become an anthology in 100 years   Photo © Bjørvika Utvikling by Kristin von Hirsch
The area of forest that will become the Future Library   Photo © Skoyts AS www.skoyts.com
A tree that will become an anthology in 100 years   Photo © MJC
Working on the Future Library   Photo © MJC
The design of the Silent Room   Photo © Atelier Oslo, Lund Hagem, Katie Paterson
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

The fate of physical books may seem tenuous, but at least 1,000 copies of 100 different books are set to be printed roughly a century from now, in the year 2114. Indeed, the trees that will be used to make the printing paper have already been planted.

These saplings were planted for the Future Library, a forward-looking art project that's one part literary time capsule, one part environmental statement. The project, launched in 2014, plans to commission one book from a different author each year for 100 years, none of which will be published until 2114. 

The stories will be printed on paper made from the 1,000 trees planted in Nordmarka, a forest just north of Oslo. Until then, the manuscripts will be kept on the top floor of the Deichman Library in Oslo, in a space called the "Silent Room." They will be on display but not made available to read for generations to come, meaning most of us won't ever get the chance.

The Silent Room, set to open in 2019, will be made from the wood that was cleared from the Nordmarka forest to make room for the new trees. The room will only be big enough for a few visitors at a time, and will offer a view of the growing forest off in the distance.

Scottish artist Katie Paterson, who conceived of the Future Library project, often uses time and nature for her art. Past projects include mapping dead stars, sending a meteorite back into space, and live broadcasting sounds made by a melting glacier.

Paterson knows she will probably not see the finished product of her century-long project, however she plans to attend the Handover Ceremony as long as she can. At the ceremony, held each spring, the author selected for that year's text holds a reading in the future forest before delivering the manuscript. The first author to participate was, perhaps fittingly, the popular dystopian fiction author Margaret Atwood. Her 2014 novel, Scribbler Moon, has never been read. The next year was Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell, who contributed a book titled From Me Flows What You Call Time. Next up is Icelandic writer Sjón.

Related Tags

Forests Books Libraries Time Capsule Time Trees Environment Art Collections Ecosystems Plants

Community Contributors

Added By

AaronNetsky

Published

May 10, 2017

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://www.futurelibrary.no/#/
  • http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/every-year-next-100-years-authors-will-write-books-wont-be-read-until-2114-180952637/
  • https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/27/margaret-atwood-scribbler-moon-future-library-norway-katie-paterson
  • http://www.thebookseller.com/news/icelandic-writer-sj-n-named-next-contributor-future-library-414176
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_Library_project
Forest of the Future Library
The Future Library
Nordmarka
Oslo
Norway
59.986321, 10.696853
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Korketrekkeren

Oslo, Norway

miles away

Holmenkollen Ski Jump

Oslo, Norway

miles away

Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum

Oslo, Norway

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Oslo

Oslo

Norway

Places 24
Stories 3

Nearby Places

Korketrekkeren

Oslo, Norway

miles away

Holmenkollen Ski Jump

Oslo, Norway

miles away

Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum

Oslo, Norway

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Oslo

Oslo

Norway

Places 24
Stories 3

Related Stories and Lists

Forest of the Future Library

Podcast

By The Podcast Team

39 Places That Will Warp Your Perspective of Time

List

By Molly McBride Jacobson

Related Places

  • Karuizawa Museum of Picture Books in Karuizawa, Nagano, Japan

    Karuizawa, Japan

    Karuizawa Picture Book Forest Museum

    Children's literature inside, forest all around.

  • The portal made of sticks at the Redwood Forest.

    East Warburton, Australia

    Redwood Forest Tree Art

    Woven tree art gives this towering Australian woodland a touch of mystical whimsy.

  • Konversation by Erwin Stache.

    Neerpelt, Belgium

    Klankenbos Sound Forest

    Artwork tucked within the trees greets visitors with surreal sonic experiences.

  • Hidden faces in the trees.

    Bingen, Germany

    Stockschleifern

    The many—66 to be exact—faces of the German forest.

  • The Enchanted Forest

    Whitethorn, California

    Enchanted Forest

    A grove of "candelabra redwoods" deep in California's Lost Coast.

  • Brea, California

    Brea Redwood Grove

    A non-native grove of 241 redwoods in Southern California.

  • The redwoods.

    Cabezón de la Sal, Spain

    Bosque De Secuoyas (Redwood Forest)

    An out-of-place grove of sequoias thrives in northern Spain.

  • Museum building and tool shop.

    Grayling, Michigan

    Hartwick Pines Logging Museum

    This museum in the woods evokes the work and lives of Michigan's 19-century lumberjacks.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.