Victoria Terrasse is the long, ornate white building stretching along Henrik Ibsens gate, just south of Stortinget. It was built between 1884 and 1890 as a luxury apartment complex, designed by architect Henrik Thrap-Meyer. When it was completed, the facade of towers, domes and cupolas stretched over 180 metres, and the apartments were among the first in Norway to have electricity. In 1913, the government purchased the building for administrative offices.
The building's darkest chapter came during the Second World War. In 1940, the German occupiers converted Victoria Terrasse into the headquarters of the Gestapo and the Sicherheitsdienst, the Nazi intelligence service in Norway. Norwegian citizens and political prisoners were brought here for interrogation and torture. On 25 September 1942, the British Royal Air Force attempted to bomb the building using Mosquito aircraft in a daring low-level daylight raid. At least four bombs struck, but one failed to detonate and three passed through the building to explode in the courtyard behind, limiting the damage. The Gestapo continued to operate from the building until the liberation in 1945.
Today Victoria Terrasse houses the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The building is not open to the public, but the facade alone is worth a glance when walking between Karl Johans gate and Aker Brygge.
The building's darkest chapter came during the Second World War. In 1940, the German occupiers converted Victoria Terrasse into the headquarters of the Gestapo and the Sicherheitsdienst, the Nazi intelligence service in Norway. Norwegian citizens and political prisoners were brought here for interrogation and torture. On 25 September 1942, the British Royal Air Force attempted to bomb the building using Mosquito aircraft in a daring low-level daylight raid. At least four bombs struck, but one failed to detonate and three passed through the building to explode in the courtyard behind, limiting the damage. The Gestapo continued to operate from the building until the liberation in 1945.
Today Victoria Terrasse houses the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The building is not open to the public, but the facade alone is worth a glance when walking between Karl Johans gate and Aker Brygge.