Oslo

Oslo
From top-left, clockwise: Oslo City Hall, Gol stave church, Oslo Opera House, Royal Palace, Railway Square, Oslo Plaza
Coat of arms
Motto: Flerkulturens by (City of Multiculture)
Oslo
Coordinates:
Country	Norway
Municipality	Oslo
County	Oslo
District	Østlandet
Established	1000
Government
- Mayor	Fabian Stang
Area
- City	454.03 km2 (175.3 sq mi)
- Urban	285.26 km2 (110.1 sq mi)
- Metro	8,900 km2 (3,436.3 sq mi)
Population (2010)
- City	592,082 (01.07.2010)
- Density	1,300/km2 (3,367/sq mi)
- Urban	907,288
- Urban density	3.180.56/km2 (8.2/sq mi)
- Metro	1,422,442
- Metro density	159.82/km2 (413.9/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Website	http://www.oslo.kommune.no

Oslo (Norwegian pronunciation: [ùʃlu]  ( listen) or [ùslu]) is the capital and largest city in Norway. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III "Hardrada" of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by a fire in 1624. The Danish–Norwegian king Christian IV rebuilt the city as Christiania (briefly also spelt Kristiania). In 1925 the city reclaimed its original Norwegian name, Oslo. The diocese of Oslo is one of the five original dioceses in Norway, which originated around the year 1070.

Oslo is the cultural, scientific, economic and governmental centre of Norway. The city is also a hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping. It is also an important centre for maritime industries and maritime trade in Europe. The city is home to many companies within the maritime sector, some of them are amongst the world's largest shipping companies, shipbrokers and maritime insurance brokers.

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.^[1] For several years, Oslo has been listed as one of the most expensive cities in the world along with such other global capitals as Copenhagen, Paris, and Tokyo.^[2] In 2009, however, Oslo regained its status as the world's most expensive city.^[3][4] Oslo is a pilot city of the Council of Europe and the European Commission intercultural cities programme.

As of 2010, the metropolitan area of Oslo has a population of 1,422,442 of whom 907,288^[5] lives in the contiguous conurbation. The population currently increases at a record rate of over 2% annually, making it the fastest growing capital in Europe. A large portion of this growth stems from immigration increasingly changing Oslo into a cosmopolitan city. The immigrant share of the population in the city proper now counts more than 25%.^[6]

Contents 1 Urban region 2 General information 2.1 Name 2.2 City seal 3 History 4 Geography 4.1 Climate 5 Parks and recreation areas 5.1 Swimming pools 6 Politics and government 7 Administrative divisions 8 Economy 8.1 Energy 8.2 ICT 8.3 Maritime 8.4 Research 9 Media 10 Environment 11 Crime 12 Education 12.1 Institutions of higher education 13 Demographics 13.1 List of immigrants living in Oslo 14 Historical population 14.1 Conurbation population 15 Transport 15.1 Air 15.2 Sea 15.3 Train 15.4 Public transport 15.5 Road 16 Culture 16.1 Literature 16.2 Music 17 Sports 18 Notable residents 19 International relations 19.1 Twin towns — sister cities 20 See also 21 References 21.1 Notes 22 External links

Urban region

The population of the municipality of Oslo is 592,082 (as of 1 Jul. 2010).^[7][8] 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) its agglomeration total 907.288 inhabitants.^[9] 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)^[10] with a population of 1,422,442 as of 1 apr. 2010. The Inner Oslo Fjord Region, or the Capital Region made up by the 5 counties of Oslo, Akershus, Buskerud, Vestfold (west bank of the Oslo fjord) and Østfold (east bank) has a population of 1.9 million people. The city centre is situated at the end of the Oslofjord from where the city sprawls out in three distinct "corridors" from its centre; inland north-eastwards and southwards lining both sides of the fjord giving the city area more or less the shape of a large, reclining "Y" when seen from the north. 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 (fylke) is the same entity, making Oslo the only city in Norway where two administrative levels are integrated. Of Oslo's total area, 115 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).

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. The neighbouring industrial commune of Aker was incorporated into Oslo in 1948.

Oslo's share of the national GDP is 17%; the metropolitan area's share is 25%. Oslo is one of the most expensive cities in the world.

General information

Name

The origin of the name Oslo has been the subject of much debate. While certainly derived from Old Norse, it was in all probability originally the name of a large farm at the site of the first settlements in Bjørvika.

It is commonly held that Oslo means "the mouth of the Lo river", referring to an alternative name of the river Alna, but this is most likely apocryphal; not only is it ungrammatical (the correct form would be Loaros, cf. Nidaros), but the name Lo is not recorded anywhere before Peder Claussøn Friis first used it in the same work in which he proposed this etymology.^[11] The name Lo is now believed to be a back-formation arrived at by Friis in support of his spurious etymology for Oslo.^[12]

During the Middle Ages the name was initially spelt "Áslo" and later "Óslo". 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 Aesir. The most likely interpretations would therefore be either "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, and when the city was rebuilt it was moved westwards in order to be nearer the Akershus Fortress. King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway renamed the reborn city Christiania. According to an official spelling reform (that changed ch to k) the form was changed to Kristiania in 1877. (The same year the city names Christiansand and Christiansund were changed to Kristiansand and Kristiansund—and the name of the county Christians Amt was changed to Kristians Amt (see Oppland).) The new form was used in all official documents and publications of the Norwegian State, but not by the municipality itself. The city continued to use the old form until 1897, then they also changed to Kristiania (without any formal or official decision).

This original name was restored by a law of 11 July 1924, effective 1 January 1925; a decision which caused much debate in its time.

When I was young, the capital of Norway was not called Oslo. It was called Christiania. But somewhere along the line, the Norwegians decided to do away with that pretty name and call it Oslo instead.
– Roald Dahl

When the city in general now took up the name of Oslo again, the eastern district of the city that had preserved the old name became known simply as Gamlebyen (Old Town). As of 2009, history is about to come full circle as the City Council has announced its intention to rename the city centre today known as Oslo Sentrum (Central Oslo) to possibly Kristiania or Christiania. This central area will roughly correspond to the area built up as the "new city" after the 1624 fire.^[13] There is some debate whether to use the historical name Christiania—in use for over 300 years—or the spelling Kristiania, introduced in 1897 and used for only 27 years. The spelling "Kristiania" is considered ahistorical by historians.^[14] The old square of Christian IV's city was named Christiania torv in 1958, and this name (with the old ch-form) is still in use on signs and maps.

The city was referred to as Tigerstaden (the 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 that the 1000-year anniversary was celebrated by a row of tiger sculptures around city hall. The prevalence of homeless and other beggars in more recent times led to the slight rewording of the nickname into Tiggerstaden (the City of Beggars). Another harsh picture of the city was drawn by Knut Hamsun in his novel Sult (Hunger) from 1890 (first cinematized in 1966 by Henning Carlsen).

City seal

Oslo is one of very few cities in Norway, besides Bergen and Tønsberg, that does not have a formal coat-of-arms, but uses a city seal instead. The seal of Oslo shows the city's patron saint, St. Hallvard. The seal shows St. Hallvard with his attributes, the millstone and arrows, with a naked woman at his feet. He is seated on a throne with lion decorations, which at the time was also commonly used by the Norwegian Kings. Seating him on such a throne made him equal to the kings.

The oldest known seal of Oslo showed the same composition as today's seal, except for the human figure reclining at the feet of St. Hallvard. In the original seal, it represented an armed warrior, one of the evil men who killed Hallvard. Due to its bad state of preservation, the image was misinterpreted as the woman he tried to defend. The seal was probably made around 1300 and was in use for nearly three centuries. After the Protestant Reformation, the city continued the use of St. Hallvard on its seal. The second seal of Oslo dates from around 1590. It shows the same basic design, but the saint holds his attributes in the opposite hands. Also the stars and some other smaller details were lost. This seal was used until around 1660.

At that time the church of St. Hallvard had become a ruin and the legend was no longer well known. The third seal of Oslo, made in 1659, therefore still showed the basic design, but the saint was transformed into a female figure. She still held the arrows and had a dead knight (with harness and helmet) lying at her feet. The millstone had become thinner and looked more like a ring. This image can still be seen on a cast iron stove plate dating from 1770. These plates became very popular in Denmark in the 18th century and the figure was presented as Queen Margaret I, who unified the three Kingdoms of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, which are represented by the ring (union) and the three arrows. The dead knight was to symbolize her opponent, Albrecht of Mecklenburg.

During the 18th and early 19th century, the image kept changing. The ring has been shown as a snake biting its own tail, the throne was replaced by a lion, and the warrior at Hallvard's feet definitely became a woman.

In 1854, A. T. Kaltenborn wrote about the Norwegian municipal arms and also was shown a medieval seal of Oslo. He recognized it as depicting the legend of St. Hallvard, but did not interpret the reclining figure correctly. He persuaded the city to have a new seal made, based on the alleged medieval composition. Finally a new design was made by the German E. Doepler in 1892. His composition was also used on a proper shield, designed in 1899 by Reidar Haavin. In 1924, the present design was made, still with the incorrect woman instead of the original warrior, but now stark naked.^[15]

History

According to the Norse sagas, Oslo was founded around 1049 by King Harald Hardråde.^[16] 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), 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 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.

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 establish 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. The last plague outbreak ravaged Oslo in 1654.^[17] 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 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 decentralisation 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 scepticism. 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 into the nearby forests.

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 in both 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 Oslo's 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 is great public support for not developing those areas. Parts of Oslo suffer from congestion, yet it is 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 cross-country skiers to simply step off the train and start walking or skiing.

Geography

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 km²/0.22 sq mi), and scores more around the Oslofjord. Oslo has 343 lakes, the largest being Maridalsvannet (3.91 km²/1.51 sq mi). This is also a main source of drinking water for large parts of Oslo. Although Eastern Norway has a number of mighty rivers, none of these flows into the ocean at Oslo. Instead Oslo has two smaller rivers: Akerselva (draining Maridalsvannet) and Alna (Oslo's longest river). Akerselva traditionally separates Oslo's East and West end, and flows into the fjord in Bjørvika. River Alna flows through Groruddalen, Oslo's major suburb and industrial area. 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 often very green appearance. It is not uncommon to encounter wild moose and roe deer in relatively urban areas of Oslo, especially during wintertime.

Climate

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 to around 6 hours in midwinter. Despite its northerly location, the climate is relatively mild throughout the year because of the Gulf Stream.

Oslo has pleasantly mild to warm summers with average high temperatures of 20–22 °C (68–72 °F) and lows of around 12 °C (54 °F). Temperatures exceed 25 °C (77 °F) quite often, and heatwaves are common during the summer. In the summer of 2009, a heatwave caused temperatures to exceed 30 °C (86 °F) for six straight days, peaking at 33 °C (91 °F).^[18] The highest temperature ever recorded was 35 °C (95 °F) on 21 July 1901. Due to the fjord's being a relatively enclosed body of water, the water temperatures can get quite high during long warm periods. During the summer of 2008, the water reached a temperature of 24 °C (75 °F). Spring and autumn are generally chilly, but warmer or colder periods are not uncommon. Winters are cold and snowy with temperatures between −7 °C (19 °F) up to −1 °C (30 °F). The coldest temperature recorded is −27.1 °C (−16.8 °F) in January 1942.^[19] Temperatures have tended to be higher in recent years.^[20]

Annual precipitation is 763 millimetres (30.0 in) with moderate rainfall throughout the year. Snowfall can occur from November to April, but snow accumulation occurs mainly from January through March. Almost every winter, ice develops in the innermost parts of the Oslofjord, and some winters the whole inner fjord freezes. As it is far from the mild Atlantic water of the west coast, this large fjord can freeze over, although this has become rare.^[21]

Climate data for Oslo
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	12.8 (55)	15 (59)	17.8 (64)	26.1 (79)	30 (86)	33.9 (93)	35 (95)	34.4 (94)	27.2 (81)	23.3 (74)	14.4 (58)	12.8 (55)	35 (95)
Average high °C (°F)	-1.78 (28.8)	-0.89 (30.4)	3.5 (38.3)	9.11 (48.4)	15.78 (60.4)	20.39 (68.7)	21.5 (70.7)	20.11 (68.2)	15.11 (59.2)	9.28 (48.7)	3.22 (37.8)	-0.5 (31.1)	9.56 (49.2)
Daily mean °C (°F)	-4.3 (24.3)	-3.9 (25)	0.1 (32.2)	5.0 (41)	10.1 (50.2)	15.5 (59.9)	16.9 (62.4)	15.7 (60.3)	11.3 (52.3)	6.6 (43.9)	0.9 (33.6)	-3.1 (26.4)	5.9 (42.6)
Average low °C (°F)	-6.78 (19.8)	-6.78 (19.8)	-3.28 (26.1)	0.78 (33.4)	6.5 (43.7)	10.61 (51.1)	12.22 (54.0)	11.28 (52.3)	7.5 (45.5)	3.78 (38.8)	-1.5 (29.3)	-5.61 (21.9)	2.39 (36.3)
Record low °C (°F)	-26.1 (-15)	-25 (-13)	-21.1 (-6)	-16.1 (3)	-4.4 (24)	0.6 (33)	3.9 (39)	2.2 (36)	-3.9 (25)	-11.1 (12)	-16.1 (3)	-23.9 (-11)	-26.1 (-15)
Precipitation mm (inches)	49 (1.93)	36 (1.42)	47 (1.85)	41 (1.61)	53 (2.09)	65 (2.56)	81 (3.19)	89 (3.5)	90 (3.54)	84 (3.31)	73 (2.87)	55 (2.17)	763 (30.04)
Snowfall cm (inches)	14.1 (5.55)	21.8 (8.58)	21.4 (8.43)	3.5 (1.38)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0.4 (0.16)	4.3 (1.69)	11.7 (4.61)	77.2 (30.39)
Source: Minifakta om Norge (SSB)[22]

Parks and recreation areas

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

• Bygdøy is a huge and green area, famous also as "Museum Peninsula" of Oslo. The beautiful location, surrounded by the sea, makes it the poshest and most expensive Norwegian district.

• St. Hanshaugen Park is an old public park on a high hill in central Oslo. The park has a small tower at the top and a stage used for outdoor concerts. 'St.Hanshaugen' is also the name of the surrounding neighbourhood as well as the larger administrative district (borough) that includes major parts of central Oslo.^[23]

• Tøyen Park stretches out behind the Munch Museum, and is a vast, grassy expanse. In the north there is also the natural viewing point known as Ola Narr. The Tøyen area also includes the Botanical garden and Museum belonging to the University of Oslo.^[24]

Oslo (with neighbouring Sandvika-Asker) is basically built in a horseshoe shape on the shores of the Oslofjord and limited in most directions by hills and forests. This means that any point within the city is relatively close to the forest. There are two major forests with immediate access: Østmarka (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).

Swimming pools

The city of Oslo runs eight public swimming pools.^[25] 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.

Politics and government

Mayor of The City of Oslo
Seal of the City of Oslo
Incumbent Fabian Stang since 17 October 2007
Term length	4 years
Formation	17th century
Succession	Currently unknown
Website	Home Page - Mayor of Oslo

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.

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. The City Council has five standing committees, each having its own areas of responsibility. These are: Health and Social Welfare; Education and Cultural Affairs; Urban Development; Transport and Environmental Affairs; and Finance. The executive branch (Byrådet) consists of the governing mayor (byrådsleder) and currently seven vice mayors (byråder, sing. byråd) holding ministerial positions. The vice mayors are appointed and removed by the Governing mayor. The Governing mayor and the vice mayors can individually or collectively be voted out of office by the city council. The current Governing mayor is Stian Berger Røsland from the Conservative party.

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. After the 2007 local elections on 10 September, the conservative coalition remained in majority. The largest parties in the City Council are the Labour Party and the Conservatives, with 18 and 16 representatives respectively.

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.

Administrative divisions

Following the latest reform of 1 January 2004, the city is divided into fifteen boroughs (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. 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, some of which are the world's largest shipping companies, shipbrokers, and insurance brokers.^[26] 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.^[27] 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 gross domestic product of Oslo totaled NOK268.047 billion (€33.876 billion) in 2003, which amounted to 17% of the national GDP.^[28] This compares with NOK165.915 billion (€20.968 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%.^[29] The region has one of the highest per capita GDPs in Europe, at NOK391,399 (€49,465) in 2003.

Oslo is one of the most expensive cities in the world.^[30] As of 2006, it is ranked tenth according to the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey provided by Mercer Human Resource Consulting^[31] and first according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.^[32] 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 than other cities on the list in that regard. Meanwhile, prices on goods and services remain some of the highest of any city. Oslo is hosting 2654 of the largest companies in Norway (Norge). Within the ranking of Europe's largest cities ordered by their number of companies Oslo is on position 5. A whole group of oil and gas companies is situated in Oslo. According to a report compiled by Swiss bank UBS in the month of August 2006,^[33] Oslo and London were the world's most expensive cities. Total pay packets were the biggest in Oslo along with Copenhagen and Zurich.

Energy

The Oslo region possesses a unique competency gained through its central role in 100 years of hydropower production and close to 40 years of offshore petroleum development. Oslo is the main location for Norwegian research and development, and many of the institutions are clustered in the area around the University of Oslo, the largest in Northern Europe. At the University of Oslo several research groups are engaged in energy research, including work on new renewable energy sources and petroleum-related issues. Other important institutions in this field are the Norwegian Geotechnical Research Institute, Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research, the Norwegian Building Research Institute (energy efficiency, ventilation technology and indoor air quality) and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. The Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research(SINTEF), with its 1800 employees, is the largest independent research organisation in Scandinavia.^[34] SINTEF’s headquarters are based in Trondheim but it conducts extensive research activities, primarily within oil and gas exploration and production, in the Gaustadbekk Valley. Located in the heart of the Gaustadbekk Valley, the Oslo Innovation Centre is the leading business incubator in the region. The park is strongly committed to the commercialisation of ideas and results from research environments through creating favourable conditions for business start-ups. The center has recently constructed an environmental technology wing to accommodate the ever-growing need for research into Renewable energy and climate-friendly technologies. One half-hour's drive south of Oslo is the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, offering a broad range of study programmes that closely correspond with major research issues related to food, environmental sciences, biology, land use and natural resource management. The National Institute of Technology Norway (TI), located in Sentrum, Oslo focuses on in areas such as environmental technology, safety and waste control and is dedicated to international research and development projects. Other research institutions such as the Fridtjof Nansen Institute (research on environment related issues), the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (research on environmentally friendly technology) are also located within close range of Oslo.

ICT

The Oslo region is in the midst of a ‘mobile adventure’. Norwegians' desire for more efficient, entertaining and mobile ways of communication has placed them in the forefront of adapting and developing new products and services. Norway is among the world's leading information societies and widely regarded as having a highly developed mobile market. The Oslo region is a key driver and centre for research, development and business. A combination of unique expertise, strong R&D environments and advanced users with high purchasing power has made the Oslo region an excellent test market for new and innovative ICT products. Recent years have witnessed a large number of business start-ups in the region, and several internationally renowned companies have chosen to locate here such as Google Inc and Microsoft Norway. The Norwegian topography naturally lends itself to mobile communication with its vast and practically impenetrable mountainous areas and plateaus—factors which have made Norway a pioneer in new communication techniques and advanced technologies. Norwegian research contribution was crucial when the world’s first automatic mobile net NMT 450 was launched in 1981, and today’s global GSM-standard was invented in Norway by Telenor.^[35][36] Many promising companies are contributing to the growing mobile and wireless cluster in Oslo. Wireless Future (Trådløs Fremtid) is established as a cluster building initiative, involving most of the key players from business and R&D in Norway. Tandberg is known for its video conference systems and the Kongsberg Group has developed a wide spectrum of technological products for the defence and maritime industry.^[37] The list of companies with international success are rising, with prime examples like Opera Software, the game producer Funcom and Chipcon, which in 2006 was sold to Texas Instruments. FAST, which has become a global market leader in search enginees, has been appointed a Norwegian Centre for Research-based Innovation (SFI) thanks to its Information Access.^[38]

Telenor, Norway’s largest ICT-company, with head office located at Fornebu, just outside Oslo is emerging as one of the fastest growing providers of mobile communications services worldwide.^[39] In 2007, Telenor surpassed 136 million mobile subscriptions worldwide, placing it as the 7th largest mobile operator in the world. The Telenor Group was ranked the best Mobile Telecom company in the world by the Sustainability Yearbook 2008.^[40] With the Department of Informatics, the University of Oslo is the largest educational institution for ICT within the region.^[41] Together with the Norwegian Computing Center and SINTEF, the Department of Informatics provides Norway with an important research environment for ICT. Other renowned R&D environments are found at Fornebu, Kjeller, Halden and Horten.

Maritime

Norway's maritime industry is built on the expertise gained from centuries as a shipping nation, with Oslo at the main centre. Maritime companies locate in Oslo to be part of a complete and innovative cluster of shipping companies and a range of specialized maritime services. For investors and partners, the strength and the international position of the maritime cluster in Oslo offers many attractive opportunities. In a special report on Oslo from November 12, 2008, Lloyd’s List highlights the diversity and strength of the Oslo maritime cluster.^[42] According to Lloyd’s, “Oslo remains Norway’s largest hub for international shipping and related industries with a range of businesses from shipping to financial services and maritime research, with few rivals worldwide”. Though Norway is still feeling the repercussions of a long tax debate, Lloyd’s characterizes the concentration of shipowners based in the Norwegian capital as “impressive”. With the advent of a favourable shipping tax, Oslo shipowners together with leading service companies have turned their attention to developing high-tech and environmentally friendly solutions for the industry. Leading classification society Det Norske Veritas (DNV) is a major contributor to these developments, with a range of research initiatives connected to green shipping, safety and the environment.^[43] The financial sector in Oslo continues to support industry activity, with Oslo Børs and Imarex trading shipping shares and freight derivatives, maritime banking giants DnB NOR and Nordea, and leading brokerage houses like Fearnlys, Pareto and RS Platou. Oslo Maritime Network (OMN) is a non-profit collaborative network organisation gathering members from all segments of the maritime cluster in Norway's capital region. OMN focuses on four main areas of activity: innovation, financing, education and recruiting, and marketing. Members are actively involved in all work, with the aim of strengthening the regional cluster, rather than directly promoting their own companies' fortunes. Activities are communicated to the general public, politics, industry, and internationally.

Research

Norway and the Oslo region are highly committed to the European Union’s Lisbon Strategy of becoming the world’s most competitive and knowledge-based economy.

In 2004, the Oslo region was ranked six on innovation in a comparison with the regions of the European Union.^[44] The Oslo region gets top scores on lifelong learning, working population with tertiary education and public R&D expenses per capita. But it is also among Europe’s most developed regions in relation to high-tech employment and innovation co-operation in medium sized enterprises.

At the national level, the 2005 European Innovation Scoreboard shows that Norway is one of the most innovative countries in Europe in relation to the most innovative sectors, i.e. business services and computer and related activities. The knowledge environment in the Oslo region is the force behind an international level of R&D in a number of specialist areas. With short distances and a transparent community, it is easy to develop interdisciplinary collaboration. The University of Oslo holds four Nobel Prizes and is the largest knowledge institution in the region, with 30 000 students and 4 600 employees.^[45] It is located at Gaustad/Blindern, the prime location for R&D in the city of Oslo. Other R&D hubs in the region are found at Ås, Kjeller, Kongsberg, Fornebu, Horten and Halden. Cost-saving technology is a top priority for Norwegian businesses and Norwegians are quick to pick up new and innovative technological products and ideas, and use them in their daily lives. The European Innovation Scoreboard 2003 puts Norway second after Denmark on its innovation take-up barometer.^[46] Norwegians use on average only four years to start using new technologies and Norway in general and the Oslo region in particular are excellent test-beds for new innovative technological products and ideas. The Oslo region has seen a strong growth of actors in the regional innovation support system in recent years. The regional innovation support system is made up of 23 different actors, including technology transfer offices, science parks, business incubators, venture capitalists and a range of other companies and programmes providing support and assistance in the process of commercialising research based ideas and helping entrepreneurs developing their businesses into the international market place.

Media

The newspapers Aftenposten, Dagens Næringsliv, Finansavisen, 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 variety of specialty publications and smaller media companies. A number of magazines are produced in Oslo. The two dominant companies are Aller and Hjemmet Mortensen AB.

Environment

Oslo is a compact city with short distances. It is easy to move around by public transportation and you can access rentable city bikes all over the city centre. The Oslo region is known for its focus on environmental issues, energy efficiency, and sustainable city planning through innovative technologies and new infrastructures. In 2003 Oslo received The European Sustainable City Award and in 2007 Reader's Digest ranked Oslo as number two on a list of the world's greenest, most liveable cities.^[48][49]

Crime

The Police used 1 568,4 million NOK in 2008 fighting crime in Oslo.

2006	2007	2008	Reviewed crimes per 1. 000 citizens.
151,9	151,2	147,9	Total Crimes
118,0	118,1	115,6	Serious Offenses
33,8	33,1	32,3	Misdemeanors

Statistics from Statistics Norway.^[50]

Education

BI Norwegian School of Management is one of the larger higher education institutions in Norway. Their maritime education faculty, BI Shipping, is a growing force in Norwegian and global maritime education, and has acquired invaluable experience in working abroad with international research and education and training programmes. BI works with maritime personnel from over 80 countries, many of them from developing nations. In 2007, BI decided to anchor shipping centrally in its strategic plan of action. They continue to work towards creating a successful maritime venture programme by providing the industry with stable, specialized recruitment of a competent and sorely needed workforce. The Scandinavian Institute for Maritime Law at the University of Oslo is divided into two departments - Department of Maritime Law and Department of Petroleum and Energy Law. A recently established pan-Scandinavian collaboration on Marine Insurance and Risk has proven to be a great success. The Institute has joint administration with the Centre for European Law. The Institute's academic staff cover a wide range of private and public law subjects, with special interest in the fields of maritime and transportation law, insurance law, and petroleum and energy law. UiO Top among the Nordic countries and number six in Europe. That is the score for the IT-research department at the University of Oslo in the new ranking done by Shanghai Jiao Tong University. UiO is listed as number 49 in the world. At the top of the list is Stanford University in California, followed by MIT and Berkeley. In Europe, the University of Oslo is only beat by Oxford, Cambridge, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology’s two departments in Zurich and Lausanne, and University of Manchester.^[51]

Institutions of higher education

• University of Oslo (Universitetet i Oslo) - undergraduate, graduate and PhD programs in most fields.
• Oslo University College (Høgskolen i Oslo) - focuses on 3-4 year professional degree programs.
• Norwegian School of Management (Handelshøyskolen BI) - primarily economics and business administration.
• Norwegian School of Information Technology (Norges Informasjonsteknologiske Høyskole)
• Oslo School of Architecture and Design (Arkitektur- og designhøgskolen i Oslo)
• Norwegian University of Sport and Physical Education (Norges idrettshøgskole)^[52]
• Norwegian Academy of Music (Norges musikkhøgskole)
• MF Norwegian School of Theology (Det teologiske Menighetsfakultet — MF)
• Oslo National Academy of the Arts (Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo KHIO)^[53]
• Norwegian University of Life Sciences (Universitetet for Miljø og Biovitenskap-UMB) located right outside of Oslo^[54]
• Norwegian Military Academy (Krigsskolen)
• Norwegian School of Veterinary Science (Norges Veterinærhøgskole)^[55]
• Oslo Academy of Fine Arts (Statens kunstakademi)^[56]
• Oslo School of Management. (Markedshøyskolen)

The level of education and productivity in the workforce is high in Norway. Nearly half of those with education at tertiary level in Norway live in the Oslo region, placing it among Europe's top three regions in relation to education. In 2008, the total workforce in the greater Oslo region (5 counties) numbered 1,020,000 people. The greater Oslo region has several higher educational institutions and is home to more than 73,000 students. The University of Oslo is the largest educational institution with 27,700 students and 5,900 employees.

Demographics

An estimated 26% of Oslo's population consists of immigrants (about 152,000 inhabitants),^[6] predicted to increase to between 44% and 51% around 2030. In 2008 the immigrant population accounted for about 82% of the population growth of the city. From 1970 to 2007, the ethnic Norwegian population decreased by 10.1% while the immigrant population increased by 823.6%.^[57] Pakistanis make up 20,812 of the city's inhabitants, followed by Somalis (10,780), Swedes (9,250), and Poles (8,854)—these being the four largest ethnic minority groups. Other large immigrant groups are people from Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Turkey, Morocco, Iraq and Denmark.^{[58][59][60][61]}

By June 2009, more than 40% of Oslo schools had a majority of people of immigrant backgrounds, with some schools having up to a 97% immigrant share.^[62] In 2008, of six-year olds in the city, 68% were of immigrant backgrounds.^[63] Schools are also increasingly divided by ethnicity, with white flight being widespread.^[64][65] In the borough Groruddalen in 2008 for instance, the ethnic Norwegian population decreased by 1,500, while the immigrant population increased by 1,600.^[66] From 2000-2007, 7,250 ethnic Norwegians moved out of the city, while 32,700 persons of immigrant background, mostly non-western, moved in.^[57]

The population of Oslo is currently increasing at a record rate of nearly 2% annually (17% over the last 15 years), making it the fastest-growing Scandinavian capital.^[67] The increase is due, in almost equal degree, to high birth-rates and immigration,^[68] though both is largely due to immigration, seeing that the ethnic Norwegian population is actually decreasing.^[57] In particular, immigration from Poland and the Baltic states has increased sharply since the accession of these countries to the EU in 2004.

Oslo is a city with various religious communities. The city has a low percentage of Christians in contrast to other parts of the country. As of 2009, 11% of the population of Oslo are Muslim.^[69]

Historical populations
Year	Pop.	%±
1951	434,365	—
1960	471,511	8.6%
1970	487,363	3.4%
1980	454,872	−6.7%
1990	458,364	0.8%
2000	507,467	10.7%
2010	589,293	16.1%
Source: Statistics Norway[70]

List of immigrants living in Oslo

Rank	Ancestry	Number
1	Pakistan	19751
2	Somalia	8040
3	Sri Lanka	7112
4	Turkey	5549
5	Iraq	5385
6	Morocco	5300
7	Vietnam	4839
8	Iran	4419
9	India	3107
10	Poland	3013

Norway

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Norway

Constitution Monarchy King Harald V Crown Prince Haakon Government Cabinet of Norway Prime Minister (List) Jens Stoltenberg Government Red-Green Coalition Parliament Storting Political parties Politicians (category) Elections 2009 parliamentary 2007 local 2005 parliamentary 2003 local 2001 parliamentary 1999 local Local Gov't Counties (Fylker) Municipalities (Kommuner) Sámi Parliament Foreign policy Foreign relations European Union relations

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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
2009	578,870
Source: SSB1, SSB2

Conurbation population

Year	Population
1999	763,957[71]
2000	773,498[72]
2002	783,829[73]
2003	794,356[74]
2004	801,028[75]
2005	811,688[76]
2006	825,105[77]
2007	839,423[78]
2008	856,915[79]
2009	876,391[80]

Transport

The Oslo region is Norway's dominant transport hub. Oslo Airport at Gardermoen is the most punctual and second largest international airport in Scandinavia. By air, it takes less than 2 hours to reach all the major cities in Northern Europe. All public transport in Oslo operates on a common ticket system, allowing free transfer within a period of one hour with a regular ticket.

The majority of the air traffic passengers pass through the capital region’s airport and there are good roads, trains and ferries linking the region to the rest of Norway and Continental Europe. The public transport network in the Oslo region comprises railway, metro and tramlines, buses and boats. The main goods terminals for road and rail are located in the northeast corridor. Together with the Port of Oslo they form the main core of goods distribution in Eastern Norway.

Air

The main airport Oslo Airport Gardermoen (OSL) is located 45 km north of Oslo. OSL had the fastest growth of all the large airports in Scandinavia in 2007. With 19 million passengers, the growth rate was 7.8%. This has strengthened OSL’s position as Scandinavia’s second largest airport, with more than one million more passengers than Arlanda in Stockholm. Oslo Airport is also ranked as Europe's most efficient airport, according to Air Transport Research Society (ATRS). The prize is based on calculations of airport productivity, efficiency and competitiveness.

Thanks to the Airport Express Train and a well-developed bus network, the Oslo Airport at Gardermoen is also well connected to the rest of the region. From the airport to the city centre of Oslo, it takes less than 20 minutes by train.

In addition to OSL, the Oslo region has two other international airports within close reach: Sandefjord Airport Torp, located south-west of Oslo and Moss Airport, Rygge located in south-east of Oslo.

Sea

There are daily ferry connections to Kiel (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), and Frederikshavn (Denmark).

Public ferries run daily to and from the islands scattered in the Oslo harbour basin and Nesodden.

Train

Oslo Sentralstasjon is the main railway station in Oslo. From there, there are connections to far away destinations Trondheim, Bergen, Stavanger, Stockholm (Sweden), Gothenburg (Sweden) and Copenhagen (Denmark), as well as several local and regional destinations in southern Norway and Sweden.

Public transport

The public transportation system in Oslo is managed by the municipal transport company Ruter. This includes metro, tram, bus and ferry, but not the local train lines, which are operated by the state railway company NSB. All public transport in Oslo, including local trains, 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 a traveller intends 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.^[81]

The tram system, Oslotrikken, is made up of six lines that criss-cross the inner parts of the city and extend outward toward the suburbs. Trams run partly on in the streets and partly on separate roads. 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 northwest 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 20 August 2006, completing 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 greatly delayed. The transition to the new system is now underway, with the new RFID cards available to the public.

A public bicycle rental programme has been in operation beginning in April every year since 2002. With an electronic subscription card, users can access bikes from over 90 stations across the city.

Road

As Oslo is Norway's capital and biggest city, several national highways meet or pass through it. European route E6 runs through Oslo in the eastern suburbs on its way from Southern Sweden to Northern Norway. European route E18 runs through downtown Oslo (including a tunnel under Akershus festning) on its way from Stavanger and Kristiansand to Stockholm. European route E16 from Bergen doesn't go into Oslo proper, but ends on E18 at Sandvika a few kilometers west of Oslo. Oslo also has a system of "ring roads" connecting east and west. Ring 3, the outer one, runs from the E6 junction in the east via Ullevål to E18 on the border to Bærum municipality in the west. Ring 2 runs from Gamlebyen in the east to E18 at Skøyen in the west. Ring 1 is the downtown "through road". The ring roads make navigation easier and improve traffic flow. E18, E6, Ring 2 and Ring 3 are connected by an elaborate system of tunnels and bridges in the Økern-Ekeberg area. At present (2008) a new underwater tunnel for E18 is under construction in Bjørvika to divert traffic from the street level.

Access into the city centre requires the payment of a toll at one of 19 entry points around the ring road. It costs 26 NOK to enter the cordoned zone at all times of day, seven days a week. A 20%-price reduction is available to car owners using the AutoPASS-system. Since 2 February 2008, coins are no longer accepted at the Toll Station, and all cars must pass through the automatic lanes without stopping. Drivers fitted with the electronic AutoPASS system will be debited as they pass; all other drivers will receive an invoice in the mail.

Initially revenues from the road tolls funded the public road network, but since 2002 these revenues finance mainly 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.^[82]

Culture

The Nobel Peace Prize is handed out in Oslo every year by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

• Pilot city for the Council of Europe and EU Intercultural cities programme
• Home to the annual Oslo Freedom Forum human rights conference, a gathering described by The Economist as “on its way to becoming a human-rights equivalent of the Davos economic forum.”^[83]

Literature

Several Norwegian authors from Oslo City have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, namely Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson in 1903, Knut Hamsun in 1920 and Sigrid Undset in 1928 for Kristin Lavransdatter. Though he was not awarded a Nobel Prize for his plays, as the first of these were awarded after he published his last play in 1899, playwright Henrik Ibsen is probably the most famous figure in Norwegian literature. Ibsen wrote plays such as Peer Gynt, A Doll's House and The Lady from the Sea. The Ibsen Quotes project completed in 2008 is a work of art consisting of 69 Ibsen quotations in stainless steel lettering which have been set into the granite sidewalks of the city's central streets.^[84]

Also of importance to the Norwegian literary culture is the Norse literature, and in particular the works of Snorre Sturlason , as well as the more recent folk tales, collected by Asbjørnsen and Moe in the 19th century.

Norwegian literature attained international acclaim in the 1990s with Jostein Gaarder's novel Sophie's world (Sofies verden) which was translated into 40 languages. Other noteworthy writers with an international profile include Erik Fosnes Hansen (Psalm at Journey's End) and Åsne Seierstad whose controversial work, The Bookseller of Kabul, was particularly successful in 2003.^[85]

Music

Rikard Nordraak, composer of the Norwegian national anthem, was born in Oslo in 1842.

Norway's principal orchestra is the Oslo Philharmonic, based at the Oslo Concert Hall since 1977. Although it was founded in 1919, the Oslo Philharmonic can trace its roots to the founding of the Christiania Musikerforening (Christiania Musical Association) by Edvard Grieg and Johan Svendsen in 1879.

Øyafestivalen is currently Oslos largest outdoor music festival. It is held in Middelalderparken east of Oslo. Usually the festival draws an audience of 60.000 people. The festival lasts for four days.

Sports

Oslo was the host city for the 1952 Winter Olympics. All events took place within the city limits, except for the downhill skiing at Norefjell. 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 29 July 2005.

Holmenkollen nordic skiing arena, with 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 once again to host the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in 2011. Thursday 16 October 2008, the work began on the dismantling of the ski jump, as a new ski jump was planned to be built and was expected to be finished by the end of 2009.

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 competing boats each year, and one race of the international Class 1 offshore powerboat racing circuit.

One football club from Oslo, Vålerenga plays in the Norwegian Premier League which it won in the 2005 season. 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 in 2007. Bandy is also a sport played by many, in fact more than ice hockey. The Bandy World Championships has been held at Valle Hovin, also a Speed skating 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. Vålerenga use the stadium as their home ground.^[86]

Notable residents

International relations

Twin towns — sister cities

Oslo is twinned or has cooperation agreements with the following cities/regions:^[88]

Artvin, Turkey Antwerp, Belgium Copenhagen, Denmark Gothenburg, Sweden Helsinki, Finland L'Alfàs del Pi, Spain

London, United Kingdom Madison, United States New York City, United States Reykjavík, Iceland Rotterdam, Netherlands Saint Petersburg, Russia

Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Shanghai, China Stockholm, Sweden Vilnius, Lithuania Warsaw, Poland[89] Washington, D.C., United States

Oslo has a longstanding tradition of sending a Christmas tree every year to the cities of Washington, D.C., New York, London, Rotterdam, Antwerp, and Reykjavík.^[88][90] Since 1947, Oslo has sent a 65–80-foot (20–25 m) high, 50 to 100 year-old spruce, as an expression of gratitude toward Britain for its support of Norway during World War II. It is usually placed in Trafalgar Square. For the 61st time, this spruce will have been lit by the Mayor of Oslo, Fabian Stang and The Lord Mayor of Westminster, Councilor Carolyn Keen, between 6 December 2007 and 4 January 2008, and it has received yet more special attention than before, expressing environmental concern.^[91][92]

See also

• List of books about Oslo
• Oslo Accords
• Parks and open spaces in Oslo
• Timeline of transport in Oslo

References

Notes

External links

• The Kon-Tiki Museum - Thor Heyerdahl's Research Foundation
• Oslo Virtual Tour - 360* panoramic pictures
• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
• Oslo travel guide from Wikitravel
• City of Oslo: Official website (Norwegian)
• Official Travel and Visitors Guide to Oslo
• Oslo The official travel guide to Norway
• Traveller - A short clip about Oslo

Links to related articles Boroughs of Oslo Alna · Bjerke · Frogner · Gamle Oslo · Grorud · Grünerløkka · (Marka) · Nordstrand · Nordre Aker · Østensjø · Sagene · (Sentrum) · Søndre Nordstrand · St. Hanshaugen · Stovner · Ullern · Vestre Aker 40 most populous urban settlements (cities) of Norway as of 2009, according to Statistics Norway [1] 1. Oslo 876,400 2. Bergen 227,800 3. Stavanger / Sandnes 189,800 4. Trondheim 157,100 5. Fredrikstad / S'borg1 101,700 6. Drammen 96,600 7. Skien / Porsgrunn 86,900 8. Kristiansand 67,500 9. Tromsø 55,100 10. Tønsberg 47,500 11. Ålesund 46,500 12. Haugesund 42,900 13. Moss 41,700 14. Sandefjord 40,800 15. Bodø 36,500 16. Arendal 32,400 17. Hamar 30,000 18. Larvik 23,900 19. Halden 23,000 20. Lillehammer 20,100 21. Harstad 19,500 22. Molde 19,400 23. Kongsberg 18,800 24. Gjøvik 18,700 25. Askøy 18,300 26. Horten 18,200 27. Mo i Rana 17,900 28. Kristiansund 17,000 29. Jessheim 15,300 30. Hønefoss 14,300 31. Narvik 13,900 32. Alta 13,600 33. Elverum 13,500 34. Askim 13,100 35. Ski 12,900 36. Drøbak 12,400 37. Nesoddtangen 11,600 38. Steinkjer 11,500 39. Leirvik 11,400 40. Vennesla 11,400 41. Kongsvinger 11,400 42. Stjørdalshalsen 10,800 1 Sarpsborg. Counties of Norway Akershus · Aust-Agder · Buskerud · Finnmark · Hedmark · Hordaland · Møre og Romsdal · Nordland · Nord-Trøndelag · Oppland · Oslo · Østfold · Rogaland · Sogn og Fjordane · Sør-Trøndelag · Telemark · Troms · Vest-Agder · Vestfold 50 most populous urban areas in the Nordic countries  Denmark ·  Finland ·  Iceland ·  Norway ·  Sweden 1.  Stockholm 1,252,000 2.  Copenhagen 1,181,239 3.  Helsinki 1,027,635 4.  Oslo 907,288 5.  Gothenburg 510,500 6.  Malmö 258,000 7.  Aarhus 242,914 8.  Bergen 227,752 9.  Tampere 211,691 10.  Reykjavík 195,000 11.  Stavanger 189,828 12.  Turku 176,401 13.  Odense 166,305 14.  Trondheim 160,072 15.  Uppsala 144,839 16.  Oulu 137,370 17.  Jyväskylä 128,114 18.  Aalborg 123,432 19.  Västerås 107,000 20.  Fredrikstad 101,698 21.  Lahti 100,444 22.  Örebro 98,200 23.  Linköping 97,400 24.  Drammen 96,563 25.  Kuopio 91,845 26.  Helsingborg 91,500 27.  Kouvola 88,396 28.  Skien 86,923 29.  Jönköping 84,400 30.  Norrköping 83,600 31.  Pori 75,562 32.  Lund 76,200 33.  Umeå 75,600 34.  Joensuu 72,167 35.  Esbjerg 71,459 36.  Lappeenranta 70,210 37.  Gävle 68,700 38.  Kristiansand 67,547 39.  Hämeenlinna 66,257 40.  Borås 63,400 41.  Södertälje 60,300 42.  Randers 60,227 43.  Eskilstuna 60,200 44.  Rovaniemi 59,274 45.  Vaasa 58,607 46.  Täby 58,593 47.  Karlstad 58,500 48.  Kolding 57,087 49.  Seinäjoki 56,578 50.  Halmstad 55,688 Capitals of European states and territories Capitals of non-sovereign territories or constituent nations shown in SmallCaps Western Northern Central Southern Eastern Amsterdam, Netherlands Andorra la Vella, Andorra Belfast, Northern Ireland Brussels, Belgium 5 Douglas, Isle of Man4 Cardiff, Wales Dublin, Ireland Edinburgh, Scotland Lisbon, Portugal London, United Kingdom Luxembourg, Luxembourg Madrid, Spain Monaco, Monaco Paris, France Saint Helier, Jersey4 Saint Peter Port, Guernsey4 Copenhagen, Denmark Helsinki, Finland Longyearbyen, Svalbard Mariehamn, Åland Islands Oslo, Norway Reykjavík, Iceland Riga, Latvia Stockholm, Sweden Tallinn, Estonia Tórshavn, Faroe Islands Vilnius, Lithuania Belgrade, Serbia Berlin, Germany Bern, Switzerland Bratislava, Slovakia Budapest, Hungary Ljubljana, Slovenia Prague, Czech Republic Vienna, Austria Warsaw, Poland Vaduz, Liechtenstein Zagreb, Croatia Ankara, Turkey 1 Athens, Greece Gibraltar, Gibraltar4 Nicosia, Cyprus 2, Northern Cyprus 2, 3 Podgorica, Montenegro Pristina, Kosovo 3 Rome, Italy San Marino, San Marino Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Skopje, Republic of Macedonia Tirana, Albania Valletta, Malta Vatican City, Vatican City Astana, Kazakhstan 1 Baku, Azerbaijan 1 Bucharest, Romania Chişinău, Moldova Kiev, Ukraine Minsk, Belarus Moscow, Russia 1 Sofia, Bulgaria Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic 3 Sukhumi, Abkhazia 3 Tbilisi, Georgia 1 Tiraspol, Transnistria 3 Tskhinvali, South Ossetia 3 Yerevan, Armenia 1 1 Transcontinental country.  2 Entirely in Southwest Asia but having socio-political connections with Europe.  3 Partially recognised country.  4 Crown Dependency or Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom.  5 Also the seat of the European Union, see Location of European Union institutions and Brussels and the European Union. Host cities of the Eurovision Song Contest 1950s Lugano · Frankfurt · Hilversum · Cannes 1960s London · Cannes · Luxembourg · London · Copenhagen · Naples · Luxembourg · Vienna · London · Madrid 1970s Amsterdam · Dublin · Edinburgh · Luxembourg · Brighton · Stockholm · The Hague · London · Paris · Jerusalem 1980s The Hague · Dublin · Harrogate · Munich · Luxembourg · Gothenburg · Bergen · Brussels · Dublin · Lausanne 1990s Zagreb · Rome · Malmö · Millstreet · Dublin · Dublin · Oslo · Dublin · Birmingham · Jerusalem 2000s Stockholm · Copenhagen · Tallinn · Riga · Istanbul · Kiev · Athens · Helsinki · Belgrade · Moscow 2010s Oslo  · Düsseldorf Winter Olympic Games host cities 1924: Chamonix • 1928: St. Moritz • 1932: Lake Placid • 1936: Garmisch-Partenkirchen • 1940 & 1944: No games due to World War II • 1948: St. Moritz • 1952: Oslo • 1956: Cortina d'Ampezzo • 1960: Squaw Valley • 1964: Innsbruck • 1968: Grenoble • 1972: Sapporo • 1976: Innsbruck • 1980: Lake Placid • 1984: Sarajevo • 1988: Calgary • 1992: Albertville • 1994: Lillehammer • 1998: Nagano • 2002: Salt Lake City • 2006: Turin • 2010: Vancouver • 2014: Sochi • 2018: TBA