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OSLO

EXPLAINED: Why is Oslo called Oslo?

Oslo hasn’t always been called Oslo. It was formerly called Christiania and later Kristiania. Here’s how the capital got its current name and what it means. 

Pictured is a view of Oslo from Ekeberg.
This is how Oslo became to be known by Oslo. Pictured is a view of Oslo from Ekeberg. Photo by Barnabas Davoti on Unsplash

Norway’s capital, Oslo, is home to plenty of interesting history. During this time, it has seen several name changes. 

Originally, it was founded under the name Ánslo and Áslo – these names for the city date back to the Middle Ages – and later Óslo or Opslo. The ás element may refer to the Ekeberg ridge southeast of the medieval town. 

In modern Norwegian, ås is a common component of Norwegian place names, such as Åsnes. This means that the original name may have meant “the meadow beneath the ridge”. 

Another interpretation could also be “meadow of the gods”. However, the word ás referring to gods is rare in place names. 

It was wrongly put forward that the name may draw from a lost name of the Alna river. However, this has been debunked. 

By the time it became the official Norwegian capital in 1314, the spelling had evolved to Oslo. Around 3,000 people were living in the medieval town around this time, and King Håkon V became the first king to live in Oslo.

Becoming Christiania 

A fire in 1624 consumed much of the medieval city, with Akershus Fortress being the only notable building to survive the inferno. 

The king of Denmark and Norway at the time, Christian VI, decided that the city should be rebuilt, but this time to the west of Akerhus Fortress.

Due to the medieval town being located underneath the Ekeberg ridge, eastern parts of the city are referred to as Gamlebyen, meaning old Oslo and the old town.

As customary at the time, Christian bestowed his name upon the new town and it thus became Christiania. 

This name would remain for over 200 years until 1877. During that time, language reform had swept over Norway. There were numerous attempts to Norwegiansise the language. During this period, the two official written languages of Norway, Bokmål and Nynorsk, were adopted and eventually given official status. 

Spelling reform meant ch was commonly changed with k. This meant that Christiania became Kristiania. Christiansund, in the south, also became Kristiansund, and Christiansand became Kristiansand.

Around this time, the city itself was still located firmly in the west. However, maps from the town refer to the area east of the river as Opslo. Meanwhile, the newspaper Aftenposten published a map in 1923 which labelled the eastern suburb of the city as “Oslo”. 

The village of Oslo was included as part of the Oslo region after expansions in 1859 and 1878. 

Name change back to Oslo 

The whole of the city would officially be called Oslo from July 11th 1924. This decision came into force in 1925. When the entirety of Oslo as it is known today was renamed, the eastern side was referred to as Gamlebyen

The former square of Christian VI’s city was renamed after him, and the former area of Christian VI’s city, known for its straight streets and right angles, is now known as Kvadraturen

What about the Tiger City? 

Oslo has sometimes been referred to as the Tiger City, but this isn’t a super common moniker. The city was called Tigerstaden (the City of Tigers) by the author Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson due to his perception of the city as cold and dangerous. 

The now famous tiger statue outside Oslo Central Station stands to honour the nickname. 

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OSLO

Everything you need to know about Oslo’s public transport network

Buses, trams, ferries and a metro system all make up Oslo's public transport system. Here's what you need to know to get about the Norwegian capital.

Everything you need to know about Oslo's public transport network

Being the Norwegian capital, it’s no surprise that Oslo has a robust public transport network. You can use a public transport ticket for everything from ferries and buses to trams and trains.

One company, Ruter, handles public transport for the city and the surrounding Akershus area.

Thankfully, you’ll only need a single app or travel card to get around the city. This applies to the different forms of public transport, too. You can go from a bus to a tram to a ferry without having to use a different app or purchase a different kind of ticket.

The Ruter app is the only place to buy tickets digitally, and it is available in English. This app also has integrated map features so you can find the best way to get where you need to be and what zones your ticket will cover.

When it comes to the zones themselves, there are five. The cost of a ticket increases as you travel across zones. However, the main thing to know is that zone one covers the entirety of Oslo itself, and the other zones extend into the surrounding areas of Oslo.

Furthermore, some sections of the public transport network, such as the metro, only operate in zone one, so you don’t need to worry when buying tickets.

Tickets

Ruter offers tickets for single journeys, 24 hours, a week, 30 days, or a year. For those commuting inside and out of Oslo, you can add additional zones to the ticket.

The single ticket currently costs 42 kroner for an adult travelling in one zone . There is a flexible scheme currently in place which makes single tickets cheaper the more frequently you buy them.

This discount resets every 30 days. There are also discounts for children, pensioners, and those in the Norwegian Armed Forces.

A single ticket is valid for 60 minutes and allows unlimited transfers. The ticket duration is extended for every extra zone one travels through. For example, this is handy if you are taking a regional train from the airport to the city centre.

Meanwhile, a 24-hour ticket costs 127 kroner, a monthly ticket is 897 kroner (but will soon be reduced), and an annual ticket is 8,996 kroner. The longer the duration of the ticket, the more money you will save.

Those caught travelling without a ticket will typically be fined 1,470 kroner, or 1,200 kroner if the fine is paid on the spot.

The different transport options

There are two kinds of buses in Oslo: the red ones that operate solely in the city and the green ones that shuttle people in and out of the greater Oslo region.

You can get on the red buses at any of the doors, and some of the green ones need you to show your ticket at the front door.

Buses don’t operate 24/7. However, some of the most important routes will have a nighttime schedule.

There are also six tram lines in Oslo, with around 99 stops and 130,000 daily passengers. The trams are suitable for those with mobility issues as the doors open at pavement level. Most lines remain within Oslo, but line 13 ends in Bekkestua in Bærum, one of the municipalities that borders Oslo.

Oslo’s metro, or T-bane, is popular with both commuters and leisure travellers. There are five metro lines, and all lines converge in the city centre via a shared tunnel. The metro line is particularly good at connecting the city to its forested areas, with plenty of hikes and trails branching off from metro stops.

Passenger ferries connect the city to the islands in the Oslofjord. These ferries are a stone’s throw from Oslo town hall at Aker Brygge. There are also commuter ferries connecting Oslo and towns like Nessoden and Drøbak.

Several commuter train lines exist in Norway. In recent years, these have been plagued by punctuality issues.

Regional trains in Norway carry the R designation (the R11, for example), and you can use Ruter tickets for this. An example is using a Ruter ticket to take the cheaper regional trains from the airport to Oslo rather than the express service.

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