Grünerløkka

Grünerløkka is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. Grünerløkka became part of the city of Oslo (then Christiania) in 1858.

Grünerløkka was named after Friedrich Grüner who bought a mill in the area from king Christian V of Denmark in 1672 (the last element is the finite form of løkke f 'paddock'). During the 19th century, Grünerløkka became a working class area. Several factories were placed here, because of the advantages of being located close to the Akerselva river. Christiania Seildugsfabrikk from 1856 and Aktieselskapet Herkules from 1898 were two of the factories established. Thorvald Meyer bought parts of the Grünerløkka area in 1861. He built the main street of Grünerløkka, called Thorvald Meyers gate.

In 1866, Grünerløkka (Paulus parish) had a total population of 13 600. In 1900 the number had risen to 22 000. At that time, only 5 streets in Oslo had a population above 3000. Of these, three were located in Grünerløkka: Markveien, Thorvald Meyers gate and Toftes gate (note: gate means street in Norwegian).

In 1864, a sq. meter was priced at about 30 Norwegian shilling (the Norwegian monetary unit at that time). Selling of land property started the year after 1864, though. Even if the land owner, Thorvald Meyer, offered low-priced land, almost no-one bought any of it until after 1868.

The park square called Olaf Ryes plass has its name from general Rye. It was an open field well out into the 1880s. The field was bought by Oslo kommune from the Grüner family for 10 000 N.Kr. in 1883. A narrow diagonal street was built, which led from Markveien to Thorvald Meyers gate. It had a stopping point for horse and carriage at the middle point. This small piece of street, through what is now a pedestrian park square, remained until far out in the 1930s.

The neighbourhood has its own sports club, Grüner, which was founded in 1914 with ice hockey and football as the most important activities. Grüner Fotball plays its home games in Dælenenga idrettsplass and currently is part of the third division of the Norwegian football system. The ice hockey team plays the home games at Grünerhallen.

Grünerløkka in modern times

During the last decades the industry have moved out of the area. Today, Grünerløkka is dotted with small cafés, pubs and parks. The Blå, Oslo's best jazz club, and Norwegian Resistance Museum are located in this district. The area around the built-up park Birkelunden, has been given a "historical zone" status and cannot be visibly rebuilt or modified. Grünerløkka is one of the most popular places for young people in Oslo to live. With its central location and nice atmosphere the property prices have surged and are among the highest in the country (almost as high as in the exclusive parts like Frogner and Majorstua). Grünerløkka of today is one of the most vibrant areas of the city, a place full of life both during the day and at night.

In the municipal election of 2007 all borough councils became elective, until then most had been appointed by the city council. Labour became the largest party with 5 representatives, the Socialist Left have 3, the Conservatives, Liberals and the Red Electoral Allince 2 each, and the Progress party 1.

Notable landmarks