Aker, Norway
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Aker was a former independent municipality in
Akershus Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...
,
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 ...
, that constitutes the vast majority of the territory of the modern 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 ...
. The name originally belonged to a farm which was located near the current
Old Aker Church Old Aker Church () is a medieval era church located in Oslo, Norway. An active parish, the church is the oldest existing building in Oslo. The church is surrounded by Old Aker Cemetery. History Old Aker Church was built as a three-naved Romane ...
. The church in turn became the source of the name of the parish and later municipality as well as
Akershus Fortress Akershus Fortress (, ) or Akershus Castle ( ) 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 has been the namesake and centre of the ...
, the main fief and main county of Akershus which included most of
Eastern Norway Eastern Norway (, ) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Oslo, Akershus, Vestfold, Østfold, Buskerud, Telemark, and Innlandet. Eastern Norway is by far the most populous region of Norw ...
until 1919, the smaller county of Akershus, and numerous institutions within this area. The Aker municipality was in terms of population by far the largest municipality of Akershus county. It surrounded the capital city of Christiania (renamed Oslo in 1925) until 1948; Aker was 27 times larger than the capital it surrounded. In the late 19th century Aker ceded some of its territory to Christiania, and in 1948 Aker completely merged with the Oslo municipality to create the modern, vastly enlarged Oslo municipality. The merger was unpopular in Aker, which at the time was an affluent suburban community. The Aker name remains in use in two districts of Oslo,
Vestre Aker Vestre Aker (Western Aker) is a List of boroughs of Oslo, borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. It has a population of 50,157 as of 2020. The previous Aker Municipality was merged into the city of Oslo in 1948. The borough of Vestre Aker was org ...
and
Nordre Aker Nordre Aker (Northern Aker) is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. History This area became part of the city of Oslo in 1948. Before that it was a part of the former Aker municipality in Akershus county. Demographics and housing With a pop ...
, which are only a small part of the former Aker municipality.


History

Akers Herred had 6,375 inhabitants in 1769, and this number increased to 7,600 in 1801. Aker was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see
formannskapsdistrikt () was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863. The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...
). It was subdivided in 1861 into Østre and Vestre Aker, and in 1906 was further subdivided into
Ullern Ullern is a List of boroughs of Oslo, borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. History The borough has its name from an old farm, Old Norse language, Norse ''Ullarin''. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the Norse god Ullr. The l ...
and Nordstrand. On 1 January 1948 Aker municipality was incorporated into 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 ...
. The municipality had 135,000 inhabitants and included the residential areas of
Ullern Ullern is a List of boroughs of Oslo, borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. History The borough has its name from an old farm, Old Norse language, Norse ''Ullarin''. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the Norse god Ullr. The l ...
,
Vestre Aker Vestre Aker (Western Aker) is a List of boroughs of Oslo, borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. It has a population of 50,157 as of 2020. The previous Aker Municipality was merged into the city of Oslo in 1948. The borough of Vestre Aker was org ...
,
Østre Aker Stovner (traditionally pronounced Stomner) is a borough located to the far north east of the city of Oslo, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Nor ...
and Nordstrand, as well as the outlying areas were all incorporated into Oslo. Since the city of Christiania was founded in 1624, Aker had been the source of territory for expansion of the city. The first expansion came as early as 1629, when a number of farms were transferred into the Bymarken area of the city. Bymarken was the land that surrounded Christiania until the city expansion in 1859. Bymarken was a commons in which citizens could engage in agriculture to their own housekeeping, and provide summer and winter fodder for livestock. Bymarken lay under the city's civil administration, but for ecclesiastical purposes remained part of Aker's parish. Aker borders Bymarken on the west side of the Skillebekken, a former suburb of Oslo and on the east side, the river
Akerselva The Akerselva or Akerselven () is a river which flows through Oslo, Norway. It starts at Maridalsvannet in Oslomarka, and traverses the boroughs of Nordre Aker, Sagene, Grünerløkka, central Oslo and Grønland, finally ending at Paulsenkai ...
. The entirety of Bymarken and portions of the
Akerselva The Akerselva or Akerselven () is a river which flows through Oslo, Norway. It starts at Maridalsvannet in Oslomarka, and traverses the boroughs of Nordre Aker, Sagene, Grünerløkka, central Oslo and Grønland, finally ending at Paulsenkai ...
were incorporated into the city in 1859. Adjustments were made again in 1878 and Aker was finally fully incorporated into Oslo in 1948.


The name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Aker farms (''Store Aker'' and ''Lille Aker'') (
Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
: ''Akr''), since the first church was built there (see Gamle Aker kirke). The name is identical with the word ''akr'' meaning 'field, acre'. Many fields were considered holy in Norse times, and several were dedicated to the old
Norse gods Norse is a demonym for Norsemen, a Medieval North Germanic ethnolinguistic group ancestral to modern Scandinavians, defined as speakers of Old Norse from about the 9th to the 13th centuries. Norse may also refer to: Culture and religion * Nors ...
– see for instance Torsåker,
Ullensaker Ullensaker is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Jessheim. I ...
and
Ringsaker Ringsaker () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Hedmarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Br ...
.


Notable residents

(Note that all residents are from when Aker was an independent city.) * Jonas Axel Boeck (1833–1873),
marine biologist Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms that inhabit the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology clas ...
specializing on northern
amphipods Amphipoda () is an order (biology), order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods () range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 10,700 amphip ...
and
herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...
* Andrine Christensen (1814–1853), actress and dancer * Fredrik Hiorth (1851–1923), engineer and industrialist * Marta Sandal (1878–1930), singer * Thor Hiorth Schøyen (1885–1961), entomologist


See also

*
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 B ...


References and notes

{{Authority control Aker History of Oslo Aker