Paléet was a monumental single storey

townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...

located in the Norwegian capital

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

that for a long time functioned as a residence for the Norwegian royalty.

History

Construction

The building was constructed between the years 1744-45 and was commissioned by the wealthy merchant

Christian Ancher Christian Ancher (27 July 1711 – 9 January 1765) was a Norwegian merchant, timber trader and ship owner. Biography Ancher was born in Søndre Land in Oppland, Norway. He was the son of Bernt Ancher (1680–1724) and Karen Tanche (1685� ...

. Situated in what is present-day ''Fred.Olsens gate 6'', close to

Oslo Central Station Oslo Central Station ( no, Oslo sentralstasjon, abbreviated ) is the main railway station in Oslo, and the largest railway station within the entire Norwegian railway system. It connects with Jernbanetorget station. It's the terminus of Dramm ...

, the building was near a public garden, ''Paléhaven'', that stretched down to the shores of

Bjørvika Bjørvika is a neighborhood in the Sentrum borough of Oslo, Norway. The area is an inlet in the inner Oslofjord, situated between Gamlebyen and Akershus Fortress. It serves as an outlet for the river Akerselva. Since the 2000s, it has been und ...

Royal residence

The townhouse remained in the Anker family until the death of

Bernt Anker Bernt Anker (22 November 1746 – 21 April 1805) was a Norwegian merchant, Chamberlain (office), chamberlain and playwright. He was born in Oslo, Christiania, the son of Christian Ancher and a brother of Peder Anker and cousin of Carsten An ...

who in 1805 bequeathed Paléet to the Norwegian government and the Norwegian royal family. King

Charles XIV sv, Karl Johan Baptist Julius , spouse = , issue = Oscar I of Sweden , house = Bernadotte , father = Henri Bernadotte , mother = Jeanne de Saint-Jean , birth_date = , birth_place = Pau, ...

expanded townhouse greatly, with the old stables being converted into residential areas, all decorated in

empire style The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 durin ...

. Paléet was subsequently given the role as the royal residence in

during the era of the

Union between Sweden and Norway Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway ( sv, Svensk-norska unionen; no, Den svensk-norske union(en)), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and known as the United Kingdoms, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Swede ...

, a role the townhouse maintained until the completion of the

Royal Palace This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent. Africa * Abdin Palace, Cairo * Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo * Koubbeh Palace, Cairo * Tahra Palace, Cairo * Menelik Palace * Jubilee Palace * Guenete Leul Palace * Imperial Palace- ...

in 1848.

Later years

Paléet would later function as offices, living quarters for members of the Norwegian civil service, housed the Norwegian Supreme Court between 1898 and 1908 and was used by the

Hird The hird (also named "Håndgangne Menn" in Norwegian), in Scandinavian history, was originally an informal retinue of personal armed companions, hirdmen or housecarls, but came to mean not only the nucleus ('Guards') of the royal army, but also ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. The townhouse was demolished after a damaging fire in 1942 and no trace of the building can be seen today.

Kings and royalty who resided at Paléet

Christian VII of Denmark Christian VII (29 January 1749 – 13 March 1808) was a monarch of the House of Oldenburg who was King of Denmark–Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death in 1808. For his motto he chose: "''Gloria ex amore patriae'' ...

Charles August, Crown Prince of Sweden Charles August or Carl August (9 July 1768 – 28 May 1810) was a Danish prince. He is best known for serving as Crown Prince of Sweden briefly in 1810, adopted by Charles XIII, before his sudden death from a stroke. Earlier, he had been a genera ...

Prince Frederik of Hesse Prince Frederik of Hesse, Landgrave Friedrich of Hesse-Cassel (24 May 1771 – 24 February 1845) was a Danish- German nobleman, general and Governor-general of Norway (1810–1813) and the same in the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein (1836–184 ...

* Charles XIV John of Sweden and Norway *

Oscar I of Sweden Oscar I (born Joseph François Oscar Bernadotte; 4 July 1799 – 8 July 1859) was King of Sweden and Norway from 8 March 1844 until his death. He was the second monarch of the House of Bernadotte. The only child of King Charles XIV John, Osca ...

Charles XV of Sweden Charles XV also Carl (''Carl Ludvig Eugen''); Swedish: ''Karl XV'' and Norwegian: ''Karl IV'' (3 May 1826 – 18 September 1872) was King of Sweden (''Charles XV'') and Norway, there often referred to accurately as Charles IV, from 1859 until h ...

Gallery

File:Harbour of Christiania (JW Edy plate 50).jpg, Harbour of Christiania with Paléet visible in the corner File:Paléet OB.Y1501.jpg, Paléet seen from ''Paléhaven'' File:Paléet OB.Y1503.jpg, The ballroom hall File:Modell av Paleet og hagen OB.A8497.jpg, Model of Paléet File:Paléet OB.NW2449.jpg, Paléet during the devastating fire in 1942

References

Sources

* Ludvig Daae
''Det gamle Christiania 1624-1814''. Anden omarbeidede og forøgede Udgave. J.W. Cappelens Forlag. Christiania 1891
pages 253-289 * Thor Bendz Kielland
''Paléet i Oslo. Constitutionsværkets Vugge''. Gyldendal Norsk Forlag. Oslo 1939
* ''Oslo byleksikon''. Kunnskapsforlaget. Oslo 2000. * Monica Mørk and Ulf Holmene: ''Kong Christian Frederik og Paleet i Christiania og sommerresidensen på Ladegaardsøen, ''from

Jørn Holme Jørn Holme (born 16 August 1959) is a Norwegian judge and civil servant. He grew up at Nordberg, and originally wanted to become a priest. He was active in the Norwegian Christian Student Association while studying. He graduated with the cand ...

(red.): ''De kom fra alle kanter - Eidsvollsmennene og deres hus, ''Cappelen Damm 2014 {{Royal palaces in Norway Royal residences in Norway 1740s establishments in Norway History of Oslo Buildings and structures in Oslo Palaces in Norway 1745 establishments in Europe