Viking Times

The founding of Oslo is traditionally attributed to King Harald Hardruler in 1050. (The same Harald who fought the English at Stamfordbridge in 1066.) Recent archeological discoveries, however prove that it already existed at 1000 AD. The city was greatly strengthened when King Haakon V build Akershus castle in 1299.

Decline

Starting in the mid 14th century Oslo started to decline as a result of of several detrimental events. The first was the Black Death in 1349. Not only did the plague reduce the population of the city, it also decimated its agricultural hinterland. This, combined the decline in trade, undermined the economic viability of the city. Oslo also lost its function as a capital city when Norway was united in a royal union with Denmark and Sweden. Thus in little over a half of a century, Oslo went from being a vibrant capital city at the center of a powerful empire to being a backwoods provincial town. The city was further damaged during the reformation when the leaders of Oslo sided with the Catholics but

their Danish overlords sided with the Protestants. Furthermore, with Sweden's withdrawal from the Union, Oslo was the natural target for Swedish attacks whenever Denmark and Sweden were at war. In 1624 the city of Oslo was burnt almost completely to the ground. Christian IV, who was king of Denmark at the time, decided to rebuild the city at a different location directly behind the castle so it would be better protected from Swedish attacks. He also renamed it Christiania after himself.

Rebirth

Interestingly enough, the economic revival of Oslo stemmed from disastrous events in other cities. Cities like Amsterdam and London were rebuilt with Norwegian wood after they were largely destroyed by fires. During the Napoleonic wars Denmark sided with France so Britain blockaded Norway to prevent Norwegian timber from being used by France. It was at this time that the people of Norway realized how dependent they were on Danish imports and the independence movement began. Unfortunately it was not to be and after the war Norway was awarded to Sweden. During this time, however, Norway formed its own parliament in Christiania. The 19th century saw a tremendous growth both in the number of inhabitants and the number of civic buildings. In the last 50 years of the 1800s Oslo's population increased by 500%. In 1905 the city regained its function as the capital city of an independent country. Christiania was regained its former Viking name of Oslo in 1925. The city was occupied by the Nazis during the Second World War, but it was also the center of the Norwegian resistance. After the war Oslo continued to grow in population and prosperity and is now the center of Norwegian political, economic, and cultural life.

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