Oslo, the capital of Norway, has a history as murky as most of Scandinavia. (Maybe it's easier for Scandinavians to understand, or maybe it's not important.)
Oslo was thought to have been founded by Harald Hadrada in 1049 A.D., per the Norse sagas. Yet recent archaeological research found Christian burials that predate 1000 A.D., so...yeah. Sometime around there.
And the name? Oslo is a fairly recent name for the city (overall). It was called Viken during the Viking Age. (Fun fact for you: "Vik," in the old Scandinavian languages -- as in "Reykjavik" -- just means "bay." "Viking" is "people of the bay." "Viken," my guess, means "bays." And since I mentioned Reykjavik, that means "smoky bay," most likely due to the nearby fumaroles.) It was called Christiania for a long time, up until 1900 or so.
City Hall. The history of City Hall is colorful, too. Obviously, this large building hasn't been sitting here for over a thousand years.
Over by the Old Aker Church (about 2 kilometers from here), is thought to be the place where Oslo had its tribal councils -- called "thing" -- or, essentially, "city hall" meetings.
During the early Middle Ages, a number of buildings around town served as city hall at one time or another. Sources indicated one had a wine cellar that was open to the public.
In 1624, Oslo burned to the ground and King Christian IV (Danish dude, by the way, though you can find a statue of him next to Oslo Cathedral) ordered the new city hall -- now called "Old City Hall" -- be built just north of Akershus Fortress. The fortress still exists, and Old City Hall (finished in 1641) also still exists.
That building is at Nedre Slottsgate. It fell into decay pretty quickly, it seems, because City Hall was moved to Radhusgata, about 4 blocks away, in 1733.
The modern building here? It's about 100 years old. According to a sign in the main hall: "Former mayor Hieronymus Heyerdahl proposed in 1915 to build the new City Hall in Pipervika district -- at the time a slum district." It certainly does not seem to be a slum now. The waterfront outside the back door is one of the most fun places to hang out in town.
An architectural contest later, and the first groundstone was laid...in 1931. Thanks to the Nazis interrupting things a few years later, construction wasn't completed until 1950. But, it's basically a 1930s design that you're looking at. As if all the Art Deco didn't give it away.
Norwegians like their contests. In January 1937, various contests were held to determine who would decorate the interior. In the end, eight painters and seventeen sculptors were hired. The painters finished before the building opened, but sculptors didn't finish up in the sculpture park (out back) until the 1960s.
The most interesting thing about this building happens annually on 10 December, though. (So...about a week after I post this.). The Nobel Peace Prize is presented annually on that date, and the ceremony is right here in the main hall. Of all the Nobel prizes, it's the only one not presented in Stockholm. A podium for the laureate and committee is set up in the far end of the hall for each ceremony, with the Norwegian royal family and prime minister in attendance.
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