Oscarshall Palace is a ''

maison de plaisance In Renaissance architecture, Renaissance and Early Modern German architecture, a ''Lustschloss'' (, both meaning "pleasure palace") is a country house, château, or palace which served the private pleasure of its owner, and was seasonally inh ...

'' located in the small fjord Frognerkilen on

Bygdøy Bygdøy or Bygdø is a peninsula situated on the western side of Oslo, Norway. Administratively, Bygdøy is part of the borough of Frogner. It historically was part of Aker Municipality and became part of Oslo in 1948. Bygdøy is a popular recr ...

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

History

The palace was built from 1847 to 1852 by the Danish architect Johan Henrik Nebelong on commission from King Oscar I and Queen Joséphine of Norway and Sweden. In 1881, King Oscar II opened the palace to the public as a museum. The palace, with its secondary buildings and surrounding park, is considered to be one of the finest examples of

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

in Norway and is one of the country's most important embodiments of the National Romantic style which was popular in Norway during the period. The interior was wholly constructed and decorated by Norwegian artists and artisans. The walls of the dining hall are decorated with paintings by Joachim Frich, Adolph Tidemand, and Hans Gude while the decoration and furniture in the drawing room evokes the style of the old Norwegian guildhall. Oscarshall was sold by King Carl IV to the Norwegian state in 1863. The palace was almost given a new role when it was decided in 1929 that Oscarshall would become the new residence of Crown Prince Olav and Princess Märtha. These plans were never realized, however, as both financial problems and political opposition arose. The situation was later solved when Fritz Wedel Jarlsberg sold his estate Skaugum to the royal couple. Today it is the property of the state and is placed at the disposal of the King.

Open to the public

Between 2005 and 2009 Oscarshall underwent a total renovation and restoration, bringing colours and furniture back to its original style from 1859. The renovation completed, Oscarshall was once again open to the public. The palace is now open for guided tours during the summer season. In 2013,

Queen Sonja Sonja (born Sonja Haraldsen; 4 July 1937) is Queen of Norway as the wife of King Harald V. Sonja and the then Crown Prince Harald had dated for nine years prior to their marriage in 1968. They had kept their relationship a secret due to the ...

opened the Queen Joséphine Gallery on the grounds of Oscarshall. The gallery exhibits graphic prints and featured prints by Her Majesty herself during its first season.

Additional images

File:Oscarshall 20090906-8.JPG, Oscarshall Castle File:Oscarshall front med fontene.jpg, Oscarshall Castle, front with garden and fountain File:Oscarshall sett fra Gimle.jpg, Oscarshall with surroundings seen from Gimlehøyden File:Christiania. Oscarshall.jpg, Oscarshall and Frognerkilen on photochrome from the 1890s File:Hilsen fra Christiania, 1908.jpg, «Hilsen fra Christiania»; Skating '' nisser'' in Frognerkilen in Oslo with Oscarshall in the background. File:Norge fremstillet i Tegninger - no-nb digibok 2009113013003-31.jpg, Oscarshall; from the poster work "Norge fremstillet i Tegninger" from 1899.

References

External links

Oscarshall (Website of The Royal House of Norway)
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** ttp://www.royalcourt.no/artikkel.html?tid=80429&sek=80425 The History of Oscarshall (Website of The Royal House of Norway) {{Authority control Bygdøy Buildings and structures in Oslo Palaces in Norway Royal residences in Norway Museums in Oslo Gothic Revival architecture in Norway 1852 establishments in Norway Historic house museums in Norway

History

Open to the public

Additional images

References

Related reading

External links