Victoria Terrasse is an historic building complex located in central

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 ...

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 ...

. The complex now houses the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

History

Victoria Terrasse was built between 1884 and 1890 as an apartment complex. It was designed by architect

Henrik Thrap-Meyer Henrik Thrap-Meyer (31 July 1833 – 29 December 1910) was a Norwegian architect. He is most associated with a wide range of significant buildings, including churches and schools. Thrap-Meyer was born in Bergen, Norway. He was the son of Jo ...

, assisted by Wilhelm von Hanno,

Paul Due Paul Due (13 August 1835 – 26 February 1919) was a Norwegian architect and significant contributor to the stations built by the Norwegian State Railways. Biography Paul Due was born in Kristiansand, Norway. He graduated in engineering s ...

and Richard Steckmest. It consisted of three quarters and provided a fashionable residential complex. The complex's features included rich profiling and a wide variety of wrought iron detail. The building complex utilized electric power and had the largest apartments along the main facade. The facades are articulated with relatively deeply profiled horizontal bands that mark the two main floors. The exterior is made of polished tiled brick painted white, enhanced by decorative towers, domes and cupolas. From 1891 to 1895, Henrik Ibsen lived on the first floor of the southern quarter. It was taken over by the Norwegian government in 1913 and put to use by the police and various political departments. Infamously, it was taken over by the Sicherheitspolizei and

Sicherheitsdienst ' (, ''Security Service''), full title ' (Security Service of the '' Reichsführer-SS''), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence organization ...

in April 1940, serving as headquarters during the

Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

. The offices held the interrogation centre for all prisoners in Oslo, and the place became synonymous with

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. definitions of tortur ...

and abuse. On occasion prisoners jumped out of windows to their death while waiting to be interrogated. Allied bombers tried to destroy Victoria Terrasse on 25 September 1942 and 31 December 1944 but missed the complex and instead hit civilian targets.

References

Buildings and structures completed in the 19th century Buildings and structures in Oslo Norway in World War II {{Norway-struct-stub

History

See also

References