Parks and Open Spaces in Oslo - Early Parks in Oslo

Early Parks in Oslo

In the Late Medieval Age, there was a garden north of the Olav's monastery (currently the bishop's residence), where vegetables were grown. The garden also had a fish pond. Aside from that information, little is known about gardens in medieval Oslo. It is nonetheless most possible that the monastery at Hovedøya had a garden, created by the English monks who lived there. The garden at the castle Akershus is the earliest depicted garden in Norway, possibly created around 1560. The garden had neatly arranged beds, a pavilion and a fish pond called Munkedammen after the feudal overlord Christen Munk. The garden was cleared by the end of the 17th century, and the pond was filled in around 1860s, though it was reopened in 1965. In the 1770s, the Kanonparken was created by the commandant. It was open and constructed in public, though it was not primarily intended for use by the civil population.

Paléhaven became the first publicly available park when the owner Christian Ancher opened it in 1760s. It was Norway's only city park in Baroque style and was situated by the shoreline. The only thing left of it today is an alley of linden trees on Christian Frederiks plass ("Plata"). Many enclosures around the early city had gardens, mostly for growing vegetables, from the 18th century also as parks. Ponds were created for fish. The only one of these enclosures unsullied is the closure Rolighed at Professor Dahls gate 32.

The garden on Marseli's enclosure (Marselienborg) is the current Eidsvolls plass, where German and Dutch gardeners around 1600 created what became the finest garden in the city. Around 1840 a public park was established on Eidsvolls plass. The area south of Eidsvolls plass was later developed. The nearby garden on Ruseløkken, the current Studenterlunden, was a Renaissance garden at that time.

The garden around Munkedammen in Pipervika was around 1750 one of the first semi-public gardens where the upper class of Christiania went for walks, but it decayed after 1790. The pond was about 50 meters wide and 100 meters long and was a continuation of two earlier, separate ponds one assumed that the monks from the Hovedøya monastery had created. In the pond there was a small island with a pavilion and a herb garden.

North of Stortorget and Grensen several parks were created around 1700, among them James Collet's Grensehaven between Akersgata and Grubbegata, in Renaissance style. The garden at Oslo Ladegård had hedges, paths in a square system, a long pond and alleys down to the fjord, in Renaissance style. A small part of Ladegårdshagen was recreated in 1999.

Grünerhagen, created by the Grüner family on Nedre Foss was around 1700 a grandiose garden with terraces, alleys, a pond with a garden pavilion on piles and a zoo with various animals. The garden was destroyed by the end of the 19th century.

Bygdøy was the summer residence for the viceregent and had a renaissance garden from around 1680. The peninsula became an excursion spot by the end of the 18th century. Around 1830 a new garden in landscape style was created at Kongsgården and walks in the nearby woods were cleared.

Several of the estates around the city had grand linden alleys in the 18th century: Stubljan, Linderud, Søndre Bjølsen (currently Bjølsenparken) and Nordre Skøyen hovedgård. Linderud gård had a large garden with a 70-meter-long canal and a 120 alley of hazel trees. In the city center there are still linden alleys in Paléhagen, Regjeringsparken and Dronningparken.

The park surrounding Bogstad mansion from 1780 was the first in Norway in landscape style. Peder Anker engaged a gardener from Germany who utilized the slope from the main house down to the Bogstadvannet lake, with curved paths and artificial creeks. A similar style was applied when John Collett created the park around Ullevål gård, known for its rich variety of sentiments and as a center for the city's social life. Vækerø also had quite a large garden in a similar style and it is preserved today as Vækerøparken.

The wealthy Bernt Anker created a baroque park at Frogner hovedgård at the end of the 18th century. When Benjamin Wegner bought the estate in the early 19th century, a romantic landscape style park was created. That park included parts of what today is the Frogner Park. Around 1800 there was a total of 96 persons in the city that offered gardening services.