Kvadraturen

Kvadraturen is the area between Akershus Fortress and Grensen, Jernbanetorget and Egertorget. This was King Christian IV's town from the Renaissance. Only a few buildings from the 17th and 18th century can still be seen.

In Kvadraturen you find the square Christiania torv, known for its fountain with a sculpture of a hand pointing to the ground. After the big town fire in 1624, the Danish-Norwegian King Christian IV decided to rebuild the town in this area and name it after himself. He supposedly pointed to this spot and said: "The new town will lie here!"

The area is today known as Kvadraturen ("the quadrature") because of the rectangular street pattern of Christian IV's renaissance town.

Several well-preserved buildings from the 17th century can be seen in Kvadraturen, such as the building that housed Oslo's first town hall, and the city's oldest restaurant, Café Engebret. In modern times, the area has also gotten several museums and galleries. In addition to the museums at Akershus Fortress, you also find the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Architecture, the Film Museum and several galleries in Kvadraturen.