Ekeberg is a neighborhood in the city of Oslo, Norway. The Norway Cup soccer tournament takes place at Ekebergsletta every summer. "Sletta" means plateau. The painting "the Scream" by Edvard Munch is painted from Utsikten (means the view) a part of Ekeberg.
In the area are a number of old Iron Age grave mounds and Bronze Age ritual sites. This establish the area of Ekeberg as one of the oldest inhabited places around Oslo. During the Middle Ages, the farm of Ekeberg belonged to the monastery of Hovedøya. The area was later taken by the crown.
From 1760, the farm of Ekeberg was run by an appointed owner, and his relatives owned the farm thereafter. In the area, a number of small homesteads under the main farm was erected the following century. The first suburban settlement came around 1900, and the early suburb was raised in the years prior to 1935. Many of the early houses are still present in the area. Ekeberg belonged to Oslo from 1947.
In 1926 Roald Amundsen's airship "Norge", was on its way from Italy to Svalbard, stopped in Oslo, mooring at Ekeberg at a specially-constructed mast, the foundation of which can still be seen today at the north end of the park. Image of airship moored at Ekeberg
The farm land (Ekebergsletta) cultivated crops until 1950, and the farm still had goats and small cattle up to 1965. The neighborhood of Ekeberg is situated on a bluff overlooking the city. During the 19th century, the air was considered excellent for tuberculosis patients. Shortly after WWII, there had been some discussion of how to use the area, and the idea of an airport for Oslo was discussed. This was rejected, and the widely respected Labour party politician Rolf Hofmo, who had survived internation at the concentration camp of Sachsenhausen during the Second World War, proposed the idea of a free area for sport and other activities.
Ekeberg-Bekkelaget was a borough of Oslo up to January 1, 2004, when it became part of the Gamle Oslo and Nordstrand boroughs.
Ekeberg as a geographical area was mentioned by Snorri Sturluson in his Saga of the Kings. In the northern part of the area the farm "Ekeberg Hovedgård" is located. The fields of the farm are now a part of Ekebergsletta and the camp ground where the main building still stands.
The name: Old Norse Eikaberg - the first element is the genitive plural case of eik f 'oak', the last element is berg n 'mountain'.
