- You shall build it exactly here!

That’s what the Danish king Christian IV supposingly said back in 1624 when he decided where the new town of Christiania should be located. Eagerly waving his glove, he couldn’t wait to rebuild the old town of Oslo, which had burnt down a few months earlier. While the old town was situated to the east of the river, the king wanted to settle the new town close to the fortress of Akershus. People disagreed, but nothing could stop the king, still in his most dynamic age.

So during the next few years, Christiania (not Oslo) was built as a new city after modern priciples, with squares and straight streets. At the Christiania Torv (square), you will find some of the oldest standing buildings in the city (which was renamed Oslo in 1925), including the old city hall. This square would have been a major tourist attraction, if it hadn’t been for the car traffic which destroys it completely. Citizens of Oslo apologize to our guests.

The king’s glove is sculptured in the middle of the square. It is made by the artist Wenche Gulbransen.

Tags: art

This entry was posted on Friday, August 14th, 2009 at 9:18 pm and is filed under Culture, History. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.