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.
Medieval Scandinavian architecture
Until 1624, Oslo was like any other Norse town (many wooden buildings together used for varying purposes), but in 1624, a fire burned down all of Oslo. Because of the fires, the King Christian IV moved Oslo west and ordered that all buildings in the city be built of stone or brick to prevent fires. Also to prevent fires, the streets were wide and met at right angles. After a time, the King allowed the people to “build half-timbered structures," which has the timber frame visible on both the inside and the outside of the building.