Christiania Theatre Laura Gundersen in 1849. The foundation of the first Norwegian theatre in Oslo, Christiania Norwegian Theatre in 1852, was but a temporary rival, as it was forced to close down in 1862. The theatre was a result of the controversy surrounding the Norwegian and Danish languages and was created as a counterpoint to the Danish language dominated Christiania Theatre. Henrik Ibsen was artistic director of the Christiania Norwegian Theatre from the autumn of 1857 and served as the theatre leading director until its bankruptcy in 1862. From 1856, the Christiania Theatre promised to employ native actors. In 1872, Norwegian became
Freetown Christiania begin paying normal rent for the facilities, albeit below market rent levels. Christiania has rejected this scenario, fearing the freetown would turn into a normal Copenhagen neighborhood. In particular, the concept of privately owned dwellings is claimed to be incompatible with Christiania's collective ownership. In September 2007, the representatives of Christiania and Copenhagen's city council reached an agreement to cede control of Christiania to the city over the course of 10 years for the purposes of business development. Also, as of May 2009, the Eastern High Court upheld a 2004 Act of Parliament which reaffirmed the state's legal claim to