Chateau Neuf

Not to be confused withChâteauneuf.

This article is about the building in Oslo. For the building in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, seeChateau-Neuf de Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

Chateau Neuf
Chateau Neuf
General information
Town or city	Oslo
Country	Norway
Coordinates	59.9323°N 10.7126°E/59.9323; 10.7126
Construction started	1963
Completed	1973
Client	Det Norske Studentersamfund
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Kjell LundandNils Slaatto

Chateau Neufis a building inOslo,Norwaythat houses the Norwegian Students' Society(Det Norske Studentersamfund)including cafes, bars, performance centers, and other facilities for student assembly. It is situated at Slemdalsveien 15 nearMajorstuenjust south of the main campus of theUniversity of OsloatBlindern.

Name

Though the nameChateau Neufliterally means 'new castle' in French. It also involves a pun on the French wordneuf,which is pronounced like the Norwegian onomatopoeia for 'oink', alluding to the Student Society's personified patron and coat of arms symbol, "His Majesty the Pig" (Hans Majestet Grisen).

History

Although the Students' Society was housed in permanent facilities at Universitetsgaten 26 from 1861 onwards, the society outgrew this structure by 1918 and moved to different locations around the city. During theGerman occupation of Norway(1940–1945), the Student Society was dissolved due to oppositional attitudes to the occupying forces, and was re-established after the liberation in 1945.

In the 1950s, funds were raised to build a new structure, spearheaded byJan P. Syse(1930–1997). Based on expansion plans for the University of Oslo, the site was picked, though the university changed its plans after Chateau Neuf's construction had started.

Ground was broken byC. J. Hambroin 1963 in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the founding of the society. The architects wereKjell LundandNils Slaatto.Construction was complete in 1971 and officially opened in 1973.