kids encyclopedia robot

Royal Palace, Oslo facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Slottet, Royal Palace
Slottet oslo 2.jpg
Royal Palace in Oslo from the front
General information
Town or city Oslo
Country Norway
Construction started 1825
Completed 1849
Client Charles III of Norway
Design and construction
Architect Hans Ditlev Franciscus Linstow
Other information
Number of rooms 173

The Royal Palace (called Slottet in Norwegian) in Oslo, Norway, is the official home of the King of Norway today. It was built in the early 1800s for King Charles III. He was the King of both Sweden and Norway at that time. This large palace has 173 rooms inside.

A Royal Home: History of the Palace

Before the Royal Palace was built, the Norwegian royalty lived in a place called Paleet. This was a very nice town house in Oslo, which was then known as Christiania.

Paleet was given to the government of Norway in 1805. A rich merchant named Bernt Anker donated it. For a while, it was used by the viceroys of Norway. A viceroy was like a governor who ruled a country or province as the king's representative.

In 1814, Christian Frederick became the first king of independent Norway. He used Paleet as his home.

Choosing the Spot and Starting Construction

King Charles III John chose the perfect spot for the Royal Palace in 1821. It was on the western side of Christiania. He picked a Dutch-born architect named Hans Ditlev Franciscus Linstow to design the building. Linstow was not very experienced at the time.

The Parliament of Norway approved the cost of 150,000 Speciedaler. A Speciedaler was an old Norwegian coin. Work on the palace grounds began in 1824. On October 1, 1825, the king himself laid the foundation stone. This stone was placed under where the altar of the future Royal chapel would be.

Pauses and Finishing the Palace

Building the palace cost more than expected, especially the foundation work. Because of this, construction had to stop in 1827. It started again in 1833. During this break, the Storting would not approve more money. They were unhappy because the king was trying to make Norway and Sweden closer.

In 1833, Linstow changed his plans to make the palace cheaper to build. Relations with the king improved, and the Storting finally approved the money needed to finish the palace. The roof was put on in 1836. The inside of the building was completed in the late 1840s.

Sadly, King Charles John died in 1844 and never lived in his palace. The first people to live there were his son, Oscar I, and his queen, Josephine.

Images for kids

  • Portrett av Kong Haakon VII - King Haakon VII (6966513875)

    King Haakon VII, the first monarch to permanently reside at the palace

  • Det kongelige slott 2 photo D Ramey Logan

    Royal Guardsmen in front of the Royal Palace

  • 1292 A2. Oslo (11415436255)

    Aerial view of the Royal Palace and the surrounding park

  • Slott noreg bak 1

    The Royal Palace seen from the rear end

  • Slottet IMG 6069 rk 85500

    The Royal Family standing on the palace balcony

  • Oslo-May-17th-2005

    The children's parade passes the Royal Palace during The Norwegian Constitution Day

  • Karl johan statue 1

    Statue of King Charles John on the Palace square

  • Royal Palace from Karl Johans Gate (2327073839)

    The Royal Palace seen from Karl Johan's street. The walls of the Storting can be seen on the left.

  • President Medvedev and wife Svetlana with Royal Family of Norway big225594

    Russian President Dmitry Medvedev with the royal family at a palace reception in 2010

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Palacio Real de Oslo para niños

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Royal Palace, Oslo Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.