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Location
The Oslo City Hall is situated in the city center within
walking distance of the Royal Palace and the Parliament building.
Located on the waterfront, overlooking the bay of the Oslo fjord, the City Hall reflects the historic role of Oslo as the capital of a seafaring
nation.
History
In 1915 the former mayor of Oslo, Hieronymus Heyerdahl, presented a plan that combined clearing the old Oslo harbor slums and building a new City Hall in the area.
In 1920 the
architects Arnstein Arneberg and Magnus Poulsson were chosen as architects for the project. Their drawings, which were finally approved in 1930, reflect the changing architectural trends during this period. Thus the
City Hall combines national romanticism, classicism and functionalism. The foundation stone was laid in 1931. In the years that followed the area changed character. A new city center was born on the demolished slum
sites with the City Hall towering in its midst.
The occupation of Norway in 1940-45 delayed completion of the building. The formal inauguration took place on Oslo Day, 15 May 1950, simultaneously with the
celebration of the 900th anniversary of the founding of the city of Oslo. |
