Romsås is a neighborhood in 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 ...

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 the ...

. Located northeast of

Groruddalen The Grorud Valley ( no, Groruddalen) is a valley and urban area or suburb in the northeastern part of Oslo, the capital of Norway. Four of Oslo's boroughs lie within the Grorud Valley; Bjerke to the west, Alna to the south, Grorud to the north ...

, at the edge of

Lillomarka Lillomarka is an area located to the northeast of Oslo, Norway. It is a part of Oslomarka and serves as a popular recreational area. Lillomarka is bordered by Maridalen and Nordmarka in the west, Nittedal and Gjelleråsen in the east, the suburb ...

, Romsås was formerly its own

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 A ...

but was merged into the larger borough of

Grorud Grorud is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. The borough contains the Ammerud, Grorud, Kalbakken, Rødtvet, Nordtvet and Romsås areas. To the north of the borough is the forest of Lillomarka. The borough is the smallest in Oslo, with fewe ...

on January 1, 2004. The name Romsås originated with the Romsås farm which by 1850 was one of the biggest farms in

Østre Aker Stovner is a borough located to the far north east of the city of Oslo, Norway. Historically, Stovner was the name of a farm in the municipal borough " Østre Aker". Østre Aker merged with Oslo in 1948, both instigated and followed by a massive e ...

History

With the expansion of Oslo after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Oslo kommune granted , a housing company, a permit to build a new borough in 1967. Construction started in 1969. The borough was formally established in 1973.

Subdivisions

Romsås is divided into six ''

borettslag ''Borettslag'' is the legal entity for housing cooperatives in Norway. The company is owned by those who live in the cooperative, the partholders. Each part gives the right to live in the cooperative, and thus in a particular apartment or house. ...

'' named after local geographical features: Orremyr, Emanuelfjell, Svarttjern, Røverkollen, Ravnkollen, and Tiurleiken. There are also six

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

s, two elementary schools, a

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

, an assisted living facility (Romsåslia), and a center (Romsås senter) with

social housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, d ...

, a

retirement home A retirement home – sometimes called an old people's home or old age home, although ''old people's home'' can also refer to a nursing home – is a multi-residence housing facility intended for the elderly. Typically, each person or couple in ...

, shops and services, and a swimming pool. A subway station is located under the center, 50 m below ground level. With the exception of Romsåslia and the church, all buildings are located on the inside of a single road which starts at Grorud and loops back on itself in the shape of an elongated “q”.

Romsås Church

Romsås Church (''Romsås kirke'') is a 220-seat brick church designed in a postmodern style by architect Arne E. Sæther, with an altarpiece by Nina Sundbye. It was built on the ruins of an earlier wooden structure which burned down in 1986, and was inaugurated in 1995. As the site was formerly a landfill, the church has suffered significant subsidence damage since its construction.

References

External links

Romsås Janitsjar
Neighbourhoods of Oslo {{Oslo-geo-stub