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The Royal Estates and Parks

The Department of Royal Estates and Parks is responsible for the management, maintenance and development of the Royal estates. This includes the buildings and their interiors as well as the park areas adjoined to the Royal estates.

The responsibility for maintaining the buildings is shared between the Royal Court and the Norwegian government building and construction adviser Statsbygg, which handles the external maintenance of the buildings and operates the technical systems such as electricity, water, ventilation, etc. at the state-owned properties.

The department also performs administrative tasks and caretaker services on the private royal estates and manages the King's rights to Stiftsgården in Trondheim and Gamlehaugen in Bergen. The department consists of two sections, the Section for Estate Management and the Garden Section, and is led by the Palace Steward, Per Arne Bjørnstad.

Estate Management

The Section for Estate Management ensures that the royal properties are always prepared for all activities. Rooms and interiors at the Royal Palace, Oscarshall summer palace, and Bygdø Royal Farm are maintained and ready for the various events throughout the year. Providing service for the users of the buildings is an important task for the section.

Representatives of the Estate Management Section and Statsbygg taking a short break from the preparations for the large garden party in the Palace Park in 2016. Photo: Jan Haug, the Royal Court

The Section is responsible for the Court's office furtniture and textiles, lighting and technical equipment. Larger-scale renovation and rehabilitation projects are headed by the section, sometimes in cooperation with Statsbygg.

The section receives operational funds from the apanage for the necessary management of the private properties.

Traditional craftsmanship

The unique cultural heritage of the various estates requires careful renovation and maintenance using traditional craftsmanship techniques and materials. Historical material such as blueprints and photographs is consulted closely before new architectural solutions are implemented, with all activities conducted in close cooperation with the Directorate for Cultural Heritage.

The Section’s has its own craftsmen who carry out restoration and maintenance of antique furniture and interiors in collaboration with the Royal Collections. The use of original materials and old craftsmanship traditions are kept alive.

The Section’s cabinetmakers keep antique furtniture in working order. Photo: Nina Ilefeldt, the Royal Court

The Garden Section 

The Garden Section is responsible for the operation and upkeep of parks and gardens adjoined to the Royal estates.

Upkeep of the parks with their 2 000 trees is a considerable task, in adittion to regular maintenance of pools and paths, planting and tidying.

Every year the gardeners plant spring flowers by the statue of Queen Maud - in 2018 this consisted of 7 000 tulips. Photo: Liv Osmundsen, the Royal Court

Environment-friendly methods and promoting biodiversity are given priority. This includes the preservation of old trees and converting lawn into flowering medows.

The gardeners also work to highlight different eras in the park's long history, and several historical elements in the Queen's Park have been recreated. During 2023 the restauration of the romantic gardens surrounding Oscarshall Summer Palace was concluded. 

 

03.03.2025

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Facts

Green operations

The Garden Section has taken a variety of steps to implement environment-friendly operations. While machines are still important in the upkeep of the parks, the use of fossil fuel has been reduced. Electric machinery has been widely introduced, and the gardening staff uses electric vehicles in its daily activities.

The use of pesticides has been reduced. kjemiske plantevernmidler er redusert. There are many ways to combat weeds; one method is to plant vegetation that prevents weeds from growing or seek to re-create a more natural landscape. 

Perennials and meadows

The gardening staff are planting more perennials as opposed to summer flowers, which must be replaced each year. Lawn areas that needed weekly mowing have been turned into meadows, saving both time and fuel. It also gives the park a richer landscape and increases biodiversity, as the meadow plants provide food and habitats for many types of bugs and insects.

Leaves as a resource

Each autumn, the 1 000 trees in the Palace Park shed their leaves. Much of this is shredded where it falls, becoming food for earthworms and enhancing soil structure. Blowers are used to move leaves away from the roads and paths and into the perennial beds, where they provide good insulation for the winter. Most of the fallen leaves are composted at the Oslo municipal waste facility. The resulting compost soil is then brought back to the Palace Park.

The goal is to achieve sustainable management and promote biodiversity.

 

Each autumn, the 1 000 trees in the Palace Park shed their leaves. Photo: Liv Osmundsen, The Royal Court
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