Villa Lilleborg is a historic villa on Ormøya in Oslo, overlooking Ormsundet and the Oslofjord. The house was built in 1862 and later remodelled around 1900 in a mixture of Art Nouveau and dragon-style architecture. With its steep rooflines, decorative woodwork and distinctive star-shaped ornamentation running around the exterior below the second-floor windows, the building has a very recognisable appearance and stands apart from most other historic villas in Oslo.
In “Max Manus” (2008), Villa Lilleborg is used near the beginning of the film, when the resistance group gathers at the house. As the location is introduced, one of the men leans out of a second-floor window and calls down to the others. The villa is easy to identify, not only because of its dragon-style architecture, but also because of the unusual star decorations running around the house at roughly second-floor height. This detail makes the building especially recognisable when comparing the film with the real location.
The scene uses Villa Lilleborg as a meeting place for the group before the wartime action of the film develops further. The house gives the early sequence a secluded and slightly old-fashioned Oslo atmosphere, away from the more urban resistance locations used elsewhere in the film. Since the location does not appear to be widely documented as a “Max Manus” filming site, the identification is especially dependent on the building’s highly distinctive exterior details, particularly the star ornamentation and the second-floor window used in the scene.
Max Manus
Max Manus: Man of War was primarily filmed on location in Oslo, Norway, with additional scenes shot in Scotland and studio work in Bærum.
Gamlebyen gravlund
In Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole (2026), Gamlebyen gravkapell in Gamlebyen gravlund is used for Ellen Gjelten’s funeral.
Vippetangen
Vippetangen is used in the Norwegian movies Pastor Jarman kommer hjem (1958), and in the war movie Max Manus (2008).
Oslo Opera House
As a screen location, the Oslo Opera House has been used in Pax (2011), 22 July, The Snowman (2017), The Worst Person in the World (2021) and Tenet (2020).
Ministry of Defence
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Defence in Oslo is the government ministry responsible for developing and implementing Norwegian security and defense policy.
Botsen
Botsen is best known from the "Olsenbanden" film series, where it appears as the prison Egon Olsen is released from at the start of many of the films.
Akershus Fortress
Akershus Fortress has been used in Norwegian film as both a historical setting and a dramatic Oslo landmark. It appears in About Tilla and in Max Manus.
Enerhaugen Cafe
In Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole (2026), Enerhaugen Cafe serves as the real-life location for Boxer Bar, the pub where police officers go for a beer after work.
Farine
Farine has appeared in Olsenbanden, Olsenbanden og Dynamitt-Harry, Olsenbanden tar gull, Hemmelighetene i B-by, Lyckliga gatan and Hos Martin.
Kampen Church
Kampen Church appears in Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole (2026), Olsenbanden for full musikk (1976), Mot i brøstet (1993–1997), and Hemmelighetene i B-by (1982–).
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