Bergen and Oslo- Norway
Bergen and Oslo- Norway
Bergen (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈbærɡən] ( listen)) is a city and municipality in Hordaland on the west coast of Norway. As of 20 July 2013, the municipality had a population of 269,700 and Greater Bergen had a population of 396,500, which is projected to reach 526,700 by 2040, making Bergen the second-largest city in Norway. Sony SVS1511M3EW battery
Sony PCG-4121DM battery The municipality covers an area of 465 square kilometres (180 sq mi) and is located on the peninsula of Bergenshalvøyen. The city centre and northern neighbourhoods are located on Byfjorden and the city is surrounded by mountains. Sony SVS1511N3ES battery
Sony VPCSE2V9E batteryFor this reason, Bergen is known as the city of seven mountains. Many of the extra-municipal suburbs are located on islands. Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland and consists of eight boroughs—Arna, Årstad, Åsane, Bergenhus, Fana, Fyllingsdalen, Laksevåg and Ytrebygda.
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Trading in Bergen may have started as early as the 1020s, but the city was not incorporated until approximately 1070. It served as Norway's capital in the 13th century, and from the end of the 13th century became a bureau city of the Hanseatic League. Until 1789, Sony SVS1511T9ES battery
Sony VPCSB4S9E batteryBergen enjoyed exclusive rights to mediate trade between Northern Norway and abroad. The remains of the quays, Bryggen, is a World Heritage Site. The city was hit by numerous fires. The Norwegian School of Economics was founded in 1936 and the University of Bergen in 1946. From 1831 to 1972, Sony SVS1511V9EB battery
Sony VPCSA3Q9E battery Bergen was its own county. In 1972 the municipality absorbed four surrounding municipalities, and at the same time became a part of Hordaland county.
The city is an international centre for aquaculture, shipping, offshore petroleum industry and subsea technology, and a national centre for higher education, tourism and finance. The city's main football team is SK Brann and the city holds the unique tradition in buekorps. Sony SVS1511V9ES battery
Sony SVS1511W9EB batteryNatives speak the distinct Bergensk dialect. The city features Bergen Airport, Flesland, the Bergen Light Rail and is the terminus of the Bergen Line; Bergen Port is Norway's busiest. Four large bridges connect Bergen to its suburban municipalities.
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The city of Bergen was traditionally thought to have been founded by king Olav Kyrre, son of Harald Hardråde in 1070 AD,[2] four years after the Viking Age ended. Modern research has, however, discovered that a trading settlement was established already during the 1020s or 1030s.[3] Sony SVS13A1S9E battery
Sony VPCSB4M9E battery Bergen gradually assumed the function of capital of Norway in the early 13th century, as the first city where a rudimentary central administration was established. The city's cathedral was the site of the first royal coronation in Norway in the 1150s, Sony SVS13A1X9E battery
Sony VPCSB4L1E battery and continued to host royal coronations throughout the 13th century. The functions of capital city were lost to Oslo during the reign of King Haakon V (1299–1319). In the middle of the 14th century, North German merchants who had already been present in substantial numbers since the 13th century, Sony SVS1312J3E battery
Sony VPCSB3X9E battery founded one of the four kontors of the Hanseatic League at Bryggen in Bergen.
The principal export traded from Bergen was dried cod from the northern Norwegian coast,[4] which started around 1100. By the late 14th century, Bergen had established itself as the centre of the trade in Norway.[ Sony SVS1312P9E battery
Sony VPCSB3T9E battery5] The Hanseatic merchants lived in their own separate quarter of town, where Middle Low German was used, enjoying exclusive rights to trade with the northern fishermen that each summer sailed to Bergen.[6] Today, Bergen's old quayside, Bryggen, is on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Site.[7]
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Hieronymus Scholeus's impression of Bergen. The drawing was made in about 1580 and was published in an atlas with drawings of many different cities (Civitaes orbis terrarum).[8]
The city's history is marked by numerous great fires. In 1198, the Bagler-faction set fire to the city in connection with a battle against the Birkebeiner faction during the civil war. In 1248, Sony SVS1313C5E battery
Holmen and Sverresborg burned, and 11 churches were destroyed. In 1413 another fire struck the city, and 14 churches were destroyed. In 1428 the city was plundered by German pirates, and in 1455, Hanseatic merchants were responsible for burning down Munkeliv Abbey. In 1476, Bryggen burned down in a fire started by a drunk trader. In 1582, Sony SVS1313S9E battery
another fire hit the city centre and Strandsiden. In 1675, 105 buildings burned down in Øvregaten. In 1686 a new great fire hit Strandsiden, destroying 231 city blocks and 218 boathouses. The greatest fire to date happened in 1702 when 90 percent of the city was burned to ashes. Sony SVS1511S9E battery
In 1751, there was a great fire at Vågsbunnen. In 1756, a new fire at Strandsiden burned down 1,500 buildings, and further great fires hit Strandsiden in 1771 and 1901. In 1916, 300 buildings burned down in the city centre, and in 1955 parts of Bryggen burned down.
In 1349, the Black Death was inadvertently brought to Norway by the crew of an English ship arriving in Bergen.[9] Sony SVS1512X9E battery
Sony VPCSB3N9E battery In the 15th century, the city was several times attacked by the Victual Brothers,[10] and in 1429 they succeeded in burning the royal castle and much of the city. In 1665, the city's harbour was the site of the Battle of Vågen, where an English naval flotilla attacked a Dutch merchant and treasure fleet supported by the city's garrison. Sony SVS13 battery
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Throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, Bergen remained one of the largest cities in Scandinavia, and was Norway's biggest city until the 1830s,[11] when the capital city of Oslo became the largest. From around 1600, Sony VPCSA battery
Sony VPCSB3L9E battery the Hanseatic dominance of the city's trade gradually declined in favour of Norwegian merchants (often of Hanseatic ancestry), and in the 1750s, the Hanseatic Kontor finally closed. Bergen retained its monopoly of trade with Northern Norway until 1789.[12]
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A historic photochrom of Bergen near the end of the 19th century. Visible are Domkirken in the bottom left side and Korskirken in the foreground, Bryggen with its many boats and the Bergenhus Fortress in the background. Sony VPCSA3T9E battery
During World War II, Bergen was occupied on the first day of the German invasion on 9 April 1940, after a brief fight between German ships and the Norwegian coastal artillery. On 20 April 1944, during the German occupation, the Dutch cargo ship Voorbode anchored off the Bergenhus Fortress, loaded with over 120 tons of explosives, Sony VPCSB1X9E battery
Sony VPCSB2L1E batteryblew up, killing at least 150 people and damaging historic buildings. The city was subject to some Allied bombing raids, aiming at German naval installations in the harbour. Some of these caused Norwegian civilian casualties numbering about 100. Sony VPCSB1Z9E battery
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Bergen was separated from Hordaland as a county of its own in 1831.[13] It was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The rural municipality of Bergen landdistrikt was merged with Bergen on 1 January 1877.[ Dell XPS 14 battery
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14] The rural municipality of Årstad was merged with Bergen on 1 July 1915. The rural municipalities of Arna, Fana, Laksevåg, and Åsane were merged with Bergen on 1 January 1972. The city lost its status as a separate county on the same date.[15] Bergen is now a municipality in Norway, in the county of Hordaland. Dell XPS 15 battery
Toponymy[edit]
The Old Norse forms of the name were Bergvin and Bjǫrgvin (and in Icelandic and Faroese the city is still called Björgvin). The first element is berg (n.) or bjǫrg (n.), which translates to mountain(s). The last element is vin (f.), Dell XPS 17 battery
Dell XPS M1530 batterywhich means a new settlement where there used to be a pasture or meadow. The full meaning is then 'the meadow among the mountains'.[16] A suitable name: Bergen is often called 'the city among the seven mountains'. It was the playwright Ludvig Holberg who felt
Dell XPS M140 batteryso inspired by the seven hills of Rome, that he decided that his home town must be blessed with a corresponding seven mountains – and locals still argue which seven they are.
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In 1918, there was a campaign to reintroduce the Norse form Bjørgvin as the name of the city. This was turned down – but as a compromise the name of the diocese was changed to Bjørgvin bispedømme.[17]
Geography[edit] Dell XPS L401X battery
Bergen: Urban areas (Statistics Norway)
Bergen occupies most of the peninsula of Bergenshalvøyen in the district of Midthordland in mid-western Hordaland. The municipality covers an area of 465 kilometres (289 mi). Most of the urban area is located on or close to a fjord or bay, although there are several mountains located within the urban area. Dell XPS L501X battery
Dell XPS M1210 batteryThe city centre is surrounded by the Seven Mountains, although there is disagreement as to which of the nine mountains constitute these. Ulriken, Fløyen, Løvstakken and Damsgårdsfjellet are always included as well as three of Lyderhorn, Sandviksfjellet, Blåmanen, Rundemanen and Kolbeinsvarden.[18Dell XPS L502X battery
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Dell XPS L702X battery] Gullfjellet is the highest mountain in Bergen, at 987 metres (3,238 ft) above mean sea level.[19]
The population is 256,580[20] making the population density 551 people per km2. The population of the main urban area is 220,418.[2Dell Latitude E4200 battery
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1] The main urban area of Bergen 227,752 residents and covers an area of 94.03 square kilometres (36.31 sq mi). Other urban areas, as defined by Statistics Norway, consists of Indre Arna (6,296 residents), Fanahammeren (3,613), Ytre Arna (2,522), Hylkje (2,195), Espeland (2,049), Nordvik (431) and Flesland (335).[21] Dell Latitude E5410 battery
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Bergen is sheltered from the North Sea by the islands Askøy, Holsnøy (the municipality of Meland) and Sotra (the municipalities of Fjell and Sund). Bergen borders the municipalities Meland, Lindås and Osterøy to the north, Vaksdal and Samnanger to the east, Os and Austevoll to the south, and Sund, Fjell and Askøy to the west. Dell Latitude E5500 battery
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Climate[edit]
Bergen features a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb ) with relatively mild winters and cool summers. Despite being so far north, Bergen's weather is relatively mild. In the winter, Bergen has the warmest winters of all other cities in Norway, caused by the Gulf Stream. Bergen experiences plentiful rainfall, with annual precipitation measuring 2,250 mm (89 in) on average.[22Dell Latitude E6400 ATG battery
] This is because the city is surrounded by mountains that cause moist North Atlantic air to undergo orographic lift, which yields abundant rainfall. Rain fell every day between 29 October 2006 and 21 January 2007, 85 consecutive days.[2Dell Latitude E6500 battery
Dell Latitude E5220 battery3] In Bergen, precipitation is plentiful and heavy rain can happen at any time of the year. The highest temperature ever recorded was 31.8 °C, a record that dates back to 1947.[24] The lowest ever recorded is −16.3 °C, in 1987.[25] Dell Latitude E4300 battery
Dell Latitude E6430s battery The high precipitation is often used in the marketing of the city, and figures to a degree on postcards sold in the city. For some time there were umbrella vending machines in the city, but these did not turn out to be a success.[26] Dell Latitude E4310 battery
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In recent years, precipitation and winds have increased in the city. In late 2005, heavy rains caused floods and several landslides, the worst of which killed three people on 14 September. Some indications are that due to climate change, severe storms causing landslides and floods will become more powerful in the area and in surrounding counties in coming years. Dell Latitude E4320 battery
As a response, the municipality created a special 24-man rescue unit within the fire department in 2005, to respond to future slides and other natural disasters,[27] and neighbourhoods considered at risk of slides were surveyed in 2006. Dell Latitude E6400 XFR battery
Dell Latitude E6330 battery [28] As of October 2007, the prediction has been supported by over 480 landslides in Hordaland county from the spring of 2006 to the summer of 2007. Most of the slides hit roads however none of them caused damage to cars, buildings, or people,[29][30] until October 2007, Dell Latitude E6410 battery
when a large rock dislodged and killed the driver of a car.[31] Another concern is the risk of rising sea levels. Already today, Bryggen is regularly flooded at extreme tide, and it is feared that as sea levels rise, floods will become a major problem in Bergen. Floods may in the future reach the old fire station in Olav Kyrres Gate, Dell Latitude E6410 ATG battery
Dell Latitude E6320 batteryas well as the railroad tracks leading out of the city.[32] It has therefore been suggested by among others Stiftelsen Bryggen, the foundation responsible for preserving the UNESCO site, that a sea wall, built so that it could be raised and lowered as demanded by the tides, be built outside the harbour to protect the city.[33] Dell Latitude E6500 battery
Ethnic Norwegians make up 88.8% of Bergen's residents. In addition, 2.1% were first or second generation immigrants of Western background and 6.6% were first or second generation immigrants of non-Western background.[38] Dell Latitude E6510 battery
Dell Latitude E6220 batteryThe population grew by 4,549 people in 2009, a growth rate of 1,8%. Ninety-six percent of the population live in urban areas. As of 2002, the average gross income for men above the age of 17 is 426,000 Norwegian krone (NOK), the average gross income for women above the age of 17 is NOK 238,000, Dell Latitude E6120 battery
Dell Latitude E6210 battery with the total average gross income being NOK 330,000 .[38] In 2007, there were 104.6 men for every 100 women in the age group of 20–39.[38] 22.8% of the population were under 17 years of age, while 4.5% were 80 and above. Sony VPCSA2Z9E battery
The immigrant population (those with two foreign-born parents) in Bergen, includes 23,682 individuals with backgrounds from 164 countries representing 9.56% of the city's population (2008). Of these, 40.8% have background from Europe, 36.0% from Asia, 12.4% from Africa, 7.8% from Latin America, 2.5% from North America and 0.5% from Oceania. Sony SVS13AA11L Battery
The immigrant population in Bergen in the period 1993–2008 increased by 119.7%, while the ethnic Norwegian population has grown by 8.1% during the same period. The national average is 138.0% and 4.2%.
The immigrant population has thus accounted for 43.6% of Bergen's population growth and 60.8% of Norway's population growth during the period 1993–2008, compared with 84.5% in Oslo.[39]
The immigrant population in Bergen has changed a lot since 1970. As of 1 January 1986, there were 2,870 persons with non-Western immigrant background in Bergen. In 2006, this figure had increased to 14,630, so the non-Western immigrant population in Bergen was five times higher than in 1986.
Sony PCG-41411L Battery This is a slightly slower growth than the national average, which has sextupled during the same period. Also in relation to the total population in Bergen, the proportion of non-Western increased significantly. In 1986, the proportion of the total population in the municipality of non-Western background was 3.6%. Sony SVS131A11L Battery
Sony PCG-41218L BatteryIn January 2006, persons with non-Western immigrant background accounted for 6 percent of the population in Bergen. The share of Western immigrants has remained stable at around 2% in the period. The number of Poles in Bergen rose from 697 in 2006 to 3,128 in 2010.[40] Sony SVS131B11L Battery
The Church of Norway is the largest denomination in Bergen, with 201,006 (79.74%) adherents in 2012. Bergen is the seat of the Diocese of Bjørgvin with Bergen Cathedral as its centrepiece, which St John's Church is the city's most prominent. The state church is followed by 52,059 (13.55%) irreligious [41Sony SVS151A11L Battery
Sony PCG-41216L Battery] 12,000 Catholics belonging to Saint Paul Catholic Church[42][43] 4,947 members of various Protestant free churches, 2,707 Muslims, 816 Hindus, 255 Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodox and 147 Oriental Orthodox.
Cityscape[edit] Sony SVS151B11L Battery
View over Bergen from Ulriken
The city centre of Bergen is located west in the municipality, facing the fjord of Byfjorden. It is situated among a group of mountains known as the Seven Mountains, although the number is a matter of definition. From here, the urban area of Bergen extends to the north, west and south, and to its east is a large mountain massif. Sony PCG-4121DL Battery
Outside of the city centre and the surrounding neighbourhoods (i.e. Årstad, inner Laksevåg and Sandviken), the majority of the population lives in relatively sparsely populated residential areas that have been built since the 1950s. While some are dominated by apartment buildings and modern terraced houses (e.g. Fyllingsdalen), others are dominated by single-family homes.[44]
View of the city centre with Torgallmenningen
The oldest part of Bergen is the area around the bay of Vågen in the city centre. Originally centred on the eastern side of the bay, Bergen eventually expanded west and southwards. Few buildings from the oldest period remain,
Sony PCG-41214L Battery the most significant being St Mary's Church from the 12th century. For several hundred years, the extent of the city remained almost constant. The population was stagnant, and the city limits were narrow.[4Sony PCG-4121EL Battery
Sony PCG-41213L Battery5] In 1702, 7/8 of the city burned. Most of the old buildings of Bergen, including Bryggen (which was rebuilt in a medieval style), were built after the fire. The fire marked a transition from tar covered houses, as well as the remaining log houses, to painted and some brick-covered wooden buildings.[46] Sony PCG-4121FL Battery
Apartment buildings in Fyllingsdalen
The last half of the 19th century was a period of rapid expansion and modernisation of the city. The fire of 1855 west of Torgallmenningen led to the development of regularly sized city blocks in this area of the city centre. Sony PCG-4121GL Battery
Sony PCG-41211L Battery The city limits were expanded in 1876, and Nygård, Møhlenpris and Sandviken were urbanised with large-scale construction of city blocks housing both the poor and the wealthy.[47] Their architecture is influenced by a variety of styles; historicism, classicism and Art Nouveau.[48]
The wealthy built villas between Møhlenpris and Nygård, and on the side of Fløyen, had also been added to Bergen in 1876. Simultaneously, an urbanisation process was taking place in Solheimsviken in Årstad, at the time outside of Bergen municipality, centred around the large industrial activity in the area.[49sony PCG-4R2L battery
sony PCG-6Z3L battery] The workers' homes in this area were poorly built, and little remains after large-scale redevelopment in the 1960s–1980s.
After Årstad became a part of Bergen in 1916, a development plan was applied to the new area. Few city blocks akin to those in Nygård and Møhlenpris were planned. Many of the worker class built their own homes, and many small, detached apartment buildings were built. After World War II, Bergen had again run short on land to build on, and, sony PCG-4R1L battery
sony PCG-6Z2L battery contrary to the original plans, many large apartment buildings were built in Landås in the 1950s and 1960s. Bergen acquired Fyllingsdalen from Fana municipality in 1955. Like similar areas in Oslo (e.g. Lambertseter), sony PCG-4Q4L battery
sony PCG-6Z1L battery Fyllingsdalen was developed into a modern suburb with large apartment buildings, mid-rises, and some single-family homes, in the 1960s and 1970s. Similar developments took place outside of Bergen's city limits, for example in Loddefjord.[50]
View from the Nordnes part of Bergen.
At the same time as planned city expansion took place inside Bergen, its extra-municipal suburbs too grew rapidly.
sony PCG-6XBL batteryWealthy citizens of Bergen had been living in Fana since the 19th century, but as the city expanded it became more convenient to settle in the municipality. Similar processes took place in Åsane and Laksevåg. Most of the homes in these areas are detached row houses, single family homes or small apartment buildings.[50Sony PCG-4121DM battery
] Since the surrounding municipalities were merged with Bergen in 1972, expansion has continued in largely the same manner, although the municipality encourages condensing near commercial centres, future Bergen Light Rail stations, and elsewhere.[51][52] sony PCG-4Q3L battery
Narrow streets are a common sight in older parts of Bergen.
As part of the modernisation wave of the 1950s and 1960s, and due to damage caused by World War II, the city government ambitiously developed redevelopment plans for many areas in central Bergen.
sony PCG-6XAL battery The plans involved demolition of several neighbourhoods of wooden houses, namely Nordnes, Marken, and Stølen. None of the plans were carried out in their original form, the Marken and Stølen redevelopment plans discarded entirely and that of Nordnes only carried out in the area that had been most damaged by war. sony PCG-4Q1L battery
sony PCG-6X8L batteryThe city council of Bergen had in 1964 voted to demolish the enterity of Marken, however, the decision proved to be strongly controversial and the decision was reversed in 1974. Sony PCG-4121EM battery
Bryggen was under threat of being wholly or partly demolished after the fire of 1955, when a large number of the buildings burned to the ground. Instead of being demolished, the remaining buildings were eventually restored and accompanied by reconstructions of some of the burned buildings.
[50] Demolition of old buildings and occasionally whole city blocks is still taking place, the most recent major example being the razing of Jonsvollskvartalet at Nøstet.[53]
Panorama of the Hanseatic buildings of Bryggen
Administration[edit]
Since 2000, the city of Bergen is governed by a city government (byråd) based on the principle of parliamentarism.[54] The government consists of 6 government members called commissioners, and is appointed by the city council, the supreme authority of the city. Since the local elections of 2007, the city has been ruled by a right-wing coalition of the Progress Party, Sony PCG-61A11L Battery
Sony SVE141C11L Battery the Christian Democratic Party and the Conservative Party, each with two commissioners.[55] The Conservative Party member Trude Drevland is mayor,[56] while conservative Monica Mæland is the leader of the city government,[57] the most powerful political position in Bergen. Sony PCG-61A13L Battery
Bergen is sister cities with Asmara, Eritrea;[58] Gothenburg, Sweden;[58] Lübeck, Germany;[59] Newcastle, United Kingdom;[58][60] Quebec City, Canada; Rostock, Germany; Seattle, United States;[58][61] Turku, Finland;[58] and Aarhus, Denmark.[58][62]
2007 elections[edit] Sony PCG-61A14L Battery
The 2007 city council elections were held on 10 September. The Socialist Left Party (SV) and the Pensioners Party (PP) ended up as the losers of the election, SV going from 11.6% of the votes in the 2003 elections to 7.1%, and PP losing 2.9% ending up at 1.2%. The Liberal Party more than doubled, going from 2.7% to 5.8%. Sony PCG-71C11L Battery
Sony PCG-91211L BatteryThe Conservative Party lost 1.1% of the votes, ending up at 26.3%, while the Progress Party got 20.2% of the votes, a gain of 3% since the 2003 elections. The Christian Democratic Party gained 0.2%, ending up at 6.3%. Sony PCG-71C12L Battery
Sony PCG-71914L BatteryThe Red Electoral Alliance lost 1.4%, ending up at 4.5%, while the Centre Party gained 1.2%, ending up at 2.8%. Finally, the Labour Party continued being the second largest party in the city, gaining 1% and ending up at 23.9%.[64]
Boroughs[edit]
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Boroughs of Bergen
Bergen is divided into 8 boroughs,[65] as seen on the map to the left. Going clockwise, starting north, the boroughs are Åsane, Arna, Fana, Ytrebygda, Fyllingsdalen, Laksevåg, Årstad and Bergenhus. The city centre is located in Bergenhus. Sony PCG-61714L Battery
Sony PCG-71913L BatteryParts of Fana (= the fens), Ytrebygda, Åsane (= the hills) and Arna are not part of the Bergen urban area, explaining why the municipality has approximately 20,000 more inhabitants than the urban area. The separate borough administrations were closed 30 June 2004,[66] but were re-established 1 January 2008.[67] Sony PCG-61813L Battery
Borough Population[68] % Area (km2) % Density
There are 64 elementary schools,[69] 18 lower secondary schools[70] and 20 upper secondary schools[71] in Bergen, as well as 11 combined elementary and lower secondary schools.[72] Bergen Cathedral School is the oldest school in Bergen and was founded by Pope Adrian IV in 1153.[73]
The University of Bergen has 16,000 students and 3,000 staff, making it the third-largest educational institution in Norway.[74] Research in Bergen dates back to activity at Bergen Museum in 1825, although the university was not founded until 1946. Sony PCG-61911L Battery
Sony PCG-71811L BatteryThe university has a broad range of courses and research in academic fields and three national centres of excellence, in climate research, petroleum research and medieval studies.[7
Sony PCG-71713L Battery5] The main campus is located in the city centre. The university cooperates with Haukeland University Hospital within medical research. The Chr. Michelsen Institute is an independent research foundation established in 1930 focusing on human rights and development issues.[76] Sony PCG-61913L Battery
Bergen University College has 6,000 students and 600 staff.[77] It focuses on professional education, such as teaching, healthcare and engineering. The college was created through amalgamation in 1994; campuses are spread around town but will be co-located at Kronstad. Sony PCG-61713L Battery
The Norwegian School of Economics is located in outer Sandviken and is the leader business school in Norway,[78] having produced three Economy Nobel Prize laureates.[79] The school has approximately 2,700 students and 350 staff.[8Sony PCG-91111L Battery
Sony PCG-61317L Battery0] Other tertiary education institutions include the Bergen School of Architecture, the Bergen National Academy of the Arts, located in the city centre with 300 students,[81]
Sony PCG-61316L Battery and the Norwegian Naval Academy located in Laksevåg. The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research has been located in Bergen since 1900. It provides research and advice relating to ecosystems and aquaculture. It has a staff of 700 people.[82]
Economy[edit]
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Strandgaten is a shopping street in Bergen.
In August 2004, Time magazine named the city one of Europe's 14 "secret capitals"[83] where Bergen's capital reign is acknowledged within maritime businesses and activities such as aquaculture and marine research, with the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) (the second-largest Sony PCG-91112L Battery
in Europe) as the leading institution. Bergen is the main base for the Royal Norwegian Navy (at Haakonsvern) and its international airport Flesland is the main heliport for the huge Norwegian North Sea oil and gas industry, from where thousands of offshore workers commute to their work places onboard oil and gas rigs and platforms.[84] Sony PCG-71312L Battery
One of Norway's largest shopping malls, Lagunen Storsenter, is located in Fana in Bergen, with a turnover of 2 540 million Norwegian kroner, and 5.2 million visitors every year. Sony PCG-71311L Battery
Tourism is an important income source for the city. The hotels in the city may be full at times,[85][86] due to the increasing number of tourists and conferences. Prior to the Rolling Stones concert in September 2006, many hotels were already fully booked several months in advance.[8Sony PCG-71218L Battery
Sony PCG-61215L Battery7] Bergen is recognised as the unofficial capital of the region known as Western Norway, and recognised and marketed as the gateway city to the world famous fjords of Norway and for that reason it has become Norway's largest – and one of Europe's largest – cruise ship ports of call.[88] Sony PCG-41211M battery
Ulriksbanen aerial tramway
Bergen Airport, Flesland is located 18 kilometres (11 mi) from the city centre, at Flesland.[89] In 2011 the Avinor-operated airport served 5.6 million passengers.[90] The airport serves as a hub for Scandinavian Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Widerøe; there are direct flights to 20 domestic and 53 international destinations.[91] Sony PCG-71217L Battery
Sony PCG-61211L Battery Bergen Port, operated by Bergen Port Authority, is the largest seaport in Norway.[92] In 2011, the port saw 264 cruise calls with 350,248 visitors,[93] In 2009, the port handled 56 million tonnes of cargo, making it the ninth-busiest cargo port in Europe.[94] There are plans to relocate the port out of the city centre, Sony PCG-71313L Battery
Sony PCG-71216L Batterybut no location has been chosen.[95] Fjord Line operates a cruiseferry service to Hirtshals, Denmark. Bergen is the southern terminus of the Coastal Express, which operates with daily services along the coast to Kirkenes.[89Sony PCG-71315L Battery
Sony PCG-71215L Battery] Passenger catamarans run from Bergen south to Haugesund and Stavanger,[96] and north to Sognefjorden and Nordfjord.[97]
Fløibanen is a funicular which runs up Fløyen.
The city centre is surrounded by an electronic toll collection ring using the Autopass system.[98] The main motorways consist of E39, which runs north–south through the municipality, E16, which runs eastwards, and National Road 555, which runs westwards. There are four major bridges connecting Bergen to neighboring municipalities: the Nordhordland Bridge,[99] the Askøy Bridge,[100] the Sotra Bridge[10Sony PCG-71316L Battery
Sony PCG-71212L Battery1] and the Osterøy Bridge. Bergen connects to the island of Bjorøy via the subsea Bjorøy Tunnel.[102]
Bergen Station is the terminus of the Bergen Line, which runs 496 kilometres (308 mi) to Oslo.[103] The Norwegian State Railways operates express trains to Oslo and the Bergen Commuter Rail to Voss. Sony PCG-71317L Battery
Between Bergen and Arna Station, the train runs every 30 minutes through the Ulriken Tunnel; there is no corresponding road tunnel, forcing road vehicles to travel via Åsane.[104]
Bergen is one of the smallest cities in Europe that have tram and trolleybus electric urban transport systems simultaneously. Public transport in Hordaland is managed by Skyss, which operates an extensive city bus network in Bergen and to many neighboring municipalities,[105Sony PCG-71318L Battery
Sony PCG-71211L Battery] including one route which operates as a trolleybus. Trolleybuses in Bergen is the only trolleybus system still in operation in Norway and one of two trolleybus systems in Scandinavia.[106] Modern tram Bergen Light Rail (Bybannen) opened between the city centre and Nestun in 2010,[10
7] extended to Rådal (Lagunen Storsenter) in 2013 and is scheduled to achieve the airport in 2015.[108] Extensions to other boroughs may occur afterwards.[109] Fløibanen is a funicular which runs from the city centre to Fløyen and Ulriksbanen is an aerial tramway which runs to Ulriken.
Culture and sports[edit]
Bergens Tidende (BT) and Bergensavisen (BA) are the largest newspapers, with circulations of 87,076 and 30,719 in 2006,[110] BT is a regional newspaper covering all of Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane, while BA focuses on metropolitan Bergen. Other newspaper published in Bergen includes the Christian national Dagen, Sony PCG-9Z1L Battery
Sony PCG-813L Battery with a circulation of 8.936,[110] and TradeWinds, an international shipping newspaper. Local newspapers are Fanaposten for Fana, "Sydvesten" for Laksevåg and Fyllingsdalen and Bygdanytt for Arna.[110] TV 2, Norway's largest private television company, is based in Bergen.
The 1,500-seat Grieg Hall is the city's main cultural venue,[111] and home of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, founded in 1765,[112Sony PCG-41311M battery
Sony PCG-6123M battery] and the Bergen Woodwind Quintet. The city also features Carte Blanche, the Norwegian national company of contemporary dance. The annual Bergen International Festival is the main cultural festival, which is supplemented by the Bergen International Film Festival.
Sony PCG-7185L BatteryTwo internationally renown composers from Bergen are Edvard Grieg and Ole Bull. Grieg's home, Troldhaugen, has been converted to a museum. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Bergen produced a series of successful pop, rock and black metal artists,[113] collectively known as the Bergen Wave.[114][115] Sony PCG-41313M battery
The Markens and Mathismarkens Buekorps at Bryggen
Den Nationale Scene is Bergen's main theater. Founded in 1850, it had Henrik Ibsen as one of its first in-house play-writes and art directors. Bergen's contemporary art scene is centred around BIT Teatergarasjen, Sony PCG-9Z2L Battery
Sony PCG-7184L BatteryBergen Kunsthall, United Sardines Factory (USF) and Bergen Center for Electronic Arts (BEK). Bergen was a European Capital of Culture in 2000.[116] Buekorps is a unique feature of Bergen culture, consisting of boys aged from 7 to 21 parading with imitation weapons and snare drums.[117][1Sony PCG-7142L Battery
Sony PCG-7183L Battery18] The city's Hanseatic heritage is documented in the Hanseatic Museum located at Bryggen.[119]
SK Brann is Bergen's premier football team; founded in 1908, they have played in the Norwegian Premier League all but seven years since 1963 and consecutively since 1987. The team has become football champions in 1961–62, 1963 and 2007,[12Sony PCG-41314M battery
0] and reached the quarter-finals of the Cup Winners' Cup in 1996–97. Brann plays their home games at the 17,824-seat Brann Stadion.[121] FK Fyllingsdalen is the city's second-best team, playing in the Second Division at Varden Amfi. Its predecessor, Fyllingen, played in the Norwegian Premier League in 1990, 1991 and 1993. Arna-Bjørnar and Sandviken play in the Women's Premier League. Sony PCG-7151L Battery
Bergen IK is the premier ice hockey team, playing at Bergenshallen in the First Division. Tertnes plays in the Women's Premier Handball League, and Fyllingen in the Men's Premier Handball League. In athletics, the city is dominated by IL Norna-Salhus, IL Gular and FIK BFG Fana, formerly also Norrøna IL and TIF Viking. Sony PCG-7152L Battery
Bergensk is the native dialect of Bergen and a variation of Vestnorsk. It was strongly influenced by Low German-speaking merchants from the mid 14th to mid 18th centuries. During the Dano-Norwegian period from 1536 to 1814, Sony PCG-41315M battery
Sony PCG-6121M batteryBergen was more influenced by Danish than other areas of Norway. The Danish influence removed the female grammatical gender in the 16th century, making Bergensk one of very few Norwegian dialects with only two instead of three grammatical genders. The Rs are uvular trills, as in French, Sony PCG-7153L Battery
Sony PCG-7182L Battery which probably spread to Bergen some time in the 18th century, overtaking the alveolar trill in the time span of 2 to 3 generations. Owing to an improved literacy rate, Bergensk was influenced by riksmål and bokmål in the 19th and 20th centuries. This led to large parts of the German-inspired vocabulary disappearing and pronunciations shifting slightly towards East Norwegian.[122] Sony PCG-7154L Battery
Street art[edit]
»Che» by Dolk is painted on a building at Strandkaien in Bergen
Bergen is looked upon as the street art capital of Norway,[123] the famous artist Banksy visited the city in 2000[124] and inspired many to start with street art, a bit later the city brought up the most famous street artist in Norway; Dolk.[123Sony PCG-7161L Battery
Sony PCG-7174L Battery][125] His art can still be seen several places in the city, and in 2009 the city council choose to preserve Dolk's work "Spray" with protective glass.[1Sony PCG-7162L Battery
Sony PCG-7171L Battery23] In 2011, Bergen council launched a plan of action for street art in Bergen from 2011 - 2015 to ensure that "Bergen will lead the fashion for street art as an expression both in Norway and Scandinavia.[126]
International relations[edit]
Each year Bergen donates the Christmas Tree seen in Newcastle's Haymarket as a sign of the ongoing friendship between the sister cities.[127] The Nordic friendship cities of Bergen, Gothenburg,
Sony PCG-7172L BatteryTurku and Aarhus arranges inter Nordic camp schools each year by inviting school classes, 10 grade level from each of the other cities on school camps. Bergen received a totem pole as a gift of friendship from the city of Seattle on the city's 900 anniversary in 1970. It is now placed in the Nordnes Park and gazes out over the sea towards the friendship city far to the west.
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Oslo (English pronunciation: /ˈɒzloʊ/, oz-loh,[2] Norwegian pronunciation: [²uʃlu] ( listen) or, rarer [²uslu] or [¹uʃlu]) is the capital of and most populous city in Norway. Founded around 1000 AD, and established a "kaupstad" or trading place in 1048 by King Harald III, Sony SVS13AA11L Battery
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the city was elevated to a bishopric in 1070 and a capital under Haakon V around 1300. Personal unions with Denmark from 1397 to 1523 and again from 1536 to 1814 and with Sweden from 1814 to 1905 reduced its influence. After being destroyed by a fire in 1624, Sony SVS131A11L Battery
the city was moved closer to Akershus Castle during the reign of King Christian IV and renamed Christiania in his honour. It was established as a municipality (formannskapsdistrikt) on 1 January 1838. Following a spelling reform, it was known as Kristiania from 1877 to 1925, Sony SVS131B11L Battery
when its original Norwegian name was restored.
Oslo is the economic and governmental centre of Norway. The city is also a hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping. It is an important centre for maritime industries and maritime trade in Europe. The city is home to many companies within the maritime sector, Sony SVS151A11L Battery
some of which are among the world's largest shipping companies, shipbrokers and maritime insurance brokers. Oslo is a pilot city of the Council of Europe and the European Commission intercultural cities programme.
Oslo is considered a global city and ranked "Beta World City" in studies performed by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network in 2008.[ Sony SVS151B11L Battery
Sony PCG-41413L Battery3] It was ranked number one in terms of quality of life among European large cities in the European Cities of the Future 2012 report by fDi Magazine.[4] For several years, Oslo has been listed as one of the most expensive cities in the world along with such other global cities as Zurich, Geneva, Copenhagen, Paris, and Tokyo.[5] Sony SVS151G1GL Battery
Sony PCG-41412L Battery In 2009, however, Oslo regained its status as the world's most expensive city.[6][7] A survey conducted by ECA International in 2011 placed Oslo 2nd after Tokyo.[8] Sony PCG-4121DL Battery
Sony PCG-41411L Battery
As of 2010 the metropolitan area of Oslo has a population of 1,442,318, of whom 912,046[9] live in the contiguous conurbation. The population currently increases at record rates, making it the fastest growing city in Europe.[10] This growth stems for the most part from immigration and high birth rates among immigrants, but also from intra-national migration. Sony PCG-4121EL Battery
Sony PCG-41218L BatteryThe immigrant population in the city is growing somewhat faster than the Norwegian population,[11] and in the city proper is now more than 25%.[12]
As of January 2013, the population of the municipality of Oslo in excess of 623,000.[13] The urban area extends beyond the boundaries of the municipality into the surrounding county of Akershus, (municipalities of Bærum, Asker, Røyken, Lørenskog, Skedsmo, Gjerdrum, Sørum, Oppegård) Sony PCG-4121FL Battery
Sony PCG-41217L Battery its agglomeration total 951,581 inhabitants.[14] The metropolitan area of Oslo, also referred to as the Greater Oslo Region (Norwegian: Stor-Osloregionen), has a land area of 8,900 km2 (3,400 sq mi)[15] with a population of 1,422,442 as of 1 April 2010. Sony PCG-4121GL Battery
The Inner Oslo Fjord Region, or the Capital Region made up by the five counties of Oslo, Akershus, Buskerud, Vestfold (west bank of the Oslo fjord) and Østfold (east bank) has a population of 1,980,116 people (as of January 2013).
Sony PCG-41216L Battery The city centre is situated at the end of the Oslofjord, from which point the city sprawls out in three distinct "corridors" from its centre; inland north-eastwards, and southwards along both sides of the fjord, which gives the urbanized area a shape reminiscent of an upside-down reclining "Y" (on maps, satellite pictures, or from high above the city). Sony PCG-41211L Battery
Sony PCG-41212L Battery
To the north and east, wide forested hills (Marka) rise above the city giving the location the shape of a giant amphitheatre. The urban municipality (bykommune) of Oslo and county of Oslo (fylke) are two parts of the same entity, making Oslo the only city in Norway where two administrative levels are integrated. Of Oslo's total area,
Sony PCG-41215L Battery115 km2 (44 sq mi) is built-up and 7 km2 (2.7 sq mi) is agricultural. The open areas within the built-up zone amount to 22 km2 (8.5 sq mi). Sony PCG-41213L Battery
Sony PCG-41214L Battery
The city of Oslo was established as a municipality on 3 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). It was separated from the county of Akershus to become a county of its own in 1842. The rural municipality of Aker was merged with Oslo on 1 January 1948 (and simultaneously transferred from Akershus county to Oslo county). Furthermore, Oslo shares several important functions with Akershus county. sony PCG-4R2L battery
General information[edit source | editbeta]
Toponymy[edit source | editbeta]
For full article, see History of Oslo's name
The origin of the name Oslo has been the subject of much debate. It is certainly derived from Old Norse and was—in all probability—originally the name of a large farm at Bjørvika, but the meaning of that name is disputed. Modern linguists generally interpret the original Óslo or Áslo as either "Meadow at the Foot of a Hill" or "Meadow Consecrated to the Gods", with both considered equally likely.[16] sony PCG-4R1L battery
Erroneously, it was once assumed that "Oslo" meant "the mouth of the Lo river", a supposed previous name for the river Alna. However, not only has no evidence been found of a river "Lo" predating the work where Peder Claussøn Friis first proposed this etymology, but the very name is ungrammatical in Norwegian: the correct form would have been Loaros (cf. Nidaros).[ sony PCG-4Q3L battery
sony PCG-6Z3L battery17] The name Lo is now believed to be a back-formation arrived at by Friis in support of his spurious etymology for Oslo.[18]
City seal[edit source | editbeta] sony PCG-4Q1L battery
According to the Norse sagas, Oslo was founded around 1049 by King Harald Hardråde.[21] Recent archaeological research has uncovered Christian burials which can be dated to prior to AD 1000, evidence of a preceding urban settlement.[citation needed] This called for the celebration of Oslo's millennium in 2000. sony PCG-6X1L battery
It has been regarded as the capital city since the reign of King Haakon V (1299–1319), the first king to reside permanently in the city. He also started the construction of the Akershus Castle. A century later, Norway was the weaker part in a personal union with Denmark, sony PCG-6X6L battery
sony PCG-6Z1L batteryand Oslo's role was reduced to that of provincial administrative centre, with the monarchs 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.[citation needed] sony PCG-6X7L battery
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 Castle and given the name Christiania. Long before this, Christiania had started to establish its stature as a centre of commerce and culture in Norway.
sony PCG-6XBL batteryThe part of the city built starting in 1624 is now often called Kvadraturen because of its orthogonal layout.[citation needed] The last plague outbreak ravaged Oslo in 1654.[22] In 1814 Christiania once more became a real capital when the union with Denmark was dissolved. Sony PCG-61A11L Battery
Sony PCG-61A13L Battery
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 (Sony PCG-61A14L Battery
Sony PCG-71C11L Battery
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 1877 the city was renamed Kristiania. The original name of Oslo was restored in 1925.[citation needed] Sony PCG-71C12L Battery
Sony PCG-91311L Battery
1000–1600[edit source | editbeta]
Main article: Old Town, Oslo
Under the reign of King Olav Kyrre, Oslo became a cultural centre for Eastern Norway. St. Hallvard became the city's patron saint and is depicted on the city's seal. Sony PCG-61714L Battery
Sony PCG-91211L Battery
In 1174, Hovedøya Abbey (Hovedøya kloster) was built. The churches and abbeys became major owners of large tracts of land, which proved important for the city's economic development, especially before the Black Death.
During the Middle Ages, Oslo reached its heights in the reign of King Haakon V. He started the building of Akershus Castle and was also the first king to reside permanently in the city, which helped to make Oslo the capital of Norway. Sony PCG-61813L Battery
Sony PCG-71914L Battery
In the end of the 12th century, Hanseatic traders from Rostock moved into the city and gained major influence in the city. The Black Death came to Norway in 1349 and, like other cities in Europe, the city suffered greatly. The churches' earnings from their land also dropped so much that the Hanseatic traders dominated the city's foreign trade in the 15th century. Sony PCG-61911L Battery
Sony PCG-71913L Battery
1600s[edit source | editbeta]
Over the years, fire destroyed major parts of the city many times, as many of the city's buildings were built entirely of wood. After the last fire in 1624, which lasted for three days, Sony PCG-61913L Battery
Sony PCG-71614L Battery
King Christian IV decided that the old city should not be rebuilt again. His men built a network of roads in Akershagen near Akershus Castle. He demanded that all citizens should move their shops and workplaces to the newly built city of Christiania. Sony PCG-71713L Battery
The transformation of the city went slowly for the first hundred years. Outside the city, near Vaterland and Grønland near Old Town, Oslo, a new, unmanaged part of the city grew up with citizens of low status.
1700s[edit source | editbeta] Sony PCG-71912L Battery
In the 18th century, after the Great Northern War, the city's economy boomed with shipbuilding and trade. The strong economy transformed Christiania into a trading port.
Port of Christiania anno 1800
Aquatint by John William Edy
1800s[edit source | editbeta]
In the 19th century, several state institutions were established and the city's role as a capital intensified. Christiania expanded its industry from 1840, most importantly around Akerselva. The expansion prompted the authorities to construct several important buildings, most of which remain as tourist attractions. There was a brief building boom from 1880, with many new houses, but the boom collapsed in 1889. Sony PCG-71811L Battery
Sony PCG-71911L Battery
1900–present[edit source | editbeta]
The municipality developed new areas such as Ullevål Hageby (1918–1926) and Torshov (1917–1925). City Hall was constructed in the former slum area of Vika, from 1931–1950. The municipality of Aker was incorporated into Oslo in 1948, and suburbs were developed, such as Lambertseter (from 1951). Aker Brygge was constructed on the site of the former shipyard Akers Mekaniske Verksted, from 1982–1998. Sony SVE141C11L Battery
Sony PCG-61317L Battery
In the 2011 Norway terror attacks, Oslo was hit by a bomb blast that ripped through the Government quarter, damaging several buildings including the building that houses the Office of the Prime Minister. Eight people were killed in the bomb attack. Sony SVE141D11L Battery
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Sony PCG-61316L Battery
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 Sony SVE151E11L Battery
Sony PCG-61315L Battery (0.56 km2 or 0.22 sq mi), and scores more around the Oslofjord. Oslo has 343 lakes, the largest being Maridalsvannet (3.91 km2 or 1.51 sq mi). This is also a main source of drinking water for large parts of Oslo. Sony SVE151G11L Battery
Sony SVE151G13L Battery
A map of the urban areas of Oslo in 2005. The grey area in the middle indicates Oslo's city centre.
Although Eastern Norway has a number of rivers, none of these flow into the ocean at Oslo. Instead Oslo has two smaller rivers: Akerselva (draining Maridalsvannet, which flows into the fjord in Bjørvika), and Alna. The waterfalls in Akerselva gave power to the first modern industry of Norway in the 1840, Sony SVE151J11L Battery
Sony PCG-61312L Batteryand later in the century, the river became the symbol of the stable and consistent economic and social divide of the city into an East End and a West End; the labourers' neighbourhoods lie on both sides of the river, and the divide in reality follows Uelands street a bit further west. River Alna flows through Groruddalen, Oslo's major suburb and industrial area. Sony SVE171C11L Battery
Sony PCG-61311L Battery The highest point is Kirkeberget, at 629 metres (2,064 ft). 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 green appearance.[citation needed] Sony SVE171E11L Battery
Sony SVE171E12L Battery
Climate[edit source | editbeta]
A climate chart of Oslo, Norway. The red line depicts daytime high; blue is nighttime low.
Oslo has a humid continental climate (Dfb according to the Köppen climate classification system). Because of the city's northern latitude, daylight varies greatly, from more than 18 hours in midsummer, when it never gets completely dark at night, to around 6 hours in midwinter.[citation needed] Sony SVE171G112 Battery
Sony PCG-61215L Battery Despite its high latitude and northerly location, the climate is not severely cold due to the onshore airmasses in winter and the coastal location of the city. Sony PCG-61713L Battery
Sony PCG-91111L Battery
Sony PCG-61211L Battery
Oslo has pleasantly mild to warm summers with average high temperatures of around 19–24 °C (66–75 °F) and lows of around 12 °C (54 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded was 35 °C (95 °F) on 21 July 1901. Winters are cold and snowy with temperatures between −7 °C (19 °F) Sony PCG-91112L Battery
Sony PCG-71216L Batteryup to −1 °C (30 °F). The coldest temperature recorded is −27.1 °C (−16.8 °F) in January 1942.[23] Temperatures have tended to be higher in recent years.[24] Sony PCG-71312L Battery
Sony PCG-71311L Battery
Annual precipitation is 763 millimetres (30.0 in) with moderate rainfall throughout the year. Snowfall can occur from October to May, but snow accumulation occurs mainly from January through March. Almost every winter, ice develops in the innermost parts of the Oslofjord, and during some winters the whole inner fjord freezes. As it is far from the mild Atlantic water of the west coast, Sony PCG-71218L Battery
Sony PCG-71215L Batterythis large fjord can freeze over completely, although this has become rare.[25] Oslo receives around 1,650 hours of sunshine annually and is average for the northern half of Europe.
[show]Climate data for Oslo, Norway Sony PCG-71217L Battery
Parks and recreation areas[edit source | editbeta]
Frogner Park
Main article: Parks and open spaces in Oslo
Oslo has a large number of parks and green areas within the city core, as well as outside it.
Frogner Park is a large park located a few minutes walk away from the city centre. This is the biggest and most reputed park in Norway with a large collection of sculptures of Gustav Vigeland Sony PCG-71313L Battery
Sony PCG-71315L Battery
Bygdøy is a large green area, commonly called the Museum Peninsula of Oslo. The beautiful location, surrounded by the sea, makes it the most expensive Norwegian district.
St. Hanshaugen Park is an old public park on a high hill in central Oslo. 'St. Hanshaugen' is also the name of the surrounding neighborhood as well as the larger administrative district (borough) that includes major parts of central Oslo.[28] Sony PCG-71316L Battery
Tøyen Park stretches out behind the Munch Museum, and is a vast, grassy expanse. In the north, there is a viewing point known as Ola Narr. The Tøyen area also includes the Botanical Garden and Museum belonging to the University of Oslo.[29] Sony PCG-71317L Battery
Sony PCG-71212L Battery
Oslo (with neighbouring Sandvika-Asker) is built in a horseshoe shape on the shores of the Oslofjord and limited in most directions by hills and forests. As a result, any point within the city is relatively close to the forest. There are two major forests bordering the city: Sony PCG-71318L Battery
Sony PCG-71211L BatteryØstmarka (literally "Eastern Forest", on the eastern perimeter of the city), and the very large Nordmarka (literally "Northern Forest", stretching from the northern perimeter of the city deep into the hinterland). Sony PCG-21313L Battery
The municipality operates eight public swimming pools.[30] Tøyenbadet is the largest indoor swimming facility in Oslo and one of the few pools in Norway offering a 50-metre main pool. The outdoor pool Frognerbadet also has the 50-metre range. Sony PCG-31311L Battery
Sony PCG-81411L Battery
Cityscape[edit source | editbeta]
Oslo's cityscape is being redeveloped as a modern city with various access-points, an extensive metro-system with a new financial district and a cultural city. In 2008, an exhibition was held in London presenting the award-winning Oslo Opera House, Sony PCG-41112L Battery
Sony PCG-51111L Battery
Sony PCG-81314L Battery the urban regeneration scheme of Oslo's seafront, Munch/Stenersen and the new Deichman Library. Most of the buildings in the city and in neighbouring communities are low in height with only the Plaza, Postgirobygget and the highrises at Bjørvika considerably taller.[31] Sony PCG-51113L Battery
Sony PCG-81313L Battery
Architecture[edit source | editbeta]
Oslo's architecture is very diverse. The architect Carl Frederik Stanley (1769–1805), who was educated in Copenhagen, spent some years in Norway around the turn of the 19th century. He did minor works for wealthy patrons in and around Oslo, Sony PCG-51211L Battery
Sony PCG-81312L Batterybut his major achievement was the renovation of the Oslo Katedralskole, completed in 1800.[citation needed] He added a classical portico to the front of an older structure, and a semicircular auditorium that was sequestered by Parliament in 1814 as a temporary place to assemble, now preserved at Norsk Folkemuseum as a national monument. Sony PCG-51311L Battery
Sony PCG-51312L Battery
Sony PCG-81311L Battery
When Christiania was made capital of Norway in 1814, there were practically no buildings suitable for the many new government institutions. An ambitious building program was initiated, but realised very slowly because of economic constraints.
Sony PCG-81214L Battery The first major undertaking was the Royal Palace, designed by Hans Linstow and built between 1824 and 1848. Linstow also planned Karl Johans gate, the avenue connecting the Palace and the city, with a monumental square halfway to be surrounded by buildings for University, the Parliament (Storting) and other institutions.
Sony PCG-81114L BatteryOnly the university buildings were realised according to this plan. Christian Heinrich Grosch, one of the first architects educated completely within Norway, designed the original building for the Oslo Stock Exchange (1826–1828), the local branch of the Bank of Norway (1828), Christiania Theatre (1836–1837), and the first campus for the University of Oslo (1841–1856). Sony PCG-51411L Battery
Sony PCG-81113L Battery For the university buildings, he sought the assistance of the renowned German architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. German architectural influence persisted in Norway, and many wooden buildings followed the principles of Neoclassicism. In Oslo, the German architect Alexis de Chateauneuf designed Trefoldighetskirken, the first neo-gothic church, completed by von Hanno in 1858. Sony PCG-51412L Battery
A number of landmark buildings, particularly in Oslo, were built in the Functionalist style (better known in the US and Britain as Modernist), the first being Skansen restaurant (1925–1927) by Lars Backer, demolished in 1970. Backer also designed the restaurant at Ekeberg, which opened in 1929. Sony PCG-51511L Battery
Sony PCG-51513L Battery
Sony PCG-81112L Battery Kunstnernes Hus art gallery by Gudolf Blakstad and Herman Munthe-Kaas (1930) still shows the influence of the preceding classicist trend of the 1920s. The redevelopment of Oslo Airport (by the Aviaplan consortium) at Gardermoen, which opened in 1998, was Norway's largest construction project to date.
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. Sony PCG-61412L Battery
Sony PCG-71111L Battery
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.
The combined municipality and county of 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. Sony VGP-BPL11 Battery
Sony VGP-BPS21/S Battery The City Council has five standing committees, each having its own areas of responsibility. The largest parties in the City Council after the 2011-elections are the Conservatives and the Labour Party, with 22 and 20 representatives respectively. Sony VGP-BPL12 Battery
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 following 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 Fabian Stang.
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 workable majority in the City Council. After the 2007 local elections on 10 September, the conservative coalition remained in majority. Sony VGP-BPL13 Battery
Sony VGP-BPS21A BatteryAfter the elections in 2011 the Conservative Party remained in power after a strong election. The Progress Party chose to leave the city government after losing support in the election and a dispute over the new Munch Museum. The Liberals and the Christian Democrats replaced the Progress Party in the city government. Sony VGP-BPL14/B Battery
The Governing Mayor of Oslo is the head of the City government. The post was created with the implementation of parliamentarism in Oslo and is similar to the role of the prime minister at the national level. The current governing mayor is Stian Berger Røsland. Sony VGP-BPL14/S Battery
Economy[edit source | editbeta]
Main article: Economy of Greater Oslo
Office buildings in Bjørvika, part of the redesign of former dock and industrial land in Oslo known as The Barcode Project.
Oslo has a varied and strong economy and was ranked number one among European large cities in economic potential in the fDi Magazine report European Cities of the Future 2012.[4] It was ranked 2nd in the category of business friendliness, behind Amsterdam. Sony VGP-BPL21 Battery
Oslo is an important centre of maritime knowledge in Europe and is home to approximately 1980 companies and 8,500 employees within the maritime sector, some of which are the world's largest shipping companies, shipbrokers, and insurance brokers.[32] Sony VGP-BPS10 Battery
Sony VGP-BPS15/B Battery 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.[33] The city's port is the largest general cargo port in the country and its leading passenger gateway. Sony VGP-BPS12 Battery
Sony VGP-BPS15 BatteryClose 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 gross domestic product of Oslo totalled NOK268.047 billion ( billion) in 2003, which amounted to 17% of the national GDP.[3Sony VGP-BPS13 Battery
Sony VGP-BPS14/S Battery4] This compares with NOK165.915 billion ( billion) in 1995. The metropolitan area, bar Moss and Drammen, contributed 25% of the national GDP in 2003 and was also responsible for more than one quarter of tax revenues. In comparison, total tax revenues from the oil and gas industry on the Norwegian Continental Shelf amounted to about 16%.[35Sony VGP-BPS13A/B Battery
]
Oslo is one of the most expensive cities in the world.[36] As of 2006, it is ranked tenth according to the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey