While the queues at Oslo's nightclubs were long, the police registered at least 50 fights and disturbances during the course of four hours in the capital.
The police handled, among other things, a knife cutting and an alarm about a man with a machete on a bus.
In addition, a man is being cared for for serious head injuries after assault on Stortorget.
- There was a significantly greater workload than before during the summer.
There were a lot of people out already in the afternoon and it continued during the night, says Rune Hekkelstrand at the Oslo Police to NRK.
However, it was not only in Oslo that the police were busy.
In Tønsberg, Skien and Bergen, the police had to intervene in several major riots, writes NRK.
From Trondheim come reports that people fainted in pub queues.
- There were long and dense queues outside the nightclubs.
People pressed so hard that others lost their breath, a spokesman for the police told Norwegian TV2.
Opened suddenly
The news that Norway would ease the restrictions came relatively suddenly.
The government announced the decision on Friday, and at 4 pm the next day it came into force.
Critics say the quick jerks may have contributed to the night's chaos.
- It turned out exactly as I said beforehand.
It became life threatening out there because they did not give us a few days notice.
It is even life-threatening what Solberg has done, says nightclub manager Johan Høeg Haanes in Oslo to VG.
However, Prime Minister Erna Solberg defends the decision.
She says it would have been foolish to wait, as an opening was advocated for the country's infection control authority.
- We should not have strict measures if they can not be motivated professionally.
We have also been in contact with the municipalities, and an overwhelming majority wanted to see an opening, she tells VG.