St. Hallvard's Cathedral

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St. Hallvard's Cathedral, also called Hallvardskatedralen, was Oslo’s first cathedral. Built in the early 1100s, it was the bishop’s seat and a major religious center for eastern Norway for about 500 years. It also hosted coronations, royal weddings, served as a chapel royal, and was a popular pilgrimage site in Scandinavia.

In the 17th century the cathedral fell into ruin. Oslo burned in 1624, and the city moved about a kilometer west to Christiania. The church stopped being used around 1655. Today the ruins lie between Bispegata and St. Halvards gate in Oslo.

The cemetery next to the cathedral, St. Hallvard cemetery, lies mostly to the south. From around 1130 to 1639 it was Oslo and eastern Norway’s honorary cemetery, with kings and other important people buried there.

Archaeology and changes over time:
- The first excavations were in 1865 by Nicolay Nicolaysen.
- In the late 1800s, Bispegata was extended over the site.
- In the early 1920s, Johan Adolf Gerhard Fischer led the final excavation stage.
- Between 1920 and 1922, parts of the ruins were removed to build a culvert for the Østfold Line.

When Memorial Park in Old Town opened in 1932, the cathedral ruins were a main attraction. Nearby are the ruins of the medieval Holy Cross Church (Korskirken).