Norwegian Nobel Institute

Written By Visit Scandinavia

The Norwegian Nobel Institute operates primarily as a research facility and administrative office for the Norwegian Nobel Committee, making its interior generally closed to regular tourist walk-ins except for its public research library or during occasional public lectures.

However, you can easily appreciate the historic building from the outside, use its library, or book a specialized private tour. To truly immerse yourself in the legacy of the prize, you should combine your visit with the Nobel Peace Center museum and Oslo City Hall, where the public exhibitions and actual award ceremonies take place.

Essential Visitor Information

  • The Building: Located at Henrik Ibsens gate 51 near the Royal Palace, this 1867 classic mansion is where the Nobel Committee meets to select laureates and where the official Peace Prize winner is announced every October.

  • Public Access: The interior is closed for casual sightseeing, but the institute's Library, which contains over 204,000 titles on political history, peace, and international relations, is open to the public.

  • Private Guided Tours: If you want to see the Grand Hall and look inside, you must arrange a specialized private tour in advance through operators.

The Complete Nobel Experience in Oslo

Because the Institute has limited public access, most visitors pair an exterior viewing of the mansion with Oslo's dedicated, highly interactive Nobel attractions nearby:

The Nobel Peace Center

  • What it is: The official public museum dedicated to Alfred Nobel and the Peace Prize laureates. It features immersive digital galleries, the famous Medal Chamber, and seasonal exhibits.

  • Location: Brynjulf Bulls plass 1 (at City Hall Square).

  • Hours: Open daily from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM during summer (normal hours 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM Tuesday–Sunday).

  • Admission: 180 NOK for adults, 100 NOK for students, and free for children under 18. Entry is included if you hold the Oslo Pass

Oslo City Hall

  • What it is: The grand waterfront building where the Nobel Peace Prize is officially presented to the laureates every year on December 10th.

  • Location: Directly across from the Nobel Peace Center.

  • Admission: Free to walk inside and view the massive, historic ceremonial hall adorned with Norwegian art.

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The Nobel Peace Walk

  • The Nobel Peace Center regularly hosts guided city walking toursthat trace the historical path of the prize. The tour guides you from the museum to City Hall, the Parliament building (Stortinget), the Grand Hotel (where laureates stay), and finishes directly outside the gates of the Norwegian Nobel Institute

The Nobel Peace Center (Main Public Museum) → Oslo City Hall (Cermony Venue) → Stortinget (the Parliament) → Grand Hotel → The University Aula → Norwegian Nobel Institute (administrative office for the Norwegian Nobel Committee)

Guided tours

We offer guided tours every day this summer. Read more

11:00 - The Nobel Peace Prize (english)
12:00 - Democracy on the Brink (english)
14:00 - The Nobel Peace Prize (english)
15:00 - Democracy on the Brink (english)

The guided tours last about 30 minutes. Register for the guided tour when you arrive at the museum. Maximum 30 people per guided tour.

 

ABOUT

For assistance with the scrutiny necessary for the prize adjudication and for promoting the objectives of the Foundation in other ways, the prize-awarding bodies may establish Nobel Institutes.

- Statutes of the Nobel Foundation, § 12

Nobel Committee secretariat

The Norwegian Nobel Institute was established 1 February, 1904, tasked with supporting the Nobel Committee in its review of nominations and candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize. According to § 12 of the Nobel Foundation statutes, "each Nobel Institute shall be under the leadership of the prize-awarding body that established it." The Director of the Institute is the Nobel Committee's permanent secretary, and the Institute can be regarded as the Committee's secretariat. The events in December are all planned and coordinated through this office.

Physical location

The first few years the Institute rented offices in Victoria Terrasse in downtown Oslo, but by May 1905 the move was made to the present building in Henrik Ibsens gate 51. The award ceremony was moved there the same year, having previously taken place in the Storting (Norwegian Parliament). The building, originally constructed in 1867 as a private residence, had by then undergone extensive renovation.

Internal and external functions

The Institute contains offices, a meeting room, the Grand Hall, a research department, library and reading room. The Nobel Committee meets in a special meeting room devoted exclusively to this purpose. The tradition has gradually developed of using the Institute’s Grand Hall both for the announcement of the year's Peace Prize in October and for the Laureate's press conference on 9 December, the day before the award ceremony in Oslo City Hall.

Public activities

The Nobel Institute arranges meetings, lectures and seminars, as well as so-called Nobel Symposia. The symposia are attended by specially invited academic scholars, experts and decision-makers from many countries who gather to discuss selected topics relating to peace and conflicts.

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