Egeberg Castle: A Former Private Residence in Oslo
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.4
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Norway
- Primary era
- Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Modern
- Civilizations
- Norwegian
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Elite Residence
On this page6 sections
History
Egeberg Castle is a former private residence in Oslo, Norway, built between 1899 and 1901 in the Italian Renaissance style. It was commissioned for Einar Westye Egeberg and his wife, Birgitte Halvordine, in Oslo’s St. Hanshaugen district. Einar co-owned the major lumber company Westye Egeberg & Co., and the family moved into the mansion in 1901.
Construction and family residence
The architect Halfdan Berle designed the building, whose construction cost 12 million Norwegian kroner in 1901. Einar and Birgitte Egeberg had seven children, most of whom were adults when the family took up residence. The scale of the house reflected its use as a large family home as well as the position of its owner in Oslo’s lumber industry.
Birgitte Egeberg was partially paralyzed, so a lift was installed for her at a cost of NOK 25,000. In 1912, the family acquired an open Minerva automobile similar to one owned by the Norwegian royal family. With a chauffeur, Birgitte used the car for daily drives. She died in 1930.
Conversion to apartments
After Birgitte’s death, Einar Egeberg tried to sell the large residence. The sale proved difficult during the economic depression of the 1930s, and the property was eventually sold to Bolig-Bygg AS, a Norwegian private limited company.
The building was then converted from a private residence into an apartment building containing 24 apartments. The original internal arrangement was changed by dividing the former second floor into two levels. The loft surrounding the billiard room was also transformed into a fourth-floor residential area.
Remains
Building and setting
Egeberg Castle occupies a total area of 1,600 square metres arranged over two floors and a tower section. The former private residence stood within a large park and had views over Oslo and its harbour. Its Italian Renaissance design drew on the revival of Renaissance Italian forms, with balanced proportions, classical detailing, and a formal composition. Granite and soapstone, a soft stone that is relatively easy to work, were used as building materials.
Interior arrangement
The first floor contained a hall, vestibule, smoking room, dining room, kitchen, loggia, garden room, and study. A loggia is a roofed gallery or open-sided space connected to a building. Bedrooms, dressing rooms, and bathrooms occupied the second floor. The tower held a billiard room, while storage rooms were placed in the basement. Italian stucco workers executed the interior ceilings using stucco, a plaster-based material shaped into ornamental architectural decoration. The later subdivision of the building created two additional floors within the original structure and produced its present apartment-building arrangement.
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