This 1950s office block was once home to a number of Norwegian government departments including the Ministry of Justice, the Police Department and the Prime Ministers offices.  On July 22nd, 2011 a far-right militant racist, Anders Behring Breivik, placed a car bomb under the building killing eight people and injuring 209. 

The image below shows the aftermath of the explosion.  It is shown here under a Attribution 2.0 Generic license.  Details odf the license can be seen by clicking on the image.

This was just the opening event in a day of terror because, after leaving the car bomb in the centre of the city, Brevick travelled out to Utoya Island where he shot 69 participants, mostly adolescents, attending a Norwegian Labour Party youth camp.  The Hoyblokken, or Highrise, was extensively damaged and has been vacant ever since and its future remains uncertain.




On the Akersdgata side of the building is a bus shelter.  On the fateful day it stood outside the office of the newspaper VGs at Akersgata 55.  It has become a memorial for the events of that day as you can read and see below.







On June 22 2016 Thor Arne Brun wrote an article that was published on the www.estatenyheter.no website entitled "High block becomed higher".  In the artricle he announced that, " ... The Prime Minister will take his office and move back to the High Blocks in the four top offices. At least, it is the plan for the High Blocks and the new government quarter.  Building on the High Block and placing the Prime Minister's office at the top is a solution that has emerged after talks and discussions with the ministries and the Prime Minister's office. This will be included in the draft regulatory plan, which will soon be sent for consultation, says project manager Knut Jørgensen."  As you can see from the images on this page, taken in September of 2017, there is no evidence that the plan has been implemented.