Møllergata 19 is an address 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 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 t ...

where the city's main police station and jail was located. The address gained notoriety during the

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

from 1940 to 1945, when the Nazi security police kept its headquarters here. This is also where

Vidkun Quisling Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling (, ; 18 July 1887 – 24 October 1945) was a Norwegian military officer, politician and Nazi collaborator who nominally list of heads of government of Norway, headed the government of Norway during t ...

in 1945 surrendered to the legitimate Norwegian government and was imprisoned.

History

Although the site was owned by the city government since the 17th century, it was not until 1857 that the city of

Kristiania 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 ...

decided to put the site to use as a center for law enforcement. Based on the drawings by

Jacob Wilhelm Nordan Jacob Wilhelm Nordan (23 February 1824 – 11 April 1892) was a Danish-born, Norwegian architect. During his career, he was one of the most prolific church architects in Norway. Biography Nordan was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and came to Norw ...

, construction for the complex started in 1862 and was finished in 1866. Facing

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

(which then was called Nytorvet), was the police station and courtrooms; behind these was the jail. A floor was added in the late 1870s. Though some of the capacity was moved to a new prison in

Åkebergveien Åkebergveien is a street in Oslo, Norway. The street is named after the former farm Åkeberg. ''Åkebergveien 11'' formerly belonged to the brewery Ytteborgs Aktiebryggeri. In 1934 the building was acquired by the city of Oslo, and after rebuil ...

(known as "Bayern"), the structure continued to serve as a prison and central police station until the new police building at Grønlandsleiret was finished. The prison was demolished and replaced with a new office building, and the police station was taken over by the government.

World War II

Immediately upon arriving in Norway, the German army commandeered Møllergata 19 for its own purposes, and the first prisoners were British subjects suspected of being clandestine agents, arrested on 10 April. The following day, a Norwegian was also detained for showing contempt for the German forces. By August, the prison was solely used for prisoners arrested by the Nazi authorities. The official capacity was 145 prisoners, but the Germans kept up to 550 at a time. Prisoners held here were often subject to interrogation and torture at

Victoria Terrasse Victoria Terrasse is an historic building complex located in central Oslo, Norway. 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 desig ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mollergata 19 Buildings and structures in Oslo 1866 establishments in Norway Government buildings completed in 1866