Oslo Totally Explained

Everything about Oslo totally explained

(called Christiania from 1624 to 1878, and Kristiania from 1878 to 1924) is the capital and largest city of Norway. It is also a municipality and a county of its own. It is the third-largest Scandinavian city, after Copenhagen and Stockholm, and it forms the third-largest urban area in the region, after Copenhagen and Stockholm. It is arguably the world's most expensive city in which to live.
The city of Oslo was established as a municipality on 3 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). It was separated from the county of Akershus as a county of its own in 1842. The rural municipality of Aker was merged with Oslo on 1 January 1948 (and then transferred from Akershus county to Oslo county). Furthermore, Oslo shares several important functions with Akershus county.

General Information

The population of the city proper is 560,484 (as of January 1, 2008). The urban area extends into the surrounding county of Akershus, its agglomeration totaling 839,423, and its metropolitan area, also referred to as the Greater Oslo region (Stor-Osloregionen) and which extends beyond the city boundaries, has an estimated population of 1,121,020 citizens (2005) and a land area of 6,920 km² (External Link

). In the entire Inner Oslo Fjord Region, there's a total population of about 1.3 million. About 50% of the population of Norway lives within a radius of 120 kilometres of downtown Oslo. The city of Oslo has a current annual growth exceeding 10,000, which makes it one of the fastest growing cities in Europe.
The city centre of Oslo is situated at the end of the Oslofjord from where the city sprawls out both to the north and to the south on both sides of the fjord giving the city area more or less the shape of a "U".
The urban municipality (bykommune) of Oslo and county (fylke) is the same entity. Of Oslo's total area, 115 km² is built-up and 7 km² is agricultural. The open areas within the built-up zone amount to 22 km². On the 17th of May, Norway celebrates its national day as Norwegians dress up in their most beautiful clothes and walk down the main streets in huge parades waving Norwegian flags. It is as big as Christmas with many festivities and traditions associated with it.

Name

The meaning of the name Oslo has been the subject of much debate. It is certainly derived from Old Norse, and was in all probability the name of a large farm at the site of the first settlements in Bjørvika.
During the Middle Ages the name was initially spelled 'Ásló', later 'Ósló'. The earlier spelling suggests that the first component 'ás' refers either to the Ekeberg ridge southeast of the town ('ås' in modern Norwegian), or to the Norse homonym meaning 'god' or 'divinity'. The most likely interpretations would therefore be 'the meadow beneath the ridge' or 'the meadow of the gods'. Both are equally plausible.
A fire in 1624 destroyed much of the medieval city (the section now known as Gamlebyen), and the city was relocated nearer to the Akershus Fortress. King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway renamed the reborn city Christiania. From the end of the 1800s, the name of the city was also spelled "Kristiania". An official decision was never made, so both forms were in use. The original name of Oslo was restored by a law of 11 July 1924, effective 1 January 1925.
The city was once referred to as Tigerstaden (City of tigers) by the author Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson around 1870, due to his perception of the city as a cold and dangerous place. This name has over the years achieved an almost official status, to the extent the 1000-year anniversary was celebrated by a row of tiger sculptures around city hall. The prevalence of homeless and other beggars in newer times led to the slight rewording of the nickname into 'Tiggerstaden', or Beggar City, and a harsh picture of the city was drawn by Knut Hamsun in his novel Sult (Hunger) from 1890 (cinematised in 1966 by Henning Carlsen).

History

According to the Norse sagas, Oslo was founded around 1049 by king Harald Hardråde. Recent archaeological research has uncovered Christian burials from before 1000, evidence of a preceding urban settlement. This called for the celebration of Oslo's millennium in 2000.
It has been regarded as the capital city since the reign of Håkon V (1299-1319), who was the first king to reside permanently in the city. He also started the construction of the Akershus Fortress. A century later Norway was the weaker part in a personal union with Denmark, and Oslo's role was reduced to that of provincial administrative centre, with the kings residing in Copenhagen. The fact that the University of Oslo was founded as late as 1811 had an adverse effect on the development of the nation.
   Oslo was destroyed several times by fire, and after the fourteenth calamity, in 1624, King Christian IV of Denmark (and Norway) ordered it rebuilt at a new site across the bay, near Akershus Fortress and given the name Christiania. But long before this, Christiania had started to regain its stature as a centre of commerce and culture in Norway. The part of the city built from 1624 is now often called Kvadraturen because of its orthogonal layout. In 1814 Christiania once more became a real capital when the union with Denmark was dissolved. Many landmarks were built in the 19th century, including the Royal Palace (1825-1848), Stortinget (the Parliament) (1861-1866), the University, Nationaltheatret and the Stock Exchange. Among the world-famous artists who lived here during this period were Henrik Ibsen and Knut Hamsun (the latter was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature). In 1850, Christiania also overtook Bergen and became the most populous city in the country. In 1878 the city was renamed to Kristiania. The original name of Oslo was restored in 1925.
   Oslo's centrality in the political, cultural and economical life of Norway continues to be a source of considerable controversy and friction. Numerous attempts at decentralization have not appreciably changed this during the last century. While continuing to be the main cause of the depopulation of the Norwegian countryside, any form of development is almost always opposed by neighbours, and as a consequence the growth of a modern urban landscape has all but stopped. Specifically, the construction of highrises in the city centre has been met with skepticism. It is projected, however, that the city will need some 20,000 additional apartments before 2020, forcing the difficult decision of whether to build tall or the equally unpopular option of sprawling out.
   A marked reluctance to encourage the growth of the city for fear of causing further depletion of the traditional farming and fishing communities has led to several successive bursts of construction both in infrastructure and building mass, as the authorities kept waiting in vain for the stream of people to diminish. Neoclassical city apartments built in the 1850s to 1900s dotted with remnants of Christian IV's renaissance grid dominate the architecture around the city centre, except where slums were demolished in the 1960s to construct modernist concrete and glass low-rises, now generally regarded as embarrassing eyesores. The variety in Oslos architectural cityscape does however provide for some striking, and often hauntingly beautiful sights. While most of the forests and lakes surrounding Oslo are in private hands, there's great public support for not developing it. Parts of Oslo suffer from congestion, yet it's one of the few European capitals where people live with the wilderness literally in their back yard, or with access to a suburban train line that allows the city's many hikers and long-distance skiers to simply step off the train and start walking or skiing.

Geography and climate

Oslo occupies an arc of land at the northernmost end of the Oslofjord. The fjord, which is nearly bisected by the Nesodden peninsula opposite Oslo, lies to the south; in all other directions Oslo is surrounded by green hills and mountains. There are 40 islands within the city limits, the largest being Malmøya (0.56 km²), and scores more around the Oslofjord. Oslo has 343 lakes, the largest being Maridalsvannet (3.91 km²). This is also a main source of drinking water for large parts of Oslo. The highest point is Kirkeberget, at 629 m. Although the city's population is small compared to most European capitals, it occupies an unusually large land area, of which two thirds are protected areas of forests, hills and lakes. Its boundaries encompass many parks and open areas, giving it an airy and often very green appearance. It isn't uncommon to encounter wild moose in relatively urban areas of Oslo, especially during wintertime.
   Oslo has a hemiboreal/humid continental climate (Dfb according to the Köppen climate classification system). Summers are mild or even warm, with daily high temperatures averaging between 20.1 °C and 21.5 °C during the summer months (June-August). September is often as warm, with colder temperatures usually arriving before the end of October. The highest temperature ever recorded was 35 °C on July 21, 1901. Heatwaves occur several times every summer, from June to late August, with temperatures usually up to 30-31 °C. The Oslofjord has many public beaches and recreational areas, which are very popular in the summer months. The water temperature usually lies around 20 °C, and sometimes as high as 23-24 °C.
   The winter is cold, chilly and wet. Temperatures can drop down to -20 °C or lower when there's a high pressure and blue skies. Almost every winter, ice develops in the inner parts of the fjord, making ice fishing, ice-skating and even cross-country skiing possible on sea-ice. Temperatures below zero may be experienced from November until March, the coldest month being January with a mean temperature of -4.3 °C, and both January and February may have daily minimum temperatures of around -7 °C. The coldest temperature recorded is -27.9 °C in February 1871. Snowfall is spread evenly throughout the winter months and on average more than 25 cm of snow cover is experienced 30 days per year. Temperatures have tended to be higher in recent years.
   The annual average precipitation is 763 mm, with winter being somewhat drier than summer.

Air

Oslo Airport, Gardermoen served by high speed train (Flytoget)

Sandefjord Airport, Torp (in Vestfold county about two hours, or 110 km away)

Moss Airport, Rygge (In Østfold county, 60 km away)

Sea

There are daily ferry connections to Kiel (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), Frederikshavn (Denmark) and Nesodden.
Public ferries run daily to and from the islands scattered in the Oslo harbour basin.

Train

Oslo Sentralstasjon is the main railway station in Oslo. From there, there are connections in the directions of: Trondheim, Bergen, Stavanger, Stockholm (Sweden), Gothenburg (Sweden) and Copenhagen (Denmark). In 2004 Norwegian trains were Europe's third most punctual national train company. For the 4 first months in 2005 the punctuality was 92.9%. During winter in particular, weather conditions such as snow and blizzards may cause delays and cancellations on the routes crossing the central mountains.

Public transport

The public transportation system in Oslo is managed by the municipal transport company Oslo Sporveier. This includes metro, tram, bus and ferry, but not the local train lines, which are run by the state railway company NSB. All public transport in Oslo operates on a common ticket system, allowing free transfer within a period of one hour with a regular ticket. Tickets also transfer to the local and inter-city trains, unless you intend to cross the city border. In 2004, 160 million journeys were made using public transport, of which 85% was handled by Oslo Sporveier's own subsidiaries and 15% by private bus and ferry operators under cost-based contracts.
The tram system, Oslotrikken, is made up of six lines that criss-cross the inner parts of the city and extend out towards the suburbs. The metro system, known as the T-bane, connects the eastern and western suburbs and comprises six lines which all converge in a tunnel beneath downtown Oslo. The metro lines are identified by numbers from 1 to 6, with two lines running into the municipality of Bærum in the west. The tramway lines are numbered 11 to 13 and 17 to 19.
A new, partially underground loop line was opened in August 2006, connecting Ullevål in the north-west and Carl Berners plass in the east. Two new stations, Nydalen and Storo, have been operational for a couple of years already, the third station, Sinsen, opened August 20 2006. This completed the loop. In conjunction with the opening of the circle line, there will be a major upgrade of the rolling stock, with delivery taking place between 2007 and 2010. An RFID ticketing system with automatic turnstile barriers has been under introduction for several years, but has been heavily delayed and isn't yet in service.

Road

Access into the city centre requires the payment of a toll at one of 19 entry points around the ring road. It costs 25 NOK to enter the cordoned zone at all times of day, seven days a week, although a season ticket is available. Since February 2, 2008 coins are no longer accepted at the Toll Station, and all cars must pass through the automatic lanes without stopping. If you're fitted with the electronic AutoPASS system then you'll be debited as you pass, all other drivers will receive a bill in the post.
Initially revenues from the road tolls funded the public road network, but since 2002 it mainly finances new developments for the public transport system in Oslo. There has been discussion whether to continue to use the cordon after 2007, based on the funding decisions, extensions, accommodation of time-differentiated pricing or replaced by another form of pricing altogether, perhaps to make congestion pricing possible.

Media

The newspapers Aftenposten, Verdens Gang, Dagbladet, Dagsavisen, Morgenbladet, Vårt Land, Nationen and Klassekampen are published in Oslo. The main office of the national broadcasting company NRK is located at Marienlyst in Oslo, near Majorstuen. TVNorge (TVNorway) is also located in Oslo, while TV2 (based in Bergen) and TV3 (based in London) operate branch offices in central Oslo. There is also a healthy variety of specialty publications and smaller media companies.

Sports

Oslo was the host city for the 1952 Winter Olympics. Except for the downhill skiing at Norefjell, all events took place within the city limits. The opening and closing ceremonies were held at Bislett stadion, which was also used for the speed skating events. In recent years, the stadium has been better known for hosting the annual Bislett Games track and field event in the IAAF Golden League. The stadium was rebuilt in 2004/2005 and was formally opened for the Bislett Games on July 29, 2005. Holmenkollen nordic skiing arena, and its centrepiece the ski jump, was an important venue during the 1952 Olympics. The arena has hosted numerous Nordic skiing and biathlon world championships since 1930, and its ski jump competition is the second oldest in the world, having been contested since 1892. Holmenkollen has been selected to once again host the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, in 2011.
   During the summer months, the harbour becomes a venue for various maritime events, including the start of a large sailing regatta that attracts around 1,000 contesting boats each year, and one race of the international Class 1 offshore powerboat racing circuit.
   Two football clubs from Oslo, Vålerenga and Lyn, play in the Norwegian Premier League. In the 2005 season, the teams placed 1st and 3rd respectively. In addition, two teams from the conurbations are represented - Stabæk Fotball and Lillestrøm Sportsklubb. Oslo had two ice hockey teams in the highest division in the previous season, Vålerenga Ishockey and Furuset I.F., the former winning the cup and league double. Speed skating is also held at the Valle Hovin venue, which in the summer is host to large popular music concerts. Ullevaal stadion, located in the borough of Nordre Aker, is the home of the Norwegian national football team. Built in 1926, it's the largest football stadium in Norway, and has served as the venue for the Norwegian Cup final since 1948. Both Lyn and Vålerenga use the stadium as their home ground.
   Oslo is also home of Norway Cup - the world's biggest football tournament for youth from all over the world.

Historical population

Year	Population
1801	9,500
1825	15,400
1855	31,700
1875	76,900
1900	227,900
1925	255,700
1951	434,365
1960	471,511
1970	487,363
1980	454,872
1990	458,364
2000	507,467
2002	529,407
2006	538,411
2008	560,484