Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Historien om byen blir ofte fortalt på museet for lokal kultur. - The history of the town is often told at the museum for local culture.

Using historien (“the history”) makes it clear you’re talking about a specific, well-known narrative (the story of this particular city). If you said en historie om byen, it would mean “a (some) story about the city,” implying one of possibly many or a less established account.

Why is byen in the definite form?

In Norwegian, nouns following prepositions like om still need the definite suffix if you mean “the city.” So by → byen (“the city”). Here you’re referring to a specific city’s history, not just any city.

Why is om used after historien? Could we say av?

Om means “about” or “concerning,” so historien om byen = “the history about the city.” Av would mean “by” or “of” in the sense of origin or authorship, which doesn’t work here (it would sound like “the history by the city”).

How does the passive voice blir fortalt work? Could we use er fortalt instead?