Hardangervidda (English: Hardanger Plateau ) is a mountain plateau ( Norwegian : vidde ) in central southern Norway, covering parts of Vestland , Telemark , and Buskerud counties. It is the largest plateau of its kind in Europe , with a cold year-round alpine climate , and one of Norway's largest glaciers , Hardangerjøkulen , is situated here. Much of the plateau is protected as part of Hardangervidda National Park . Hardangervidda is a popular tourist and leisure destination, and it is ideal for many outdoor activities.
71-657: The plateau is the largest peneplain (eroded plain) in Europe , covering an area of about 6,500 km (2,500 sq mi) at an average elevation of 1,100 metres (3,600 ft). The highest point on the plateau is the Sandfloegga , which reaches a height of 1,721 m (5,646 ft). The landscape of the Hardangervidda is characterised by barren, treeless moorland interrupted by numerous pools, lakes, rivers and streams. There are significant differences between
142-468: A base level represented by sea level , yet in other definitions such a condition is ignored. Geomorphologist Karna Lidmar-Bergström and co-workers consider the base level criterion crucial and above the precise mechanism of formation of peneplains, including this way some pediplains among peneplains. While peneplains are usually assumed to form near sea level it has also been posited that peneplains can form at height if extensive sedimentation raises
213-475: A subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification: Dfc ) in the 1991–2020 base period. and Weather Atlas Oslo has many parks and green areas within the city core, as well as outside it. 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
284-411: A Danish king ( Christian IV of Denmark ) was inappropriate as the name of the capital of their country. The municipality developed new areas such as Ullevål garden city (1918–1926) and Torshov (1917–1925). City Hall was constructed in the former slum area of Vika from 1931 to 1950. In 1948, Oslo merged with Aker , a municipality which surrounded the capital and was 27 times larger, thus creating
355-469: A city at the end of the Viking Age in 1040 under the name Ánslo , and established as a kaupstad or trading place in 1048 by Harald Hardrada . The city was elevated to a bishopric in 1070 and a capital under Haakon V of Norway around the year 1300. Personal unions with Denmark from 1397 to 1523 and again from 1536 to 1814 reduced its influence. After being destroyed by a fire in 1624, during
426-474: A few years, new large scale housing areas and infrastructure projects are being built and planned across the city, notably in Hasle , Helsfyr , Bjørvika , Nydalen and Sinsen , this is increasing the density in and around Ring 2 and Ring 3 . The Fornebu line on the metro is under construction as of 2024, and further subway lines crossing the inner city are being planned. Oslo occupies an arc of land at
497-455: A fire in 1624, during the reign of King Christian IV , a new city was built closer to Akershus Fortress and named Christiania in the king's honour. The old site east of the Aker river was not abandoned, however, and the village of Oslo remained as a suburb outside the city gates. The suburb called Oslo was eventually included in the city proper. In 1925 the name of the suburb was transferred to
568-646: A formal coat of arms , but which uses a city seal instead. The seal of Oslo shows the city's patron saint , 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 . Oslo has various nicknames and names in other languages. The city is sometimes known as "The Tiger City" ( Norwegian : Tigerstaden ), probably inspired by an 1870 poem by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson which referenced then-Christiania in central Oslo. The nickname
639-439: A plain grading to a base level only at a grand-scale. At the grand-scale peneplains are characterized by appearing to be sculpted in rock with disregard of rock structure and lithology , but in detail, their shape is structurally controlled, for example, drainage divides in peneplain can follow more resistant rock. In the view of Davis large streams do became insensitive to lithology and structure, which they were not during
710-408: A population of 717,710 as of 1 January 2024. The urban area extends far beyond the boundaries of the municipality into the surrounding county of Akershus (municipalities of Asker , Bærum , Lillestrøm , Enebakk , Rælingen , Lørenskog , Nittedal , Gjerdrum , Nordre Follo ); being, to a great degree suburbs of Oslo making up approximately 500,000 of the population of the greater Oslo region .
781-444: A preceding urban settlement. This called for the celebration of Oslo's millennium in 2000 rather than 2049. Under the reign of Olaf III of Norway (1067-1093), Oslo became a cultural centre for Eastern Norway . Hallvard Vebjørnsson became the city's patron saint and is depicted on the city's seal. In 1174, Hovedøya Abbey was built. The churches and abbeys became major owners of large tracts of land, which proved important for
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#1732764779143852-496: A region is known as a primary peneplain. An example of a primary peneplain is the Sub-Cambrian peneplain in southern Sweden. The peneplain concept is often juxtaposed to that of pediplain . However authors like Karna Lidmar-Bergström classify pediplains as a type of peneplain. On the contrary Lester Charles King held them as incompatible landforms arguing that peneplains do not exist. King wrote: According to King
923-535: 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 ). The name Lo is now believed to be a back-formation arrived at by Friis in support of his [idea about] etymology for Oslo . Oslo is one of very few cities in Norway, besides Bergen and Tønsberg , that does not have
994-461: A soil sample obtained in 1969 from Hardangervidda. In the Holocene climatic optimum ( Stone Age ) 9,000–5,000 years ago, the regional climate was warmer, and large parts of Hardangervidda were wooded; pine logs can still be found preserved in bogs well above today's treeline. With the predicted warming , Hardangervidda could again be largely wooded. The national park has two visitor centres on
1065-461: Is Marka (1,610 residents, 301.1 km ), that is administered by several boroughs; and Sentrum (1,471 residents, 1.8 km ) that is partially administered by St. Hanshaugen, and in part directly by the city council. As of 27 February 2020, there were 2,386 residents who were not allocated to a borough. The 9 municipalities directly included in the Urban area of Oslo. After being destroyed by
1136-450: Is July 1901 with mean 22.7 °C (72.9 °F), and the all-time high 35 °C (95 °F) was also recorded in July 1901. The warmest month in more recent years is July 2018 with mean 22.2 °C (72.0 °F) and average daily high 29 °C (84.2 °F). The record summer of 2018 also recorded the warmest May and May all-time high with 31.1 °C (88.0 °F) on 30th, and 2018
1207-468: Is a historic timber framing house located on the north side of Christiania Torv; it was built in 1640. The transformation of Christiania went slowly for the first hundred years. However, outside of the city at Vaterland , Grønland , and the old town of Oslo , a new, unmanaged part of the city arose populated by citizens of lower class status. The last Black Death outbreak in Oslo occurred in 1654. In
1278-520: Is agricultural. The open areas within the built-up zone amount to 22 km (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. In addition
1349-612: 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, 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
1420-523: Is also a main source of drinking water for large parts of Oslo. 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 some of the first modern industry of Norway in the 1840s. Later in the century,
1491-587: Is considered a global city and was ranked "Beta World City" in studies carried out by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network in 2008. 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. A survey conducted by ECA International in 2011 placed Oslo as the second most expensive city in
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#17327647791431562-430: Is great for barbecues, swimming, beach volleyball and other activities. The municipality operates eight public swimming pools. Tøyenbadet is the largest indoor swimming facility in Oslo and one of the few pools in Norway offering a 50-metre main pool. Another in that size is the outdoor pool Frognerbadet . Oslo's cityscape is being redeveloped as a modern city with various access-points, an extensive metro-system with
1633-432: Is irrelevant and that the term peneplain has been used and can be used in a purely descriptive manner. Further, alternation of processes with varying climate, relative sea level and biota make old surfaces unlikely to be of a single origin. Peneplains that are detached from their base level are identified by either hosting an accumulation of sediments that buries it or by being in an uplifted position. Burial preserves
1704-710: Is limited. In the Fennoscandian Shield average glacier erosion during the Quaternary amounts to tens of meters, albeit this was not evenly distributed. For glacier erosion to be effective in shields a long "preparation period" of weathering under non-glacial conditions may be a requirement. Silicification of peneplain surfaces exposed to sub-tropical and tropical climate for long enough time can protect them from erosion. Oslo Oslo ( Norwegian: [ˈʊ̂ʂlʊ] or [ˈʊ̂slʊ, ˈʊ̀ʂlʊ] ; Southern Sami : Oslove )
1775-783: Is mostly used by Norwegians from out of town, and rarely by people from the Oslo region. During the Viking Age , the area that includes modern Oslo was located in Viken , the northernmost province of Denmark . Control over the area shifted between Danish and Norwegian kings in the Middle Ages, and Denmark continued to claim the area until 1241. According to the Norse sagas , Oslo was founded around 1049 by Harald Hardrada . Recent archaeological research, however, uncovered Christian burials which could be dated to prior to AD 1000, evidence of
1846-403: Is the capital and most populous city of Norway . It constitutes both a county and a municipality . The municipality of Oslo had a population of 709,037 in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022, and the metropolitan area had an estimated population of 1,546,706 in 2021. During the Viking Age , the area was part of Viken . Oslo was founded as
1917-625: Is titled "Across the Hardanger Mountain Plateau" and features a train crossing the area. Peneplain In geomorphology and geology , a peneplain is a low-relief plain formed by protracted erosion . This is the definition in the broadest of terms, albeit with frequency the usage of peneplain is meant to imply the representation of a near-final (or penultimate) stage of fluvial erosion during times of extended tectonic stability. Peneplains are sometimes associated with
1988-578: Is used, an oceanic climate ( Cfb ) bordering on a humid continental climate in the 1991–2020 base period. Oslo has some of the warmest summers of Norway and fairly cold winters. Oslo receives a fair amount of precipitation during the year. The driest seasons are winter and spring, and the wettest are summer and autumn. 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 (no darker than nautical twilight ), to around 6 hours in midwinter. The warmest month on record
2059-560: Is −29.6 °C (−21.3 °F), on 21 January 1841, while the coldest recorded at Blindern is −26 °C (−14.8 °F) in January 1941. The coldest temperature more recently was on 6 January 2024, where the temperature reached -23.1 °C (-17 °F) at Oslo-Blindern, which is the coldest measured temperature since January 1987. The coldest month on record is January 1941 and also January 1947 with mean −12.9 °C (8.8 °F) and average daily low −16.7 °C (1.9 °F). The average date for
2130-637: The 2011 Norway 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 died in the bomb attack. On 25 June 2022, two people were killed and 21 others injured in a mass shooting . An Iranian-born Norwegian citizen was subsequently charged with "aggravated terrorism". The city has continued to expand. For
2201-763: The Caledonian orogeny in Paleozoic times. Much later, in the Miocene epoch, the modern flatness of Hardangervidda took form as a peneplain formed at sea level. Then in Early Pliocene times Hardangervidda and the whole of southern Scandinavian Mountains were uplifted more than thousand meters. The whole of the Hardangervidda is above the tree line . Its alpine climate enables the presence of many species of arctic animals and plants further south than anywhere else in Europe. Its wild reindeer herds are among
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2272-433: The cycle of erosion theory of William Morris Davis , but Davis and other workers have also used the term in a purely descriptive manner without any theory or particular genesis attached. The existence of some peneplains, and peneplanation as a process in nature, is not without controversy, due to a lack of contemporary examples and uncertainty in identifying relic examples. By some definitions, peneplains grade down to
2343-546: 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. The Royal Frederick University (now the University of Oslo ) was founded in 1811; the fact that it was founded this late reportedly had an adverse effect on the development of the nation. In 1814 the former provincial town of Christiania became
2414-908: The 19th century, including the Royal Palace (1825-1848), the Stock Exchange (1826-1828), the Bank of Norway (1828), the Storting (1861-1866), the National Theatre (1899), and several University buildings. 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). Large areas of the surrounding Aker municipality were incorporated in 1839, 1859, and 1878. The 1859 expansion included Grünerløkka , Grønland , and Oslo . At that time
2485-417: The area called Oslo (now Gamlebyen or Old Town) was a village or suburb outside the city borders east of Aker river. The population increased from approximately 10.000 in 1814 to 230.000 in 1900. In 1850, Christiania overtook Bergen and became the most populous city in the country. Christiania expanded its industry from 1840, most importantly around Akerselva . There was a spectacular building boom during
2556-428: The capital of the independent Kingdom of Norway, when the union with Denmark was dissolved and replaced by a personal union with Sweden . Several state institutions were established and the city's role as a capital initiated a period of rapidly increasing population. The government of this new state needed buildings for its expanding administration and institutions. Several important buildings and landmarks were erected in
2627-521: The city's economic development, especially before the Black Death. At the end of the 12th century, Hanseatic League traders from Rostock moved into the city and gained major influence in the city. On 25 July 1197, Sverre of Norway and his soldiers attacked Oslo from Hovedøya . During the Middle Ages , Oslo reached new heights during the reign of Haakon V of Norway (1299–1319). He
2698-543: The city's foreign trade in the 15th century. In 1380, 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 . Over the years, fires destroyed significant parts of the city multiple times, as many of the city's buildings were built entirely of wood. After the fourteenth calamity, in 1624, which lasted for three days, Christian IV of Denmark decided that
2769-428: 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. Oslo has a humid continental climate ( Köppen climate classification : Dfb ) or, if the original Köppen winter threshold −3 °C (27 °F)
2840-417: The coalesced pediments of the pediplains form a series of very gentle concave slopes, a difference with Davis' understanding of peneplains may lie in the fact that his idealized peneplains had very gentle convex slopes instead. However, Davis' views on the subject are not fully clear. Contrary to this view Rhodes Fairbridge and Charles Finkl argue that the precise mechanism of formation (pediplanation, etc.)
2911-458: The difference between pediplains and Davis’ peneplains is in the history and processes behind their formation, and less so in the final shape. A difference in form that may be present is that of residual hills, which in Davis’ peneplains are to have gentle slopes, while in pediplains they ought to have the same steepness as the slopes in the early stages of erosion leading to pediplanation. Given that
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2982-522: The east and Røvelseggi and Ullensvang in the west. The Norwegian Mountain Touring Association (DNT) maintains a comprehensive network of huts and paths across the plateau. It is a popular destination for hiking , climbing and fishing , and in winter for cross-country skiing from hut to hut. Norwegian music projects Ildjarn and Nidhogg combined their talents to produce two ambient albums, one titled "Hardangervidda Part I" (2003) and
3053-463: The fastest growing major city in Europe at the time. This growth stems for the most part from international immigration and related high birth rates, but also from intra-national migration. By 2010 the immigrant population in the city was growing somewhat faster than the Norwegian population, and in the city proper this had become more than 25% of the total population if the children of immigrant parents were included. The municipality of Oslo has
3124-822: The following classification scheme for peneplains: Rhodes Fairbridge and Charles Finkl argue that peneplains are often of mixed origin (polygenetic), as they may have been shaped by etchplanation during periods of humid climate and pediplanation during periods of arid and semi-arid climate. The long time spans under which some peneplains evolve ensures varied climatic influences . The same authors do also list marine abrasion and glacial erosion among processes that can contribute in shaping peneplains. In addition, epigene peneplains can be distinguished from exhumed peneplains. Epigene peneplains are those that have never been buried or covered by sedimentary rock. Exhumed peneplains are those that are re-exposed after having been buried in sediments. The oldest identifiable peneplain in
3195-399: The forest. There are two major forests bordering the city: 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). The lake's altitude above sea level is 183 metres. The water is in a popular hiking area. Near the water itself, it
3266-498: The invasion, most notably the sinking of the Blücher , delayed the occupation of Oslo for several hours which allowed King Haakon to escape the city. Oslo remained occupied throughout the war until Germany capitulated in 1945. During this time, the occupying troops were harried by saboteurs in acts of resistance. On 31 December 1944, allied bombers missed their intended target and hit a tram, resulting in 79 civilian deaths. During
3337-461: The largest in the world, with some 15,000 animals recorded in 1996 and about 8,000 in 2008. They migrate across the plateau during the year, moving from their winter grazing lands on the east side of the Hardangervidda, where they graze on lichen , to their breeding grounds in the more fertile west of the plateau. On 26 August 2016, 323 were killed by lightning , prompting a Norwegian Environment Agency discussion on whether to leave so many corpses in
3408-412: The last decades of the 19th century, with many new apartment buildings and renewal of the city center, but the boom collapsed in 1899. In 1877 the city was renamed Kristiania . The city and municipality used the name Kristiania until 1 January 1925 when the original name of Oslo was restored . This was because Norway became fully independent in 1905, and Norwegians argued that a name memorializing
3479-434: The last overnight freeze (low below 0 °C, 32.0 °F) in spring is 23 April and average date for first freeze in autumn is 17 October giving a frost-free season of 176 days (1981–2010 average for Blindern). Oslo sits right on the border between hardiness zones 7a and 7b. Oslo Gardermoen airport is located 35 km northeast of Oslo and has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification: Dfb ) bordering on
3550-457: The local base level sufficiently or if river networks are continuously obstructed by tectonic deformation . The peneplains of the Pyrenees and Tibetan Plateau may exemplify these two cases respectively. A common misconception about peneplains is that they ought to be so plain they are featureless. In fact, some peneplains may be hilly as they reflect irregular deep weathering , forming
3621-666: The migration of the reindeer. Ancient trails cross the plateau, linking western and eastern Norway. One example is the "Nordmannsslepa" linking Eidfjord and Veggli in the Numedal valley with Hol and Uvdal. It is still a key transit route between Oslo and Bergen . The Bergen Line and the main Norwegian National Road 7 cross the plateau. In 1981, much of the Hardangervidda was designated a national park , Norway's largest at 3,422 km (1,321 sq mi). The park's boundaries stretch from Numedal and Uvdal in
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#17327647791433692-410: The modern, vastly enlarged Oslo municipality. At the time, Aker was a mostly affluent, green suburban community, and the merger was unpopular in Aker. Other suburbs, such as Lambertseter , began to be developed in the 1950s. Aker Brygge was constructed on the site of the former shipyard , Akers Mekaniske Verksted , from 1982 to 1998. Norway was invaded by Germany on 9 April 1940. Efforts to stop
3763-410: The municipal authorities in 1897, although 'Christiania' was also used. In 1925, the city, after incorporating the village retaining its former name, was renamed 'Oslo'. In 1948, Oslo merged with Aker , a municipality which surrounded the capital and which was 27 times larger, thus creating the modern, much larger Oslo municipality. Oslo is the economic and governmental centre of Norway. The city
3834-543: The name of a large farm at Bjørvika , while the meaning of that name is disputed. Modern linguists generally interpret the original Óslo , Áslo or Ánslo as either "meadow at the foot of a hill" or "meadow consecrated to the Gods ", with both considered equally likely. Erroneously, it was once assumed that Oslo meant "the mouth of the Lo river", a supposed previous name for the river Alna . Not only has no evidence been found of
3905-429: 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 ) of Oslo 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, 130 km (50 sq mi) is built-up and 9.6 km (3.7 sq mi)
3976-577: 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 km or 0.22 sq mi), and scores more around the Oslofjord. Oslo has 343 lakes, the largest being Maridalsvannet (3.91 km or 1.51 sq mi). This
4047-510: The old city should not be rebuilt again. His men built a network of roads on the other side of the bay in Akershagen near Akershus Castle . He demanded that all citizens move their shops and workplaces to the newly built city of "Christiania", named in his honor. The part of the city built starting in 1624 is now often called Kvadraturen [ Wikidata ] because of its orthogonal layout in regular, square blocks. Anatomigården
4118-443: The open. The varying climate of the plateau has a marked effect on the flora, which is richer on the wetter west side than in the drier east; much of the plateau is covered by coarse grasses , mosses (especially sphagnum ) and lichens. Ciclosporin , an immunosuppressant drug widely used in organ transplantation to prevent rejection was initially isolated from the fungus Tolypocladium inflatum ( Beauveria nivea ), found in
4189-693: The other "Hardangervidda Part II" (2003), inspired entirely by this zone. The final two acts of the play When We Dead Awaken ( Danish : Når vi døde vågner ) by Henrik Ibsen , are set in a mountain health resort in Hardangervidda. Location shooting for the Hoth sequences in The Empire Strikes Back took place on the Hardangerjøkulen glacier. The title theme of the Norwegian film O'Horten , by Norwegian composer Kaada ,
4260-402: The peneplain. Any exposed peneplain detached from its baselevel can be considered a paleosurface or paleoplain . Uplift of a peneplain commonly results in renewed erosion. As Davis put it in 1885: Uplifted peneplains can be preserved as fossil landforms in conditions of extreme aridity or under non-eroding cold-based glacier ice. Erosion of peneplains by glaciers in shield regions
4331-405: The plateau. Much of the Hardangervidda's geology is extremely ancient. The rolling fells of the Hardangervidda are the remnants of mountains that were worn down by the action of glaciers during the ice ages . The bedrock is mainly of Precambrian and Cambro - Silurian origin. The area of Hardangervidda was once part of the Sub-Cambrian peneplain before it was thrust over by the nappes of
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#17327647791434402-680: The plateau: the Hardangervidda Natursenter (Nature Centre) in Eidfjord , and the Hardangervidda Nasjonalparksenter (National Park Centre) in Tinn at Skinnarbu, near the lake Møsvatnet , the town Rjukan and the mountain village Rauland . The Hardangervidda has been occupied for thousands of years; several hundred nomadic Stone Age settlements have been found in the area, most likely related to
4473-409: The reign of King Christian IV , a new city was built closer to Akershus Fortress and named Christiania in honour of the king. It became a municipality ( formannskapsdistrikt ) on 1 January 1838. The city functioned as the capital of Norway during the 1814–1905 union between Sweden and Norway . From 1877, the city's name was spelled Kristiania in government usage, a spelling that was adopted by
4544-414: 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. The highest point is Kirkeberget, at 629 m (2,064 ft). Although
4615-412: The total population of this agglomeration was 1,546,706 in 2023. The city centre is situated at the end of the Oslofjord , from which point the city sprawls out in three distinct "corridors"—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). To
4686-442: The valley phase of erosion cycle. This may explain the existence of superimposed streams . There are various terms for landforms that are either alternatives to classical peneplains, a sub-set of peneplains or partially overlap with the term. The last is the case of planation surfaces that may be peneplains or not, while some peneplains are not planation surfaces. In their 2013 work Green, Lidmar-Bergström and co-workers provide
4757-417: The west side, which is dominated by rocky terrain and expanses of bare rock, and the east side, which is much flatter and more heavily vegetated. The climate also varies between the two sides: it is considerably wetter on the west side than on the east, with over 1,000 millimetres (39 in) per year recorded in some parts. The prominent peak of Hårteigen 1,690 m (5,545 ft) is visible across much of
4828-480: The whole city, while the suburb was renamed "Gamlebyen" , literally "the Old town", to avoid confusion. The Old Town is an area within the administrative district Gamle Oslo . The previous names are reflected in street names like Oslo gate (Oslo street) and Oslo hospital. The origin of the name Oslo has been the subject of much debate. It is nigh-certainly derived from Old Norse and was—in all probability—originally
4899-546: The world for living expenses after Tokyo . In 2013, Oslo tied with the Australian city of Melbourne as the fourth most expensive city in the world, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)'s Worldwide Cost of Living study. Oslo was ranked as the 24th most liveable city in the world by Monocle magazine. Oslo's population was increasing at record rates during the early 2000s, making it
4970-425: Was even the sunniest year on record with 2133 sunhours. On 27 July 2018 , the temperature in Oslo rose to 34.6 °C (94.3 °F), the hottest recorded since 1937, when weather recordings started at Blindern. In January, on average three out of four days are below freezing (0 °C [32 °F]) and one out of four days is colder than −10 °C (14 °F) (1961–1990). The coldest temperature recorded
5041-594: Was the first king to reside permanently in the city, and it has been regarded as the capital city of Norway since his reign. He also started the construction of the Akershus Fortress and the Oslo Kongsgård . The Black Death came to Norway in 1349 and, like other cities in Europe, the city suffered greatly. The churches' earnings from their land dropped so much that the Hanseatic traders dominated
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