100-years after Oslo’s name change « Euro Weekly News

In January 1924, Oslo did not exist as it does now, in fact if you had looked at a Norwegian map in 1924 the name you would have found in its place would have been “Christiania”.

January 2025 marks 100 years since Oslo was re-established as the capital city’s name.

The name Oslo harkens back to the end of the Viking period in Norway but was replaced for a long period of the country’s history. It was first changed in 1624, when Norway was ruled by Christian IV of Denmark and Norway.

A fire destroyed part of the original city and it was rebuilt further away from its previous position and closer to a Fortress. The monarch chose to name the city after himself, hence Christiania was born. There was a small section of the original city which retained the name Oslo and this became a village outside the new city limits after the 1624 fire and city relocation.

During the late 1800’s this name was changed slightly to appear more Norwegian by adding a K to the front of the city name Krisitiania.

But by Christiana’s 300-year anniversary, Norway, then a sovereign nation in its own right wanted to broadcast its independence worldwide and change the capital city name to something more distinguishably Norwegian- Oslo.

Officially, the all important name change came when a law was passed on July 11 1924, which would later come into effect on January 1 1925, at which point Christiania or Kristiania was once again christened as Oslo and the small village that had retained that name through out history became known as the old town or Gamblebyen

Read more articles from Norway here.