The Bishops office in Oslo

As far back as the 12th century, Oslo's bishops have had their residence in this area. The bishop's office of today is built on the remains of the Olav Monastery - a Dominican monastery which was probably founded in 1239. Frants Berg was the first bishop who moved in the house in 1554. The building was improved and rebuilt in 1623 but in 1860 it was decided that the was to be demolished due to extensive deterioration.

However, in 1882, the government decided that the medieval part of the Bishops residence should be preserved. In 1883-84, the new bishop's residence was built on the ruins of the Olavs monastery. There are currently three rooms in the basement that have been preserved from the old monastery. In 1968, one of them was converted into a chapel for the residence. In the chapel you can see traces of the wall decoration from the 13th century.

Until the mid-1980s, the house was used as a private residence for the Bishop of Oslo. Since 1986, the administration of the bishop and the diocesan council have had their offices and representative premises there. The entire building was refurbished inside in 1999-2000, and many of the rooms were then restored to their original colours.

(Source: https://www.kirken.no/nb-NO/bi...)