Eidsvollsbygningen (Literally: ''The Eidsvoll building'') is a historic

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

located at

Eidsvoll Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the munic ...

in Akershus county, Norway. The building is where the

Constitution of Norway The 'Constitution of Norway'' (complete name: The Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway; Danish language, Danish: ; Norwegian language, Norwegian Bokmål: ; Nynorsk, Norwegian Nynorsk: ) was adopted on 16 May and signed on 17 May 1814 by the N ...

was signed on 17 May 1814. The estate is now owned by The State of Norway and is an official national monument, as well as a museum.

History

The building was first constructed in 1770 with a total floor area of over 2000

square metres The square metre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures) or square meter ( American spelling) is the unit of area in the International System of Units (SI) with symbol m2. It is the area of a square ...

. Around 1800

Carsten Anker Carsten Tank Anker (17 November 1747 – 13 March 1824) was a Norwegian businessman, civil servant, politician and one of the Fathers of the Constitution of Norway. He was the owner of the manor house in Akershus at which the original National ...

bought the building. He renovated the manor house and he and his family were living there when the Constitution was signed. Carsten Anker went bankrupt in 1822 and the ownership of the estate was transferred to various British creditors in 1823. A group of private citizens led by

Henrik Wergeland Henrik Arnold Thaulow Wergeland (17 June 1808 – 12 July 1845) was a Norwegian writer, most celebrated for his poetry but also a prolific playwright, polemicist, historian, and linguist. He is often described as a leading pioneer in the develop ...

organized a fundraiser that allowed them to buy the building with the pavilion and surrounding garden (''Eidsvollsparken''). After the purchase was finalized in 1851, the group donated the property to the Norwegian State.

Renovations

The manor has been

renovated Renovation (also called remodeling) is the process of improving broken, damaged, or outdated structures. Renovations are typically done on either commercial or residential buildings. Additionally, renovation can refer to making something new, o ...

since Carsten Anker and his family lived there and now has become a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

. In 1895, there was a major effort with repairs and maintenance for the 100th anniversary of the signing of the constitution (''100 års-jubileet for Grunnloven''). In 1964, plans were made for a new restoration for the 150th anniversary celebration of the Constitution (''150-årsjubileet for Grunnloven''). Both renovations had the objective of furnishing Eidsvollbygningen in the style of its appearance in 1814. A new renovation and restoration was started in 2011 by

Statsbygg The Norwegian Directorate of Public Construction and Property () is a Norwegian government agency that manages central parts of the real estate portfolio of the Government of Norway. Operation The Norwegian Directorate of Public Construction an ...

on behalf of the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...

. The aim of the renovation was to have the building laid out and redesigned to make it look as close as possible to what it looked like in 1814 to further immerse the audience in a more authentic experience. The project was completed for the 200th Jubilee of the Constitution (''Grunnlovsjubileet'') in 2014.''Museum History'' (Eidsvoll. 1814)
/ref>

Gallery

File:Kanner i kobber i kjelleren på Eidsvoldsbygningen.jpg, Copper cookware File:Eidsvollsbygningen 2014-02-18-88.jpg, Kitchen of Eidsvollsbygningen File:Eidsvollsbygningen 2014-02-18-53.jpg, Candles in the entrance hall File:Eidsvollsbygningen 2014-02-18-51.jpg, Entrance hall File:Eidsvollsbygningen interiør 2011.jpg, Table on the podium at the National Assembly File:Eidsvoll constitution.jpg, Facsimile copy of Norway's 1814 Constitution on display at Eidsvollsbygningen

References

Other sources

*Risåsen, Geir Thomas (2005) ''Eidsvollsbygningen: Carsten Anker og Grunnlovens hus'' (Oslo: Damm forlag) *''Holme, Jørn'' (2014) ''De kom fra alle kanter - Eidsvollsmennene og deres hus'' (Oslo: Cappelen Damm)

External links

Eidsvollsbygningen Website
{{Coord, 60, 18, 04, N, 11, 10, 18, E, source:kolossus-nowiki, display=title Museums in Akershus Manor houses in Norway Historic house museums in Norway Millennium sites