Bjørvika is a neighborhood in the
Sentrum borough 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. The area is an inlet in the inner
Oslofjord
The Oslofjord (, ; ) is an inlet in southeastern Norway. The fjord begins at the small village of Bonn in Frogn, Frogn Municipality and stretching northwards to the city of Oslo, and then curving to the east and then south again. It then flows s ...
, situated between
Gamlebyen and
Akershus Fortress. It serves as an outlet for the river
Akerselva. Since the 2000s, it has been undergoing
urban redevelopment, being transformed from a container port. When completed, the Bjørvika neighborhood will be a new cultural and urban center in Oslo. The multi-purpose medium-rises of the
Barcode Project dominates the skyline to the north; to the east the residential area of
Sørenga is under construction. The
National Opera is located at Bjørvika, and both the
Oslo Public Library and the
Munch/Stenersen museum are situated in this neighbourhood, the latter replacing the old
Munch Museum in 2020.
Name
The
Norse form of the name was ''Bjárvík''. The first element is the
genitive
In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can ...
of ''býr'', "town, city" (modern
Norwegian ''by''); the last element is ''vík'', "inlet, bay."
History
Oslo was first established in the 11th century in the area around where the
Alna River flows into the
Oslofjord
The Oslofjord (, ; ) is an inlet in southeastern Norway. The fjord begins at the small village of Bonn in Frogn, Frogn Municipality and stretching northwards to the city of Oslo, and then curving to the east and then south again. It then flows s ...
, due to the strategic location both with regard to transport, trade and military. The place became the seat of a bishop in 1100. By 1300, the population had reached about 3000. Construction of
Akershus Fortress started in 1299. At the time, the city was mainly made of wooden buildings, and had six churches, three monasteries and two manors: one for the king and one for the bishop. The city declined during the 15th and 16th century. Following the
reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
in 1537, the economic base of the city fell away, and the city was repeatedly struck by fire.
Following the 1624 fire,
King Christian IV ordered a new city plan, and changed the name of the city from Oslo to Christiania, in his own honor. A square city grid was introduced, and the first brick buildings were built. The city grew as an important port for lumber export, and the Bjørvika area east of the city developed with port facilities. By 1801, the city had 8900 residents.
From 1814, Christiania became the capital of Norway, which had regained partial independence from Denmark and entered a union with Sweden. Industrialization started in 1840, initially along the
Aker River. The population grew rapidly, and new infrastructure was built. Commercial activities increased, and in 1854 the railway station was opened, connecting Christiania to Lake
Mjøsa via the
Hoved Line. In 1835, the population was 18,000; by 1890, it had reached 151,000. From 1878, the Oslofjord was kept permanently open with
icebreakers. By 1900, Kristiania was the leading shipping city in the nation, and among the most important in the world.
In 1960, sales of cars exploded following the deregulation of sales. A new road system through Bjørvika was opened in 1970. Ten years later, the
Oslo Tunnel connected the city's two railway networks together. Starting in the 1960s,
containerization
Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers, or International Organization for Standardization, ISO containers). Containerization, also referred as container stuf ...
and
automation
Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, mainly by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machine ...
became leading trends in the development of the port technology. The steady construction of new roads and port facilities created a physical and visual barrier that hindered Oslo from having access to the waterfront.
European route E18
European route E18 runs between Craigavon, County Armagh, Craigavon in Northern Ireland and Saint Petersburg in Russia, passing through Scotland, England, Norway, Sweden and Finland. It is about in length.
Although the designation implies the ...
took up of waterfront,
until the
Bjørvika Tunnel opened in May 2010.
Archaeological findings
Archaeologists discovered six medieval ships at least 500 years old in April 2019 in the modern Bjørvika district in connection with urban refinement and the construction of a high-speed railway. The ships date back the 1300s-1600s. The project manager and archaeologist of the
Norwegian Maritime Museum, Elling Utvik Wammer, noted that the findings are unique in Norway and called them "an archaeological fairytale". The last ship found here in ten meters long is reportedly a cargo ship of the 16th century. Another archaeologist Marja-Liisa Grue supposes that it could be used to carry stones to nearby
Akershus Fortress. The archaeologist team believe that the findings will light upon the great city fire of 1624 and the little-known period named
Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
in Norway history.
Fjord City
Bjørvika is being redeveloped as part of the Fjord City plans for the Oslo waterfront. In 2010, the Bjørvika Tunnel was completed, and in 2012,
Bispelokket and the rest of the remaining E18 was removed. A new avenue, Dronning Eufemias gate, is constructed along the current route of Bispegata. It will serve as a main route for public transport, and the
Ekeberg Line of the
Oslo Tramway is planned to be rerouted along the avenue in 2018/2019. The area is just south of
Oslo Central Station, and can also be reached via the
Oslo T-bane at
Jernbanetorget.
HAV Eiendom, a subsidiary of the
Oslo Port Authority, is responsible for developing the area. When finished, it will have 4–5,000 apartments and about 20,000 jobs. In addition, several major cultural institutions will be located in Bjørvika. It is estimated that 30,000 people will travel to the neighborhood each day.
In 2008, the
Oslo Opera House opened at Bjørvika. Costing and built by
Statsbygg, it was designed by
Snøhetta. Bjørvika was preferred as a location over
Vestbanen. The opera is in size and has a large, slanting roof open to the public. In 2008, the
Norwegian Parliament also decided to build the
Munch Museum, the
Stenersen Museum and the
Oslo Public Library at Bjørvika to form a new cultural center.
Between Dronning Eufemias gate and the central station are twelve medium-rise buildings, up to 22 stories tall. These have officially been christened the
Barcode Buildings. The first, the offices of
PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC, is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom.
It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, alon ...
, was completed in 2007. The last building was completed in 2016. The height of the buildings created a heated debate.
Sports
Bjørvika SK is the local sports club established in 2009. They currently field a soccer team that plays in the Oslo Fotballkrets 8 division.
Economy
The head office of
Avinor is located in Bjørvika, on the sea side of
Oslo Central Station.
[Contact us]
." Avinor. Retrieved on 9 March 2010.
See also
*
Bjørvika tram stop
*
Bjørvika Tunnel
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bjorvika
Neighbourhoods of Oslo
Fjord City