The Mocking Mural in Oslo City Hall in Oslo, Norway

Most Popular PlacesRandom PlaceListsItinerariesAdd a PlaceDownload the App The Mocking Mural in Oslo City Hall Grand Vista Sanitarium Ancient Hon Chuong Cham Tower 18th Century Pirate’s Jolly Roger The Best Haunted Hotels to Book for a Spooky Getaway 2 days ago Is Alton, Illinois America’s Most Haunted Small Town? 6 days ago 14 Real Places That Haunt the Pages of Literature 8 days ago At one of Oslo’s most-visited buildings, few notice the painting that has mocked its architect for 70 years. Panoramic view of the banquet hall, featuring royal portraits Jorge Láscar_(29796476041).jpg) Panoramic view of the banquet hall, featuring royal portraits Jorge Láscar_(29796476041).jpg) Panoramic view of the banquet hall, featuring royal portraits Jorge Láscar_(29796476041).jpg) Panoramic view of the banquet hall, featuring royal portraits Jorge Láscar_(29796476041).jpg) Oslo city hall (Rådhuset) is one of the countries most visited tourist sites, famous for hosting the annual Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. However, few make it to the richly decorated second floor.

In 1937-8, Artist Willi Midelfart was commissioned to create _Det gror_, a monumental fresco for the city hall’s banquet hall in the second floor. Inspired by summer life at Holmsbu as well as artist Edvard Munch, it depicts families swimming, playing, and exploring nature. Originally, there was only one door, namely the one on the left.

Midway through the work, the architect decided to add a matching door on the right for aesthetic reasons. Furious, Midelfart included in his painting a small boy pointing at the new doorway and sticking out his tongue, an indirect way of showing his distaste of the new door. To add insult to injury, the matching door on the right is not even usable: walking past the next room (the kitchen) one sees that the rightmost door is bricked up.

Today the painting is a stark reminder to never get between an artist and his canvas. Get more unusual and extraordinary places each week with the Atlas Obscura Places newsletter. Your newsletter subscriptions with us are subject to Atlas Obscura's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

The city hall is open every day from 10:00 to 16:00. However, important events regularly lead to closures: check the website before visiting. Furthermore, there are often weddings in the city hall on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, which can render the second floor inaccessible.

When visiting the banquet hall, take note of the (at the time) controversial royal portraits on the west wall. The last remaining example of a painted house from the medieval period in Nice. Step inside this medieval Orthodox gem and travel back to the 16th century.