Årvoll is a

residential community A residential community is a community, usually a small town or city, that is composed mostly of residents, as opposed to commercial businesses and/or industrial facilities, all three of which are considered to be the three main types o ...

situated in the Bjerke district of

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It was here that

anti-Nazi Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

activists

Viggo Hansteen Harald Viggo Hansteen (13 September 1900 – 10 September 1941) was a Norway, Norwegian lawyer. He was executed during the Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany. Biography Harald Viggo Hansteen was born in Oslo, Norway. As a student he was ...

and

Rolf Wickstrøm Rolf Wickstrøm (9 December 1912 in Oslo, Norway – 10 September 1941) was a Norwegian labour activist and a victim of the German occupation of Norway during World War II. Wickstrøm grew up in a working-class family. In 1935 he was hired as ...

– the first two Norwegians to be executed by the Nazis during the five-year

German occupation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

– lost their lives on 10 September 1941.

History

Årvoll takes its name from the ancient Årvoll farm dating back to 1350, which still stands in the centre of today's community. During the Nazi occupation of Norway in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, a state of emergency was declared in Oslo by the German occupation authorities due to the Milk strike. During this, Viggo Hansteen and Rolf Wickstrøm, whom were vocally anti-Nazi, were arrested and found guilty before a Nazi tribunal. They were both executed by firing squad in Årvoll as the first Norwegians to be executed by the Nazis. After the war, a memorial to them was erected in 1955 on the place where they were shot.

Buildings and amenities

Årvoll is made up of a mix of four-floor

apartment buildings An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement ( Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) t ...

terraced housing A terrace in agriculture is a flat surface that has been cut into hills or mountains to provide areas for the cultivation for crops, as a method of more effective farming. Terrace agriculture or cultivation is when these platforms are created s ...

, and

maisonette Maisonette (also maisonnette) or Maisonettes may refer to: * A type of apartment * The Maisonette, a former restaurant in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States * The Maisonettes, an English band * Maisonnette, New Brunswick * Pointe de Maisonnette (N ...

s. It has a small

shopping center A shopping center in American English, shopping centre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences), shopping complex, shopping arcade, ...

containing a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

, doctors' offices, pharmacy,

grocery A grocery store (American English, AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop (British English, BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food Product (business), products, which may be Fresh food, fresh or Food p ...

florist Floristry is the production, commerce, and trade in flowers. It encompasses flower care and handling, floral design and arrangement, merchandising, production, display and flower delivery. Wholesale florists sell bulk flowers and related s ...

, and a small café. There is extensive access to

public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

ation, and the center of Oslo can be reached in 15 minutes or less by bus,

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

, or

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

. The community's children attend Årvoll School, which was opened in 1955. Tonsen Church is located in Årvoll. The local multi-sports team is

Årvoll IL Årvoll Idrettslag is a Norwegian sports club from Årvoll, Bjerke, Oslo. It has sections for association football, team handball, volleyball, orienteering and Nordic skiing. It was founded on 16 October 1932. The club colors are red and blue. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arvoll Neighbourhoods of Oslo