St. Hanshaugen
To the southeast of the park is Oslo’s oldest building – Aker Kirke, built around 1100, but restored from ruins around 1860, and then again in the 1950s in a more authentic style. Next to the church is the cemetery Vår Frelsers gravlund, created in 1808 as a result of the great famine and cholera epidemic of the Napoleonic Wars. The nearby area around Damstredet and Telthusbakken is interesting since it retains the small town character of Oslo in the first part of the 19th century.
Wessels plass
Originally on the site was a knoll with a house surrounded by a garden. The Parliament of Norway Building was completed in 1866, ad in 1873 Oslo municipality bought the knoll. It was demolished around 1880 to give room for a park-like square. Named Stortingspladsen ('The Storting Square'), it was given its current name in 1891. It was named after Johan Herman Wessel, and a bust of him was raised here in 1891. A statue of Johan Sverdrup was raised in 1964. Under the square is a walking tunnel between the Parliament of Norway Building and office buildings across the street.