Grünerløkka is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

of the city of

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) 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 in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. Grünerløkka became part of the city of Oslo (then Christiania) in 1858. Grünerløkka was traditionally a

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

district; however, since the late 20th century the area has increasingly undergone

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...

. Although it is located in the

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

, it is more expensive than other parts of the East End.

Etymology

The first element was derived from the surname ''Grüner''. The last element is the

definite In linguistics, definiteness is a semantic feature of noun phrases, distinguishing between referents or senses that are identifiable in a given context (definite noun phrases) and those which are not (indefinite noun phrases). The prototypical d ...

form of ''løkke'', meaning "

paddock A paddock is a small enclosure for horses. In the United Kingdom, this term also applies to a field for a general automobile racing competition, particularly Formula 1. Description In Canada and the United States of America, a paddock is a small ...

". Grünerløkka was named after Friedrich Grüner (1628-1674) who served as chief administrator (''Oberhauptmann'') and the master of the mint (''myntmester'') at Christiania from 1651 until his death in 1674. Grüner purchased the Kings Mill (''Kongens mølle'') and surrounding acreage in the area from King

Christian V of Denmark Christian V (15 April 1646 25 August 1699) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the decree ...

in 1672.

History

Thorvald Meyer Thorvald Meyer (23 September 1818 – 3 February 1909) was a Norwegian businessman and philanthropist. He was a wholesaler, retailer and shipowner as well as a land owner and developer. Biography Meyer was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norwa ...

(1818–1909) bought parts of the Grünerløkka area in 1861. The industrialist built the main street of Grünerløkka, now named Thorvald Meyers gate. 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 Akerselva or Akerselven ( en, Aker River) is a river which flows through Oslo. It starts at Maridalsvannet in Oslomarka, and traverses the boroughs of Nordre Aker, Sagene, Grünerløkka, central Oslo and Grønland, whereby it finally ends at P ...

River. Christiania Seildugsfabrikk from 1856 and Aktieselskapet Herkules from 1898 were two of the factories established. Grünerløkka is located with the parish of Paulus Church (''Paulus kirke''). In 1866, Paulus parish had a total population of 13,600. By 1900, the parish population had risen to 22,000. At that time, only five streets in Oslo had a population above 3000. Of these, three were located in Grünerløkka: Markveien, Thorvald Meyers gate and Toftes gate. In 1864, a square meter had been priced at about 30 Norwegian shilling Active selling of property started in 1865. However, even as

offered low-priced land, almost no one bought any of it until after 1868. The park square called

Olaf Ryes plass Olaf Ryes plass (lit. "Olaf Rye's Square") is a square and park placed centrally in the Grünerløkka borough of Oslo, Norway. It is more or less square in shape. History The area belonged to the municipality of Aker, Norway, Aker until 1858, whe ...

has its name from Norwegian-Danish General

Olaf Rye Olaf Rye (16 November 1791 – 6 July 1849) was a Denmark–Norway, Norwegian-Danish military officer. He died in battle during the First Schleswig War and is considered to have been a Danish war hero. Biography Olaf Rye was born at Bø, Tele ...

(1791–1849). It was an open field well into the 1880s. The property was bought by

kommune from members of the Grüner family in 1883. A narrow diagonal street was built which led from Markveien to Thorvald Meyers gate. It had a stopping spot for horses and carriages at the middle point. This section is now a pedestrian park square.

Politics

As a borough of Oslo, Grünerløkka is governed by the city council of Oslo as well as its own borough council. The council leader is Geir Jensen from the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

and the deputy leader is Vemund Rundberget, of the Labour Party. The Green Party has the most seats. The 15 seats are distributed among the following

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...

for the 2019-2023 term: * 4 from the

(Miljøpartiet de Grønne) * 3 from the Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) * 3 from the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

(Høyre) * 2 from the Red Party (Rødt) * 2 from the Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti) * 1 from the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

(Venstre)

Sports

The neighbourhood has its own sports club, Grüner, which was founded in 1914 with

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

as the most important activities. Grüner Fotball plays its home games at Dælenenga idrettspark and currently is part of the third division of the Norwegian football system. The ice hockey team plays the home games at Grünerhallen.

Notable landmarks

* Sportsklubben av 1909 * Alexander Kiellands plass (Oslo) * Åmodt bro * Ankerbrua * Ankertorget *

Birkelunden Birkelunden (lit. 'The Birch Grove') is a park placed centrally in the Grünerløkka borough of Oslo, Norway. It is formed as a rectangle, more or less like a city block. History The area belonged to the municipality of Aker until 1858, when it wa ...

Blå Blå ("Blue") is a jazz club in Grünerløkka, Oslo, Norway. Blå opened on February 28, 1998; the initiators were Kjell Einar Karlsen and Martin Revheim. It is located in factory building close to Akerselva, a river running through downtown. D ...

* Foss Brewery * Foss videregående skole * Freia * Frydenberg * Grünerhallen * Keyserløkka *

Kulturkirken Jakob Kulturkirken Jakob (in English St. James Church of Culture) is a church in Oslo, Norway, designed by architect Georg Andreas Bull and built in 1880. The original name of the Church was St James's Church or Jakobs kirke. The church is named after t ...

Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo The Oslo National Academy of the Arts ( no, Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo, ''KHiO'') is a university college in Oslo, Norway, that provides education in visual arts, design and performing arts. It is one of two public institutes of higher learning in N ...

Qadis A qāḍī ( ar, قاضي, Qāḍī; otherwise transliterated as qazi, cadi, kadi, or kazi) is the magistrate or judge of a '' sharīʿa'' court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and mino ...

Parkteatret Parkteatret is a theater located at Olaf Ryes plass 11, Grünerløkka in Oslo, Norway. It was established in 1907 as a cinema originally by the name "Kristiania Bryggeri Grünerløkkens Kinematograf". Parkteatret is renowned as an urban cultural ...

* Paulus kirke * Prinds Christian Augusts Minde *

Ring 2 (Oslo) Ring 2, sometimes called Kirkeveiringen and until 2010 officially known as National Road 161 ( no, Riksvei 161), and now also officially County road 161 ( no, Fylkesvei 161), is an important ring road and surface street through densely populated ...

Sagene ring The Sagene Line ( no, Sagenelinjen) is a former line of the Oslo Tramway in Norway. It ran from Stortorvet in the city center along Akersgata and Ullevålsveien through the neighborhood of St. Hanshaugen. It then continued along Colletts gate, ...

* Schou Brewery * Sinsenkrysset * Sofienberg * Sofienberg kirke * Sofienberg Park

Gallery

Olaf Ryes plass sommer.JPG, The park at

View from siloen.jpg, View from "silo" (Marselis gate 24) to the northeast of Grünerløkka Thvmeyersgt 2005.jpg, Tram at market day in Thorvald Meyers gate Markveien.jpg, Markveien

References

Other sources

*Tvedt, Knut Are, ed (2000). "Grünerløkka" in ''Oslo byleksikon'' (Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. 4th ed. pp. 170–171)

External links

Grünerløkka, official website
(City of Oslo)
Guide to Grünerløkka
visitoslo.com
Munch's Grünerløkka
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grunerlokka Boroughs of Oslo Working class in Europe