The “Sun and Earth” statue by Ørnulf Bast has stood on top a fountain in Christian Frederiks plass since 1986. Historically, this location was the garden of Paléet. The former royal residence was constructed in 1745 and destroyed by fire in 1942. In 1914, the square was named after Christian Frederick. He was the King of Norway for less than five months in 1814 when Norway declared their short-lived independence from Denmark. He then transferred his power to the Storting (Norway’s new parliament). The politicians negotiated a union with Sweden and elected Charles XIII of Sweden as their new king. Christian Frederick returned to Denmark and later became the Danish King Christian VIII from 1839 until 1848.
