Old Aker Church
The church was built over the former site of the Akerberg mines ("Akersberg gruve"), an ancient silver mine which was in use since the early Viking era. The mines are mentioned in the 1170 "Historia Norvegiae". The existence of these former mines must have been the inspiration for a number of local stories about the church having hidden silver treasures and even dungeons with dragons.
Old Aker Cemetery () is the cemetery of Old Aker Church. Like the church, the cemetery dates back to the Middle Ages. The cemetery is located adjacent to the newer Cemetery of Our Saviour, which was established in 1808. Several notable people are interred in the cemetery.
Oslo
After being destroyed by a fire in 1624, during the reign of King Christian IV, a new city was built closer to Akershus Fortress and named Christiania in the king's honour. The old site east of the Aker river was not abandoned however and the village of Oslo remained as a suburb outside the city gates. The suburb called Oslo was eventually included in the city proper. In 1925 the name of the suburb was transferred to the whole city, while the suburb was renamed "Gamlebyen" (literally "the Old town") to avoid confusion. The Old Town is an area within the administrative district Gamle Oslo. The previous names are reflected in street names like Oslo gate (Oslo street) and Oslo hospital.