Vippetangen is the southern tip of the Akersnes peninsula in central

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 ...

, located southeast of

Akershus Fortress Akershus Fortress ( no, Akershus Festning, ) or Akershus Castle ( no, Akershus slott ) is a medieval castle in the Norwegian capital Oslo that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. Since the Middle Ages the fortress h ...

and bounded on three sides by 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 ...

. It has in the past served as an important part of the port of Oslo. The area is currently undergoing

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

as part of the

Fjord City The Fjord City ( no, Fjordbyen) is an urban renewal project for the waterfront part of the centre of Oslo, Norway. The first redevelopment was at Aker Brygge during the 1980s. Bjørvika and Tjuvholmen followed up during the 2000s, while the r ...

development.

The name

The first element of the name is ''vippe'' (a shortening of ''

vippefyr A ''vippefyr'' or bascule light or tipping lantern was a type of small navigational aid popular in Denmark in the 18th century and before. It consisted of a basket in which wood or coal was set; this was then burned. The basket was affixed to a ...

'', or bascule light: a simple form of lighthouse that once stood there); the second element, ''tangen'', means "the

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, John ...

History

The place has been the location of a military facility and of a

stone quarry In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's o ...

, as well as military and civilian baths. In the 1880s and 1890s there was

ice skating Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be per ...

on the fjord, including the first national championships. The construction of modern dock facilities started in 1899, and on 25 November 1905 Vippetangen was the landing place for

King Haakon VII Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick VI ...

and his family when they arrived from Denmark on the Norwegian warship ''Heimdal'' to assume the Norwegian throne. The port facilities included fishing facilities, docks for international passenger ships, and a grain silo. For more than 60 years grain was transported by

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

via the

Vippetangen Line The Vippetangen Line or the Grain Tram ( no, Korntrikken) is an abandoned line of the Oslo Tramway, Norway, that ran from Tollbugata in the city center to Vippetangen between 1900 and 1967. It was built by Kristiania Kommunale Sporveie (KKS). His ...

to Nedre Foss Mill at

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 traditionally a working class district; however, since the late 20th century the area has increasi ...

. The tram line had been built to Vippetangen by

Kristiania Kommunale Sporveie Kristiania Kommunale Sporveie or KKS, colloquially known as the Red Tramway ( no, Rødtrikken) was a municipal owned company that operated parts of the Oslo Tramway from 1899 to 1905. KKS built and operated three lines, Sagene Ring, the Rodelø ...

in 1900, and remained in service until 1961. The

Oslo Port Line The Oslo Port Line ( no, Havnebanen i Oslo) is an abandoned Norwegian railway that went between the two main railway stations in Oslo, Oslo Østbanestasjon and Oslo Vestbanestasjon. The line was long, single track, but not electrified. The li ...

railway also ran through the area.

Fjord City development

Vippetangen has always been an important

transport hub A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports and ferry slips. F ...

, and remains the main port for passenger ferries in Oslo. This includes the

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

ferry route operated by

Stena Line Stena Line is a Swedish shipping line company and one of the largest ferry operators in the world. It services Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden. Stena Line is a major unit of Ste ...

and

DFDS DFDS is a Danish international shipping and logistics company. It is the busiest shipping company of its kind in Northern Europe and one of the busiest in Europe. The company's name is an abbreviation of Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab (literally ...

, and the

water bus A water taxi or a water bus is a watercraft used to provide public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or o ...

routes operated by

Ruter Ruter AS is the public transport authority for Oslo and Akershus counties in Norway. Formally a limited company – 60% of its shares are owned by the Oslo county municipality and 40% by that of Akershus – it is responsible for the administra ...

to the Oslo Islands—these will remain after the development of the Fjord City as one of two ferry terminals in Oslo. As part of the Fjord City project Ruter is planning to build a new tram line to Vippetangen, following the peninsula around from

Aker Brygge Aker Brygge is a neighbourhood in central Oslo, Norway. Since the 1980s and 1990s it has been a popular area for shopping, dining, and entertainment, as well as a high-end residential area. It was previously an industrial area. Location Aker Bry ...

Bjørvika Bjørvika is a neighborhood in the Sentrum borough of Oslo, Norway. The area is an inlet in the inner Oslofjord, situated between Gamlebyen and Akershus Fortress. It serves as an outlet for the river Akerselva. Since the 2000s, it has been und ...

References

{{coord, 59, 54, 10.386, N, 10, 44, 30.700, E, type:landmark, display=title Neighbourhoods of Oslo Ferry quays in Oslo Fjord City