Royal Palace, Oslo

The Royal Palace (Norwegian: Slottet or formally Det kongelige slott) in Oslo was built in the first half of the 19th century as the Norwegian residence of the French-born King Charles III of Norway, who reigned as king of Norway and Sweden. The palace is the official residence of the current Norwegian monarch while the Crown Prince resides at Skaugum in Asker west of Oslo.

The palace is located at the end of Karl Johans gate in central Oslo and is surrounded by the Palace Park with the Palace Square in the front.

History

Until the completion of the palace, Norwegian royalty resided in Paléet, the magnificent townhouse in Christiania that the wealthy merchant Bernt Anker bequeathed to the State in 1805 to be used as a royal residence. During the last years of the union with Denmark Paléet was used by the viceroys of Norway, and in 1814 by the first king of independent Norway, Christian Frederick. King Charles III John of the Bernadotte dynasty resided there as crown prince (1814-1818) and later as king during his frequent visits to his Norwegian capital.

Construction

King Charles John chose the site for the permanent royal palace on the western side of Christiania in 1821 and commissioned the officer and inexperienced architect, Danish-born Hans Linstow, to design the building. The Parliament approved the stipulated cost of 150 000 speciedaler to be financed by the sale of government bonds. Work on the site started in 1824, and on 1 October 1825 King Charles XIV John laid down the foundation stone beneath the altar of the future palace chapel. Linstow originally planned a building of only two storeys with projecting wings on both sides of the main façade.

The costly foundation works caused the budget to be exceeded, and the building stopped in 1827, only to be resumed in 1833. In the meantime, the Storting refused additional grants as a demonstration against the king's unpopular efforts to establish a closer union between his two kingdoms. In 1833, Linstow produced a less costly project without the projecting wings, but with a third storey as compensation. Improved...