Karl Johans gate is a central street in the Norwegian capital, and runs from the Main Railway Station to the Royal Palace. This central two-laned street holds some of the city’s most prominent tourist attractions, and we are going to explore them in this article.
By the way, you can learn more about the city’s major attractions in our guide to Oslo or explore the Norwegian capital on our bestselling walking tour.
The Royal Palace gracefully sits atop Karl Johans gate, right in the heart of the city. This magnificent building had a history that is not any less dramatic than that of this entire country.
As a gesture of gratefulness, the Norwegians decided to build a palace for Karl Johan, a French general turned Swedish king. After Karl Johan conquered Norway and forced it into an union with Sweden in 1814, he allowed Norway to keep significant autonomy, allowing everything except for control of its own military and foreign policy, something the Norwegians were thankful for.
Despite such generous efforts, Norway was a poor country back then, so the construction concluded on 26 July 1849, 28 years after it had been commenced. And, unfortunately, Karl Johan did not get a chance to reside in this beautiful palace.
Today, the Royal Palace of Oslo serves as the official residence of the Norwegian king. The palace has 173 rooms, and there is a public park that surrounds the castle.
You cannot stroll down the central street of Oslo, Karl Johans gate, and not have your attention drawn to one of the magnificent buildings there: the main campus of the University of Oslo. The elegant main building of this university is located opposite to the Norwegian National Theater. It houses beautiful murals by Edvard Munch that you can see for free! Just don’t bother the students when you enter the building!
Today, the University of Oslo is the country’s oldest university and the largest public research university. It is also Scandinavia’s third-best university, according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities. But the importance of the University of Oslo for Norway is far beyond the grasp.
The institution’s history spans from 1811, when it was founded as Royal Frederick University. The university itself was modeled after the University of Copenhagen (that’s not a surprise, since Norway had been in a union with Denmark at that time) and the recently established University of Berlin. By the way, that very University of Copenhagen still has the highest rankings among the Scandinavian universities.
The beautiful yet reserved building of the National Theater is located right in the heart of the city. The oldest standing theater in Oslo, it was constructed in the 19th century, by the famous Akershus Fortress. It was known as the Christiania Theater and functioned until the end of the century and was headed by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, a Norwegian writer and a Nobel Prize laureate.
The old Christiania Theater was closed only when the National Theater was unveiled. The Swedish royal family visited the opening ceremony on September 1, 1899. During the first three days, plays of three famous Norwegians were performed: Ludvig Holberg, Henrik Ibsen, and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, of course. Today, you can see statues dedicated to all three of them standing in front of the theater.
The history of this lavish building dates back to 1874 when Julius Fritzner, a local confectioner, turned this residence into a hotel. The café in this hotel opened first, followed by an extensive renovation of the building. In the next couple of decades, the edifice went through some major changes, such as the opening of the Speilen ballroom in 1886 and the opening of a lavish representation hall in 1894.
Henrik Ibsen, a prominent Norwegian playwright and theatre director, was present during the opening of the hall. He played an important role in making the Grand Hotel famous, and his habit of attending the Grand Hotel Café on a daily basis became famous. Today, this hotel remains one of the best places to stay in Oslo, and the exterior of the building is beautiful, serving as a stunning adornment to Karl Johans gate.
The Storting building (or the building of the Norwegian parliament) was made of predominately yellow brick and has a unique style – the architects borrowed elements from the French and Italian architectural styles of the time, creating an harmonious blend.
The story of Norway’s parliament is as dramatic as the country’s history. Until 1814, the country had been ruled by Denmark, but as Sweden gained control over Norway, the country’s first parliament was established that same year. Initially, gatherings of the parliament occurred in a public school and, later, moved to the grand hall of the University of Oslo.
Nonetheless, it became clear that even though Norway wan’t independent country, it was necessary to build an structure for the country’s parliament. Back in 1833, the parliament had voted on this and rejected it by the majority of votes. After much deliberation about the location for the building, the larger government ultimately decided to build the Storting on its current location, and disregarded the parliament’s decision to build it in the Palace Park.
Construction of the Storting building started in 1860, and the assembly had a chance to move in by 1866. While at that time the building was larger than parliament needed, other governmental agencies were housed there as well. Today, the Storting building is not merely a utilitarian building, but also a piece of sculptural art located in the heart of Oslo.
The Oslo Cathedral is situated in the heart of Oslo and is a major tourist landmark. Located directly opposite the Parliament building, the locals refer to it simply as Dom, or “the church”.
This cathedral was constructed between 1697 and 1730 and has gone through extensive restoration work in recent years. The redesign saw an increase in capacity from 2,000 up to 3,200 people. It is assumed that Jørgen Wiggers designed the Dom, though it hasn’t been historically confirmed yet.
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