Information AboutOslo |
(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. The city of Oslo was established as a municipality on January 3, 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 January 1, 1948 (and then transferred from Akershus county to Oslo county). The population of the city proper is 553,396 (as of ) and a land area of 6 920 km&2 {Link without Title} . Oslo has a current annual growth exceeding 15,000. 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. In the entire Oslo Fjord Region there is a total population of about 1.7 million. About 22 % of the population of Oslo are immigrants. The urban Municipality (''bykommune'') of Oslo and county (''fylke'') is the same entity. Of Oslo's total area, 115 km&2 is built-up and 7 km&2 is Agricultural . The open areas within the built-up zone amount to 22 km&2. 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. The last component has been positively identified as the Old Norse word 'ló', meaning 'level meadow' or 'plain'. 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 city was also spelled "Kristiania" (from 1878 by the government). There was never made an official decision to spell the name of the city with a 'K', 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.
SHOPPING There are four main shopping areas in Oslo: #Grønland is one of the city's most trendy areas. The most multicultural places in Oslo where you can find all kind of food and clothes from around the world. There are some of the most popular desi shops in Grønland. #The downtown close to the main pedestrian street ' Karl Johans Gate ', including stores like "Steen og Strøm" and Glassmagasinet -- a smaller version of stores like Macy's or Selfridges, as well as some large shopping centres (Oslo City and Byporten) #Bogstadveien/Hegdehaugsveien, starting behind the Royal castle stretching up to Majorstuen, with upscale shopping, the more famous designers as well as typical high street shopping. The nearby Frogner is among Oslo's most exclusive areas. # Grünerløkka has stores by modern designers among placed the large parks, as well as numerous bars and restaurants. Grünerløkka is "Oslo's Greenwich Village ": formerly a working class area, it is now one of the city's most trendy areas. POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT Oslo is the capital of Norway, and as such is the seat of Norway's national government. Most government offices, including that of the Prime Minister , are gathered at ''Regjeringskvartalet'', a cluster of buildings close to the national Parliament - the Storting . Constituting both a municipality and a county of Norway, the city of Oslo is represented in the Storting by seventeen Members Of Parliament . Six MPs are from the Labour Party ; the Conservative Party and the Progress Party have three each, the Socialist Left Party and the Liberals have two each, and one is from the Christian Democrats . Oslo has had a Parliamentary System of government since 1986. The supreme authority of the city is the City Council (''Bystyret''), which currently has 59 seats. Representatives are popularly elected every four years. The City Council has five standing committees, each with their own areas of responsibility. These are: Health and Social Welfare, Education and Cultural Affairs, Urban Development, Transport and Environmental Affairs, and Finance. The council's executive branch (''Byrådet'') consists of a head of government (''byrådsleder'') and six commissioners (''byråder'', sing. ''byråd'') holding ministerial positions. Each of the commissioners needs the confidence of the City Council and each of them can be voted out of office. Since the local elections of 2003, the city government has been a coalition of the Conservative Party and the Progress Party. Based mostly on support from the Christian Democrats and the Liberals, the coalition maintains a majority in the City Council. The largest political parties are the Conservatives and the Labour Party, with fifteen representatives each in the City Council. The Mayor of Oslo is the head of the City Council and the highest ranking representative of the city. This used to be the most powerful political position in Oslo, but after the implementation of parliamentarism the Mayor has had more of a ceremonial role, similar to that of the President of the Storting at the national level. The current Mayor of Oslo is Svenn Kristiansen . ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS Following the latest reform of (''bydeler'') that are to a considerable extent self governed. Each borough is responsible for local services not overseen by the City Council, such as Social Services , basic Healthcare , and Kindergartens . # Gamle Oslo # Grünerløkka # Sagene # St. Hanshaugen # Frogner # Ullern # Vestre Aker # Nordre Aker # Bjerke # Grorud # Stovner # Alna # Østensjø # Nordstrand # Søndre Nordstrand # Sentrum # Marka Sentrum (the city centre) and Marka (the rural/recreational areas surrounding the city) are separate geographical entities, but do not have an administration of their own. Sentrum is governed by the borough of St. Hanshaugen. The administration of Marka is shared between neighbouring boroughs. ECONOMY Oslo is an important centre of maritime knowledge in Europe and is home to approximately 980 companies and 8,500 employees within the maritime sector, among which are some of the world's largest shipping companies, shipbrokers, and insurance brokers.http://81.93.161.140/archive/download_eng/01/01/Marit002.pdf Det Norske Veritas , headquartered at Høvik outside Oslo, is one of the three major maritime Classification Societies in the world, with 16.5% of the world fleet to class in its register {Link without Title} . The city's port is the largest general cargo port in the country and its leading passenger gateway. Close to 6,000 ships dock at the Port of Oslo annually with a total of 6 million tonnes of cargo and over five million passengers. The s in Europe, at NOK391,399 (€49,465) in 2003. If Norway were a member of the European Union , the capital region would have the fourth strongest GDP per capita, behind Inner London , Brussels-Capital and Luxembourg . Oslo is one of the .http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/4669400.stm The reason for this discrepancy is that the EIU omits certain factors from its final index calculation, most notably housing. Although Oslo does have the most expensive housing market in Norway it is comparably cheaper to other cities on the list in that regard. Meanwhile, prices on goods and services remain some of the highest of any city. According to a report compiled by Swiss bank UBS in the month of August 2006,http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060809/ts_nm/life_cities_dc Oslo and London were the world's most expensive cities. Total pay packets were the biggest in Oslo along with Copenhagen and Zurich -- but residents of the Nordic cities lose out when tax is taken into account. DEMOGRAPHICS 19.6 % of Oslos population are non-western immigrants, Pakistanis and Sri Lankan Tamils being the two largest ethnic groups. Other large groups are people from the Ex-Yugoslavia , Turkey , Somalia , Iraq and Morocco . [http://nyhuus.deich.folkebibl.no/deichman/dfb/sprakland.html INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING
Oslo now has over 50 schools, colleges and universities in itself alone. TRANSPORT Air
Sea There are daily ferry connections to Kiel ( Germany ), Copenhagen ( Denmark ), Frederikshavn ( Denmark ) and Nesodden . Public ferries run daily to and fro the islands scattered in the Oslo harbour basin. Train , 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.http://www.sporveien.no/upload/Dokumentvedlegg/facts_2005.pdf 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 will also be introduced. 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. 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 is 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 worlds biggest football tournament for youth from all over the world. HISTORICAL POPULATION Conurbation population
See also: List Of Urban Settlements In Norway By Population . Born in Oslo
See also (category). SISTER CITIES Cooperation agreements have been signed with the following cities/regions:http://www.oslo.kommune.no/the_city_of_oslo/international_cooperation/
Oslo has a longstanding tradition of sending a Christmas tree each year to the cities of Washington, D.C. , London , Rotterdam , Antwerp , and Reykjavík . SEE ALSO REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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