The Freia clock, or Freiauret, is the illuminated sign and clock on a rooftop above Egertorget, the small square where Karl Johans gate bends in the middle of Oslo. The word 'Freia', Norway's best-known chocolate brand, has glowed over the street since Christmas 1909, when it became the city's first electric advertising sign. A clock was added in 1925, and for generations Oslo has checked the time, and arranged to meet, beneath it.
The Freia clock at a glance
- Where: on a rooftop at Egertorget, on Karl Johans gate, between Oslo Cathedral and the Storting.
- Lit: the sign was switched on just before Christmas 1909; the clock was added on New Year 1925; the sign was fully renovated in 2012.
- What it is today: a working illuminated advertisement and clock, now lit by more than 10,000 individually controlled LEDs.
- Time needed: a few minutes, ideally after dark.
From light bulbs to LEDs
On 23 December 1909, the day Norwegians call 'little Christmas Eve', Kristiania, as Oslo was then called, got its first electric advertising sign: the name Freia, spelled out in lights above Karl Johans gate. The first wording was 'Freia Chokolade'; in 1912 an advert for the Kakao Regia cocoa brand took over the lower line. The name itself was made of about 600 light bulbs, which had one drawback: in hard frost they could burst. In 1910 the American president Theodore Roosevelt, visiting Norway to give his Nobel lecture, is said to have told the press back home that what impressed him most in Norway was the Freia sign on Egertorget.
From New Year 1925 the sign also carried the city's first electric illuminated clock, guarded at the time by two Marabou storks, the emblem of Freia's Swedish sister company. The city's building committee agreed to it on condition that someone made sure the clock always showed the right time. The sign was modernised in 1956 with colour-changing fluorescent tubes, received the new Freia logo and a satellite-controlled clock in 1991, and was completely rebuilt in 2012 with LEDs that use about 80 per cent less electricity.
What to look for
- The Freia script: the red and white logo of the chocolate brand founded in Kristiania in 1889, on top of the building above the square.
- The clock: set into the sign and visible all the way down Karl Johans gate, which bends at Egertorget.
- The light show: after dark the LEDs can change colour and pattern, something the original bulbs could never do.
- Egertorget itself: a meeting point at the top of Karl Johan, with the entrance to Stortinget metro station and street musicians in summer.
A sign people grew up with
Freia was founded in 1889 and became Norway's largest chocolate maker; its Melkesjokolade bar is a national institution. The sign on Egertorget turned the brand into part of the cityscape: generations of Oslo residents have arranged to meet 'under Freia-uret', and photos of the glowing letters over a snowy Karl Johan are a staple of the city's winter. Since 1993 Freia has been part of what is now the American group Mondelēz, but the sign on Egertorget still carries only the Norwegian name.
Tips for your visit
- Come after dark, especially in winter when it gets dark early, to see the sign at its best.
- Stand a little way down Karl Johans gate towards the Storting and look back for the classic view of the sign above the square.
- Egertorget is busy and pedestrianised: it is an easy place to meet people before walking up to the Royal Palace or down to the cathedral.
Nearby
- Oslo Cathedral: the city's main church, with its painted ceiling, a few minutes' walk east.
- Storting: the yellow-brick Norwegian parliament building, just down Karl Johans gate.
- Karl Johans gate: Oslo's main street, running up to the Royal Palace, with the National Theatre and the old university on the way.
- Oslo Central Station: at the bottom of Karl Johan, with the big bronze tiger in front.
See Oslo with World City Trail
Our Oslo scavenger hunt turns the city centre into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around three hours, with about 60 minutes of walking. It includes Oslo Cathedral and the tiger statue at Oslo Central Station.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Oslo.
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Facts checked in October 2026.