Økern was a farm in the former municipality of Aker, Norway, and is currently a district in the borough of Bjerke in the city 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 ...

. It includes the neighborhoods of Refstad, Risløkka, Brobekk, Nordre Hovin, Aker Sykehus, Bjerkebanen, and Økern Senter.

Infrastructure

The district is served by the

Grorud Line The Grorud Line () is a line on the Oslo Metro between Tøyen (station), Tøyen and Vestli (station), Vestli in Oslo, Norway. Built as a mix of underground, at ground level and as an elevated line, it runs through the northern part of Groruddale ...

of the

Oslo Metro The Oslo Metro ( or or simply ) is the rapid transit system of Oslo, Norway, operated by Sporveien T-banen on contract from the transit authority Ruter. The network consists of five lines that all run through the city centre, with a total leng ...

. A larger business centre is located near the Økern Station. Among the institutions at Økern is the headquarters of the

Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund The Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund () is a government agency that allocates loans and grants to Norwegian and certain foreign students for their education. Lånekassen was established in 1947. Lånekassen is organized under the Ministry o ...

. The Alna Line, used for freight trains between the

Trunk Line In telecommunications, trunking is a technology for providing network access to multiple clients simultaneously by sharing a set of circuits, carriers, channels, or frequencies, instead of providing individual circuits or channels for each clie ...

and the

Gjøvik Line The Gjøvik Line () is a Norwegian railway line between Oslo and Gjøvik. It was originally named the North Line (''Nordbanen'') and ran between Grefsen and Røykenvik. The line was completed to Gjøvik in 1902. The Gjøvik Line was one of t ...

, from

Alnabru Alnabru is a neighbourhood of north-eastern Oslo. It lies in the middle of the southern part of the Grorud valley (Groruddalen). The name – which means "Alna bridge" – comes from that of the Alna River, from which are also derived the name ...

Grefsen image:Grefsen kirke 20080531-1.jpg, thumbnail, 250px, Grefsen Church Grefsen is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway. Grefsen was a part of the municipality of Aker, Norway, Aker before the Second World War, later incorporated into Oslo. ...

, passes through Økern, close to the business centre of ''Økernsenteret''.

History

The farm of Økern was among the oldest in the former municipality of Aker. The earliest preserved document where Økern is mentioned dates back to 1279. In the 13th century the farm was owned by landowner

Audun Hugleiksson Audun Hugleiksson (Hestakorn) ({{circa 1240 – 2 December 1302) was a Norwegian nobleman at the end of the 13th century. He was the king's right hand, both under King Magnus Lagabøte and King Eirik Magnusson. He was seen as an important poli ...

, and it later became a property of the Church. Among the owners from the 17th century onwards were

Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve, Landgrave of Laurvig (20 July 1638 – 17 April 1704) was the illegitimate son of Frederick III of Denmark-Norway. A good relationship to his half brother, Christian V, secured him a position as one of the leading stat ...

(from 1679), Lauritz Jacobsssøn Falch, Paul Peterssøn Vogt, Ole Christopher Wessel, Peter Collett and

Ludvig Mariboe Ludvig Mariboe (12 October 1781 – 19 June 1841) was a Norwegian businessman, publisher and politician. References 1781 births 1841 deaths Norwegian businesspeople Members of the Storting 1833–1835 Members of the Storting 1830–1 ...

(who lived at the farm until his death in 1841). ''Økernveien'', an old road to the former city border, was named after the farm in 1879. In the 19th century the farm was split off into several smaller units, and from 1910 onwards small residential houses were built in the northern part of Økern. Land owner Anton Tschudi parceled out both parts of the farm of Økern and other properties in Aker. The road ''Anton Tschudis vei'' at Økern was named after him in 1925. Standard Telefon- og Kabelfabrikk 1952

In 1915 the factory ''Skandinaviske Kabel- og Gummifabriker'' was established at Økern, and production started in 1919. The factory was eventually acquired by the

ITT Corporation ITT Inc., formerly ITT Corporation, is an American worldwide manufacturing company based in Stamford, Connecticut. The company produces specialty components for the aerospace, transportation, energy and industrial markets. ITT's three businesses ...

and renamed

Standard Telephones and Cables Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd (later STC public limited company, plc) was a British manufacturer of telephone, telegraph, radio, telecommunications, and related equipment. During its history, STC invented and developed several groundbreakin ...

from 1934. Cable manufacturing in Oslo was terminated in 1992. The municipality of Oslo bought the rest of the farm in 1938. After

World War II 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 ...

the property was further developed with apartments, business and industry. Central participants in the development of Økern in the 1950s were architect Gunnar Schultz and building contractor Nils Stian Stiansen. Økernbråten I had 385 apartments plus kindergarten, and Økernbråten II consisted of eleven blocks with 290 apartments; constructed between 1955 and 1959. In ''Brobekkveien'' a nine-floor block with shops, offices and apartments was finished in 1957. The

housing cooperative A housing cooperative, or housing co-op, is a legal entity which owns real estate consisting of one or more residential buildings. The entity is usually a cooperative or a corporation and constitutes a form of housing tenure. Typically hou ...

of Kroklia

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. A ...

, ten

terraced house A terrace, terraced house ( UK), or townhouse ( US) is a type of medium-density housing which first started in 16th century Europe with a row of joined houses sharing side walls. In the United States and Canada these are sometimes known as row ...

s with a total of forty apartments, was completed in 1960. In 2021 Kloden, a theatre for children and youth, opened.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Okern Neighbourhoods of Oslo Farms in Norway