Folketeaterbygningen
The Folketeaterbygningen ( German People's Theater Building) is an office building in the St. Hanshaugen district of Oslo, between Youngstorget and Storgata. The building was officially opened on April 2, 1935 and is, among other things, the headquarters of the social democratic party Arbeiderpartiet (Ap) and the venue for the Folketeateret . It has been a listed building since 2009.
Construction phase
The Folketeaterbygningen was supposed to create a theater for the working class in east Oslo and became a prestige project of the left-wing party Den Norske Arbeiderpartiet (today Arbeiderpartiet ). Initially, it was planned to erect the building at Ankertorget. The plan to build it in Hammersborg also failed after the space there was needed for a fire station. Finally, an agreement was reached on the area between the Nytorvet (now Youngstorget ) and the Storgata, where old market halls were to be torn down.
The tender for the building was won in 1926 by the architects Christian Morgenstierne and Arne Eide. Because of the decline in the economy, the project was long disputed between the left and right political wings and construction was delayed. Construction did not begin until 1932. The building was completed in 1935, but the first organizations moved in in autumn 1934. The official opening finally took place on April 2, 1935.
style
The architects Christian Morgenstierne and Arne Eide designed the building in the Art Deco style . The Folketeaterbygningen was built with reinforced concrete, the facade consists of red bricks, only the lower floors were provided with marble slabs. Towards the Youngstorget, the building has eleven floors, the facade facing the Storgata has eight and the side sections each seven floors. When it was first constructed, the building was Oslo's tallest structure and it has also been referred to as Norway's first skyscraper.
The original neoclassical windows were replaced in the 1980s. On the side facing the Storgata, copies of the previous windows were used, and on the facade facing the Youngstorget, the old double-winged windows were replaced by single-winged ones. This meant that the appearance of this part of the building changed more.
In 2009 the Folketeaterbygningen was placed under monument protection. The reason given was that the building represents a unique architecture from the interwar period.
use
Labor movement
In April 1935, the Arbeiderpartiet (Ap) moved its headquarters to the newly opened building. During election campaigns, the facade facing the Youngstorget is therefore usually provided with election advertising. Other left-wing organizations such as the youth party Arbeidernes Ungdomsfylking (AUF) or the Arbeidernes Oplysningsforbund also moved there. Many of the organizations that have settled there have since moved out or no longer exist. The building is still regarded as a kind of stronghold of the Norwegian labor movement. Until 1988, the left newspaper Arbeiderbladet (today Dagsavisen ) housed its editorial office in the building.
theatre
The theater hall was initially built for the Oslo Theater Folketeatret with 1200 seats. Due to financial difficulties in the theater, the hall was initially used as a cinema. This was named Verdensteatret (German: World Theater ) and showed, among other things, American films. In 1952 the Folketeatret began there with its performances and in 1959 the music theater Den Norske Opera & Ballet took over the hall. In 2008 it was given its own building in Bjørvika , the Oslo Opera House , as there was not enough space for the performances. Since 2009 the building has been used for the private theater company Folketeateret . With 1,400 seats, it is Norway's largest private theater.
Use from 1940 to 1945
During the German occupation , the building was taken over by the National Socialists . In August 1940, the Arbeiderbladet was stopped and the editing and printing was taken over by the fascist party Nasjonal Samling . From 1942 to 1944 the cinema was also used for propaganda purposes. After the liberation of Norway, the building was temporarily taken over by teams from the Milorg resistance group .
Web links
- Folketeaterbygningen in the store norske leksikon (Norwegian)
- Folketeaterbygningen in Oslo byleksikon (Norwegian)
Individual evidence
- ^ Folketeaterbygningen . In: Store norske leksikon . December 12, 2016 ( snl.no [accessed April 1, 2020]).
- ↑ a b c d e f Folketeaterbygningen. In: Oslo Byleksikon. Retrieved April 1, 2020 (Norwegian).
- ↑ Youngstorget. In: Oslo Byleksikon. Retrieved April 1, 2020 (Norwegian).
- ↑ a b Oslo museum (ed.): Byminner . Oslo 2008, p. 15, 16 , urn : nbn: no-nb_digitidsskrift_2017061981020_001 (Norwegian).
- ↑ a b c d Folketeaterbygningen. In: Kulturminnesøk. Retrieved April 1, 2020 (Norwegian Bokmål).
- ↑ Den Norske Opera & Ballet. In: Kunst i offentlige rom. Retrieved April 1, 2020 (Norwegian Bokmål).
- ↑ Om Oss. In: Folketeateret. Retrieved April 1, 2020 (Norwegian).
- ^ Folketeateret. In: Folketeaterpassasjen. Retrieved April 1, 2020 (Norwegian).