Rikshospitalet og Kvinneklinikken Parish, Oslo, Norway Genealogy

Norway &gt; Oslo County &gt; Rikshospital og Kvinneklinikken

Church Records
Microfilm at the contain parish registers from the national hospital and womens clinic in Oslo city.

Images of the church books are online at Digitalarkivet.


 * Rikshospitalet: 1818-1969

History of the parish
With the resolutions of March 12 and June 17 1817, it was determined to create a provisional maternity hospital in connection with the civil hospital in Christiania. The purpose of the hospital was two-sided: to provide birthing assistance for the unmarried and poor mothers and to instruct in obstetric knowledge to doctors and midwives.

The maternity hospital was opened August 16, 1818, and from that time church books were kept for those who were born there. It has been determined to keep these private books in duplicate, one by the priest and one by the doctors with the names of the parents. Because the maternity hospital was within Vor Frelser's parish, one of the priest there was assigned the to perform the christenings and keep the church books.

From 1824, the provisional maternity hospital had several locations in private homes in the city. In 1827 the new building was finished and ready for the institution. But the building was used by the Rikshospital, which was created by royal resolution January 11, 1826. In the resolution the direction was given to the hospital's administration to give the ecclesiastical service of the sick to one of the city's priests. The priest should also have the responsibility of the ecclesiastical matters in the maternity hospital.

From the beginning in 1818, the maternity hospital had a certain number of paying customers. Therefore from the beginning to 1828, about thirty percent of the children were born within marriage. From 1828, the number of births increased dramatically. Now there were as many legitimate births as there were illegitimate. In 1832, the records show that 70 babies were legitimate while 42 babies were born to unwed mothers. Many parents paid to have their child christened in the institution. This meant that the priest and sexton in their home parish lost the money for the christening. Many priests complained, and by royal resolution July 2, 1834, new regulations were made for christening of children born in the maternity hospital. These regulations had consequences for the keeping of the church books.

Children born outside of marriage in the maternity hospital should still be christened there and written in that institutions christening record. The record, as before, should be private. The child should not be reported to the parish priest nor written in the church books of the respective parish.

Poor wives and wives in poor circumstances, who paid half price, could still have the child christened in the institution without having to pay anything to the priest in the parish where they belonged. But record of the christening should be sent to the priest to be included in the church book with remarks that the christening was performed in the maternity hospital.

When full-paying parents wished it they could have their child, who was born within marriage, christened in the institution. They, who belonged to parishes in Christiania, Oslo and Aker, had to show confirmation that the priest and the sexton had received the money they deserved.