Oslo City Hall (Rådhuset) is the red-brick building with two square towers facing the harbour in the centre of Oslo. It opened in 1950 for the city's 900th anniversary, and every year on 10 December the Nobel Peace Prize is presented in its great hall. Inside and out, its walls are covered with work by Norwegian artists telling the story of the city and the country.
Oslo City Hall at a glance
- Where: Rådhusplassen, on the waterfront at Pipervika, between Aker Brygge and Akershus Fortress.
- Built: foundation stone laid in 1931; the shell was finished in 1936, work slowed during the Second World War, and the building officially opened on 15 May 1950.
- By: the architects Arnstein Arneberg and Magnus Poulsson.
- What it is today: the seat of Oslo's city council and administration, the venue of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony and a building whose main hall is regularly open to visitors.
- Time needed: 30–60 minutes for the main hall, the courtyard and the harbour side.
Thirty years in the making
Oslo's old city hall dated from the 17th century, and by the early 1900s the growing capital needed something larger. The idea of a new city hall by the harbour was revived in 1915, and in 1918 Arneberg and Poulsson won the competition. Their first, medieval-inspired design changed a great deal over the following years. The foundation stone was laid in September 1931 in the presence of King Haakon VII, building started in 1933, and the brick shell stood by November 1936. The towers are 63 and 66 metres tall, and the bricks, made in Oslo, were chosen larger than usual, close to the size of medieval ones.
During the German occupation, which began on 9 April 1940, the occupiers took over most of the office space, and anti-aircraft machine guns were placed on the roof of the west tower. Work on the art went on slowly: the painter Henrik Sørensen had moved into a studio in the west tower in 1939. The first offices were in use by 1947, and the building was officially opened on 15 May 1950, though the sculptures outside were only finished in the 1960s. Since 1990 the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony has been held in the main hall; before that it took place in the University of Oslo's Aula. In a public vote, Oslo residents later named City Hall the city's structure of the century.
What to look for
- The main hall (Rådhushallen): 21 metres high, with huge wall paintings by Henrik Sørensen and Alf Rolfsen showing Norwegian working life, history and festivals, and Rolfsen's frieze of the occupation years.
- The courtyard reliefs: on the city side, Dagfin Werenskiold's painted wooden reliefs show scenes from the Poetic Edda, the collection of Norse myths.
- The astronomical clock: on the middle of the city-side facade, 5 metres across, showing the time, the date and the phases of the moon, with a dragon-shaped hand.
- The harbour side: Per Palle Storm's six sculptures of the craftsmen who built the hall, and Nic Schiøll's figure of St Hallvard, Oslo's patron saint.
- The east tower: the big clock face, 8.6 metres across, and above it the carillon of 49 bells, which plays tunes every hour during the day.
St Hallvard and the millstone
Oslo's patron saint appears on the city's coat of arms with a millstone and arrows, and he has his own statue on City Hall. According to the legend, Hallvard, a young nobleman in the 11th century, tried to save a woman who was fleeing from her accusers. Both were shot with arrows, and Hallvard's body was thrown into the fjord tied to a millstone, but it floated to the surface, which was taken as a sign of his holiness. The story is a legend; that he became Oslo's saint is history.
Tips for your visit
- Walk all the way round: the reliefs and the astronomical clock are on the city side, the sculptures and the best view of the towers on the harbour side.
- Be on Rådhusplassen on the hour to hear the carillon play.
- The main hall closes for official events, especially in the days around the Nobel ceremony in December, so check before you go if you visit then.
Nearby
- Nobel Peace Center: the exhibition about the Peace Prize and its laureates, in the old Vestbanen station building across the square.
- National Museum: Norway's national art museum, opened in 2022 just behind the Nobel Peace Center, with works by Edvard Munch.
- Akershus Fortress: the medieval castle and fortress on the headland east of the harbour, with views over the fjord.
- Aker Brygge: the waterfront district of restaurants and promenades to the west of City Hall.
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 3 hours, with about 60 minutes of walking. It includes the Tiger statue at Oslo Central Station and Oslo Cathedral.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Oslo.
Play the Oslo scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Oslo →
Play the outdoor escape game in Oslo →
Facts checked in October 2026.