Gamle Aker kirke

Gamle Aker kirke stands on Telthusbakken in Oslo’s St Hanshaugen borough as the city’s oldest existing building. This medieval church uses limestone and follows a Romanesque basilica plan.

King Olav Kyrre is believed to have commissioned it around the late eleventh century for Vingulmark. Its churchyard includes medieval ground and an old stone wall.

Old Aker Cemetery surrounds the church, connecting the building with Oslo’s burial traditions and urban history. Ancient silver mines lie beneath the site.

Local stories connect those mines with hidden treasure and dragons beneath the church. A snake carving outside represents Midgardsormen.

Inside, a Baroque pulpit stands beside a wooden baptismal font made by Thomas Blix in 1715. The font shows a child carrying a bowl on its head.

A cross above the south altar may date from the church’s earliest period and ranks among eastern Norway’s oldest. Stained glass fills the west and east windows.

The church has endured fires, looting, near-demolition and later restoration while retaining its medieval basic form. Its history reaches from pre-Christian gatherings to modern Oslo.