Youngstorget ( en, Young’s Square) is a square and public space located in

downtown Oslo Sentrum, meaning city-centre, is located on the southeast side of Oslo near the inner Oslofjord. The district is dominated by high rises like Postgirobygget and The Plaza. Oslo's Central Station is located on the eastern side of the borough. Se ...

. It lies at the junction of the streets Storgata and Møllergata and alongside Torggata. Constructed in 1846, it has become a symbol of political power in Norway.

Etymology

Although colloquially called Youngstorget by the public, the square was officially named Nytorvet ("New Square") in 1852, which was its official name until 1951, when the city council voted to change the name to Youngstorget. It is named after politician and financier Jørgen Young (1784–1837) who owned most of the adjacent area. A former member of the ''

Storting The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...

'', by the time of his death, Young was the wealthiest man in the city.

Features

Due to its close proximity to the Government quarter the area around the square includes the headquarters of many political organizations. Because of this it is considered to be the center of political power in Norway. Surrounding the square lies amongst others the head offices of the

Norwegian Labour Party The Labour Party ( nb, Arbeiderpartiet; nn, Arbeidarpartiet; A/Ap; se, Bargiidbellodat), formerly The Norwegian Labour Party ( no, Det norske Arbeiderparti, DNA), is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is positioned on the centr ...

, the Workers' Youth League, the Liberal Party and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions. Associated with the

Labor 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 ...

, it is the site of annual May day celebrations, as well as other mainly political demonstrations. A painting of Youngstorget in 1926 by Sigurd Fosnes decorates a wall in

Restaurant Schrøder Restaurant Schrøder is a restaurant in Waldemar Thranes gate 8 at St. Hanshaugen in Oslo, Norway. This restaurant appeared in several fictional works including Jo Nesbø's books about Harry Hole and several books by Bjørg Vik. Schrøder in Torg ...

in St. Hanshaugen. Squares in Oslo {{coord, 59.914943, 10.748826, type:landmark_region:NO, display=title