Stortorvet ('The Grand Plaza') is a square in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, located west of

Oslo Cathedral , native_name_lang = , image = Oslo Cathedral.jpg , imagesize = 230px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = Oslo Cathedral from Sto ...

Background

It was officially inaugurated during the autarchic times, in 1736. A town market was held here until 1889. Marketing still exists, but has largely been moved to

Youngstorget Youngstorget ( en, Young’s Square) is a square and public space located in downtown Oslo. It lies at the junction of the streets Storgata and Møllergata and alongside Torggata. Constructed in 1846, it has become a symbol of political power in ...

. The building that houses the restaurant

Stortorvets Gjæstgiveri Stortorvets Gjæstgiveri is a traditional Norwegian restaurant house in Oslo, Norway. It is located in a building from the early 18th century that is cultural heritage site. The restaurant was opened after an extensive restoration of the building ...

is a Norwegian Cultural Heritage Site. Other buildings surrounding the square are business buildings such as GlasMagasinet and the main entrance of the

Oslo Cathedral , native_name_lang = , image = Oslo Cathedral.jpg , imagesize = 230px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = Oslo Cathedral from Sto ...

. Stortorvet was located on the outskirts of the part of the capital that was founded by King

Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian monar ...

, Christiania. A bronze statue of the king pointing is located in the square, entitled "here the city is to be". The square became an important hub for

public transportation Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

with the introduction of the tramway. A

balloon loop A balloon loop, turning loop, or reversing loop ( North American Terminology) allows a rail vehicle or train to reverse direction without having to shunt or stop. Balloon loops can be useful for passenger trains and unit freight trains. Bal ...

for the

Ekeberg Line The Ekeberg Line ( no, Ekebergbanen) is a long light rail line of the Oslo Tramway which runs from Oslo Hospital to Ljabru in Oslo, Norway. Operated by lines 13 and 19, it serves the area of Nordstrand and the neighborhoods of Ekeberg, Jom ...

was located here until the 1960s. Stortorvet is still served by a station on the

Oslo Tramway The Oslo tram network ( no, Trikken i Oslo, short from ', 'electric') is the tram system in Oslo, Norway. It consists of six lines with 99 stops and has a daily ridership of 132,000. It is operated by , a subsidiary of the municipally-owned who ...

— Stortorvet—as well as buses. The so-called Battle of the Square took place here in 1829.

Gallery

Historical gallery Stortorvet 6 7 og 8.jpg, Stortorvet in 1904 Stortorvet sett ovenfra.jpg, Stortorvet in the 1970s Wergmann Stortorvet og domkirken.jpg, Stortorvet and the cathedral in 1830
^{Painting by Peter Frederik Wergmann} OB.01017 Marked på Stortorvet.jpg, Market at Stortorvet in 1843
^{Painting by L.W.Th. Bratz}

References

Squares in Oslo {{Oslo-geo-stub