Oslo City Hall ( no, Oslo rådhus) is a

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

building in

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 ...

, the capital of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. It houses the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

, the city's administration and various other municipal organisations. The building as it stands today was constructed between 1931 and 1950, with an interruption 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 ...

. It was designed by architects

Arnstein Arneberg Arnstein Rynning Arneberg (6 July 1882 – 9 June 1961) was a Norwegian architect. He was active professionally for 50 years and is often considered the leading architect in Norway of his time. Personal life Arnstein Rynning Arneberg was b ...

and Magnus Poulsson. The building is located in the city center, in the northern part of the Pipervika neighbourhood, and it faces

Oslofjord The Oslofjord (, ; en, Oslo Fjord) is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the and lighthouses and down to in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the Nor ...

. Oslo City Hall is built of

red brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

and has two towers, one 63 meters tall and other 66 meters tall. The bricks used are larger than what was typical at the time of construction, but are roughly the same size as bricks used in the Middle Ages. The bricks, measuring approximately 27.5 × 13 × 8.5 cm, were produced by Hovin Teglverk in Oslo. The eastern tower has a carillon set of 49 bells. Various events and ceremonies take place in the building, notably the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

ceremony, which takes place every December.

Earlier City Halls

Middle ages

It appears that in the Middle Ages, various different buildings had the function of a city hall. One source suggests that one of those buildings had a wine cellar which was open to the public.

''Gamle rådhus''

In 1624, all of old Oslo burnt to the ground. King Christian IV decided that the city should not be rebuilt at the same location and instead be built to the north of

Akershus Fortress Akershus Fortress ( no, Akershus Festning, ) or Akershus Castle ( no, Akershus slott ) is a medieval castle in the Norwegian capital Oslo that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. Since the Middle Ages the fortress ...

. The new city had wide streets at right angles. Building space for a town hall was made available between ''Rådhusgaten'' and ''Øvre Slottsgate''. What is today referred to as the old City Hall (''Gamle rådhus'') was finished in 1641. The building still exists at Nedre Slottsgate 1. The building fell into decay and by 1733 a building at ''Rådhusgaten 7'' was selected to be a new City Hall. By the 1800s the building was too small and the growing administration moved to various premises across the city. Architectural competitions were held in 1876 and 1898 for a new building at Hammersborg, but the plans were never carried out due to a lack of funds.

Modern-day City Hall

History

The idea of building a new city hall in Pipervika was first suggested by architect Oscar Hoff in 1906, but nothing came of the plans. In 1915, the idea was taken up by Hieronymus Heyerdahl, who had just stood down as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

. He noticed the city's lack of a representative city hall to receive the municipality's guests during the

1914 Jubilee Exhibition The 1914 Jubilee Exhibition took place in Kristiania, Norway, from May 5 to October 11, 1914. It marked the centennial anniversary of the 1814 constitution and focused on industry and agriculture. The main location was the grounds of Frogner Manor ...

in Frogner. He set up an architectural competition which received a total of 44 entries in the first of two rounds. In 1918 Arnstein Arneberg and Magnus Poulsson were selected as winners, whose project was clearly inspired by

Stockholm City Hall Stockholm City Hall ( sv, Stockholms stadshus, ''Stadshuset'' locally) is the seat of Stockholm Municipality in Stockholm, Sweden. It stands on the eastern tip of Kungsholmen island, next to Riddarfjärden's northern shore and facing the islands ...

. A continued lack of funds meant that construction had to wait, and in the intervening years the architects made several changes to the project. In 1930 they present their final draft, which had undergone significant changes, influenced by functionalism. The most apparent change was the addition of two office towers. The ground stone laying ceremony took place in September 1931, with King Haakon VII and Crown Prince Olav in attendance. Actual construction began in February 1933. Various buildings were also torn down. The city's old amusement park - Tivoli - was also forced to close as a new zoning plan created new plots of land for sale. The purpose was to raise funds for the construction of the building. In November 1936 the shell of the building was completed. A few floors of office space were in use by the time war broke out in 1940. Construction resumed after the war and the office space was in use by 1947, while final touches were still being added. Oslo City Hall was officially opened on 15 May 1950, as part of the city's 900-year anniversary. Three musical compositions were written in connection with the celebrations, written by Ludvig Irgens-Jensen,

Eivind Groven Eivind Groven (8 October 1901 – 8 February 1977) was a Norwegian composer and music-theorist. He was from traditional region of Vest-Telemark and had a background in the folk music of the area. Biography Groven was born in the village of L� ...

and Karl Andersen. By the time it opened in 1950, the style of the building was no longer popular. Brick was in stark contrast to the steel and glass which architects considered modern at the time, and no further buildings were built in that style afterwards. Stockholm's city hall - also in brick - had been designed by

Ragnar Östberg Ragnar Östberg (14 July 1866 – 5 February 1945) was a Swedish architect who is best known for designing Stockholm City Hall. Biography Östberg was born in Stockholm, Sweden. His parents were Carl Östberg and Erika Kindahl. Between 1884 a ...

, and

Martin Nyrop Martin Nyrop (11 November 1849 18 May 1921) was a Danish architect. Early life and education Nyrop was born on 11 November 1849 at Holmsland, Ringkøbing, the son of parish priest Christopher Nyrop (1805–1879) and Helene Ahlmann (1807–1874). ...

designed

Copenhagen City Hall Copenhagen City Hall ( da, Københavns Rådhus) is the headquarters of the Copenhagen City Council as well as the Lord mayor of the Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. The building is situated on City Hall Square in central Copenhagen. Architect ...

, which is also a monumental brick building. Both Nyrop and Östberg were on the jury which selected the winning design of Oslo City Hall.

Decoration

Various contests were held to decide who would decorate City Hall in January 1937. In all, eight painters and 17 sculptors were hired. Most of the work was completed by the opening of the hall in 1950, though the sculpture park was not completed until the 1960s.

Exterior

The western wall of the building is dominated by Anne Grimdalen's sculpture of

Harald Hardråde Harald Sigurdsson (; – 25 September 1066), also known as Harald III of Norway and given the epithet ''Hardrada'' (; modern no, Hardråde, roughly translated as "stern counsel" or "hard ruler") in the sagas, was King of Norway from 1046 t ...

on horseback.

Nic Schiøll Nicolai Marius "Nic" Schiøll (10 October 1901 – 29 December 1984) was a Norwegian sculptor and painter. He was most known for his public works, ornamental sculptures and memorials. Biography Schiøll was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), N ...

's sculpture of St. Hallvard is at the front of the building, facing Oslofjord. Reliefs by

Dagfin Werenskiold Dagfin Werenskiold (16 October 1892 – 29 June 1977) was a Norwegian sculptor and painter. He was born in Bærum as son of Norwegian painter and illustrator Erik Werenskiold, and brother of geologist Werner Werenskiold. He first learned drawing ...

face the square and are multicoloured depictions of motifs from the

Poetic Edda The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the ''Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic med ...

. Joseph Grimeland designed the bronze relief over the entrance and also the ''Oslopike'' ("Oslo girl") high up on the wall. Six free-standing sculptures by

Per Palle Storm Per Palle Storm (1 December 1910 – 6 January 1994) was a Danish-born Norwegian sculptor and professor at the Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts. Biography He was born in Copenhagen and was raised in Argentina. He was the son of Hans Pet ...

in front of the building depict the craftsmen who built the building.

Main Hall

The building's main hall was decorated by

Henrik Sørensen Henrik Sørensen (12 February 1882 – 24 February 1962) was a Norwegian painter. Personal life Sørensen was born in Fryksände in Sweden as a son of Severin Sørensen and Helene Høibraaten. He was married to Gudrun Klewe, and is father of ...

and Alf Rolfsen. The Hall is 31 metres wide, 39 metres long and around 21 metres high. The floor and parts of the walls are clad in marble. The room has a series of wall paintings depicting Norway and Oslo between the wars and also during occupation. They also depict the growth of commercial activity in the city, including the rise of the

labour movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

. Various monarchs and the city's patron saint, St. Hallvard are also depicted.

City Council Hall

The room in which the City Council meets (''Bystyresalen'') is semi-circular. It is clad in oak and tapestries, the most noticeable of which was designed by Else Poulsson, the niece of the architect. Woven by Else Halling, it depicts St. Hallvard and the seven virtues. The artist hoped the design would remind the city's politicians of ethics and good decisionmaking.

Nobel Peace Prize ceremony

On December 10 (anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death) each year, Oslo City Hall hosts the

ceremony in which the annual laureate gives his or her lecture and is awarded the medal and diploma. A podium for the laureate and the Nobel Committee is erected in the far end of the hall for each ceremony. The Norwegian Royal Family and

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

are attendants.

Gallery

File:Oslo rådhus2.jpg, Oslo City Hall, from the Sea Front File:Oslo-City-Hall-north.jpg, North side with the

Astronomical Clock An astronomical clock, horologium, or orloj is a clock with special mechanisms and dials to display astronomical information, such as the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, zodiacal constellations, and sometimes major planets. Definition ...

and the main entrance of the City Hall. Carillon over East tower File:Bankettsalen, Oslo city hall.jpg, The banquet hall File:Henrik Sørensen's decoration in the Oslo City Hall, large view of the hall.jpg, Henrik Sørensen's decoration in the Oslo City Hall File:Henrik Sørensen's decoration in the Oslo City Hall.jpg, Henrik Sørensen's decoration in the Oslo City Hall. Oil painting 1938-1950 File:Henrik Sørensen's decoration in the Oslo City Hall, detail.jpg, Henrik Sørensen's decoration in the Oslo City Hall, detail File:La salle Munch dans lhôtel de ville dOslo (4853547949).jpg, ''Life'' (1910) by Edvard Munch, at ''The Munch room'' File:Oslo City Hall in the snow, January 2011.jpg, Oslo City Hall in the snow, January 2011 File:Interior of Oslo City Hall 20180729-2.jpg

Literature

* Grønvold, Ulf and Sørensen, Gunnar (2000) ''Rådhuset i Oslo – Nasjonens storstue – Aschehoug'', Oslo * Schøning, Trond L.:
Det norske hus'' (PDF)
hovedoppgave i kunsthistorie, UiB 2001

References

External links

Aftenposten article about winning Oslo structure of the century

"Welcome to the Oslo City Hall" official page
{{Coord, 59, 54, 42.35, N, 10, 44, 0.90, E, type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Oslo Culture in Oslo City and town halls in Norway Nobel Peace Prize 1950 establishments in Norway Office buildings in Norway