Ramstad is a district in central

Bærum Bærum () is a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Norway that forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of 128,760 (2021). It is part of the electoral ...

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 ...

. It is known mainly for its school and a former station on the

Drammen Line The Drammen Line ( no, Drammenbanen) is a railway line between Oslo and Drammen, Norway, which was opened on 7 October 1872. It serves all trains west of Oslo Central Station and is owned by Bane NOR. The line opened as a narrow gauge railway, ...

History, geography and transportation

The name Ramstad is based on the men's

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

Ravn, meaning

raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...

. It is taken from the local farm, which dates from the Scandinavian Iron Age. As most farms in the region it belonged to the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...

, but the crown usurped the property following the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. The first private owner was Knud Frantzen in 1668, who at that time owned Nesøygodset. Various owners followed, and in 1772 the farm was parted in two; Upper and Lower Ramstad. The parts were reunited in 1903. Around the same time, the district was being built up with residences. The owner of Ramstad from 1895, Hans Kristoffer Ramstad, started this process by selling lots between the

railway (opened 1872) and the road Drammensveien (now: the

European route E18 European route E18 runs from Craigavon in Northern Ireland to Saint Petersburg in Russia, passing through Scotland, England, Norway, Sweden and Finland. It is about in length. Although the designation implies the possibility of a through jour ...

). The road was built in 1859, and cut across the large field named Ramstadsletta, located south of the farm. Today, Ramstadsletta is an area of commerce, and has a large market garden, a gas station and a Scandic Hotel, among other things. Buses traffic the European route E18. The district was also served by the railway station

Ramstad Ramstad is a district in central Bærum, Norway. It is known mainly for its school and a former station on the Drammen Line. History, geography and transportation The name Ramstad is based on the men's given name Ravn, meaning raven. It is taken ...

on the Drammen Line, which existed between 1931 and 1978 (with no passenger traffic from 1973). The hill Ramstadåsen north of the farm was built up around 1900 as well. The former cotter's farms are Kokkerud and Nygård, north of the farm, were absorbed in this development. The district south of Ramstadsletta, near the

Oslofjord The Oslofjord (, ; en, Oslo Fjord) is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the and lighthouses and down to in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the Nor ...

, was sold in 1877 and built up with villas after 1890 under the name Solvik. Now, only the immediate surroundings of the farm Ramstad has been spared from residential and other building. Reportedly,

Josef Terboven Josef Terboven (23 May 1898 – 8 May 1945) was a Nazi Party official and politician who was the long-serving ''Gauleiter'' of Gau Essen and the ''Reichskommissar'' for Norway during the German occupation. Early life Terboven was born in Essen ...

tried to confiscate a residence in Solvik in 1940, but gave up since the owner was German-born, and took residence at

Skaugum Skaugum is an estate, manor house and the official residence of Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and his wife Crown Princess Mette-Marit. The estate is located in Asker municipality, southwest of Oslo, by the foot of the mountain Skaugumsåsen. T ...

instead. Before the major residential development, a creek ran southwards through the district. The creek was a part of the Bekkestua Watershed, which originated north of

Ringstabekk Ringstabekk is a district in Bærum, Norway. Named after the local farm, the district is also known for its schools and the sports field. The sports club Stabæk IF originates in the area. The farm The district originates from the farm Øvre Stabæ ...

and ran southwest via

Bekkestua Bekkestua is a town in the municipality of Bærum, Norway, with a busy bus terminal and a station on one of Oslo's westbound T-bane lines, Kolsåsbanen. It also has its own library, police station and fire station. It has grown to be the second ...

(giving this settlement its name), Gjønnesmyra and Ballerud. Parts of the former waterway around Bekkestua were used for

Kolsås Line The Kolsås Line ( no, Kolsåsbanen) is a line of the Oslo Metro. It branches off from the Røa Line at Smestad Station and runs through western Oslo and Bærum to Kolsås Station. It serves the neighborhoods of Ullernåsen, Øraker, Jar, Bek ...

tracks. Near Nybråtan the creek turned more straight southwards. This section of the creek was named Ramstadbekken. At Ramstadsletta there was a confluence with a small creek that ran northwards. From Ramstadsletta it followed a path west and slightly south. A part of this path is identical to the current European route E18, but after passing what is today the market garden it turned more distinctly southwest before reaching its mouth in the Oslofjord at Solvik. Today, the entire Bekkestua Watershed has been led underground through a pipe system.

Education and sports

Ramstad is known to many due to its lower secondary school of the same name. It was erected between 1962 and August 1963, on the property Nybråtan south of Ramstadåsen. Before the school building was finished, pupils were tutored at the schools Gjettum and Blommenholm. Between 1964 and 1972 it was a combined lower and upper secondary school. By 2005 it had 520 pupils and a staff of 65. The school is noted for having an adjacent swimming pool, very uncommon in schools in the region. Ramstad Lower Secondary School serves the districts of Ramstad, Solvik,

Høvik Høvik is a suburban area in the municipality of Bærum, Viken, Norway, in the Oslo metropolitan area. Mainly a residential area, its population (2005) is 4,311. It is normal to divide Høvik into two parts; Nedre (lower) and Øvre (upper). Hø ...

, Høvik Verk,

Blommenholm Blommenholm is a district in the municipality of Bærum, Norway. Its population (2007) is 2,936.Løkeberg, parts of

Haslum Haslum is a district in the municipality of Bærum, Norway. Its population (2007) is 6,041.Ekeberg Ekeberg is a neighborhood in the city of Oslo, Norway. The Norway Cup soccer tournament takes place at Ekebergsletta every summer. "Sletta" means "the plain". The painting "The Scream" by Edvard Munch is painted from Utsikten ("the view"), a p ...

, Gjønnes and Ballerud. The only local sports club is the gymnastics club Ramstad Turn, founded in 1965. Non-gymnasts tend to practice sports in the multi-sport clubs Høvik IF or Haslum IL.

References

{{Reflist Bærum