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.
Parks and open spaces in Oslo
The organisation Selskapet for Christiania Byes Vel concentrated on creation of public parks as one of its main priorities during its first fifty years of existence. At the bridge Nybrua crossing Akerselva the organisation erected the city's first outdoor monument in 1833, with a surrounding park. Bankplassen was laid out with the city's first bed of flowers in a public park (around 1860). Trees were planted around Oslo Cathedral and Trefoldighetskirken, and the organisation managed to stop construction at Kontraskjæret. Selskapet for Christiania Byes Vel did also organize planting of trees along various streets, among them Grønlandsleiret, the road from Nybrua to Tøyen, Drammensveien and Rådhusgata. Some of the trees are still standing across Kontraskjæret.