Symbols of civic pride, national history or European tradition? City halls in Scandinavian capital cities

In: Urban history, Band 35, Heft 3, S. 382-413

Abstract

ABSTRACTUsing case studies of city halls in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo, this article contributes towards the creation of an iconographic reading of this building type. This article argues that the symbolic aim of the city hall was to express the burgher's pride and values, and to symbolize the local and national history. To understand the multifaceted architecture of a city hall in a capital city, one must also understand the ideas behind nation-building in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The second part of the article analyses how European, national and local narratives were used in the city halls.