Lillestrøm is a town located some 18 km (11 mi) east-northeast of Oslo, the capital city of Norway. With a population of 14,379 inhabitants (18,805 including Kjeller),[1] it is the administrative centre of Lillestrøm Municipality in Akershus County, and lies within the traditional district of Romerike.
Lillestrøm | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Square in central Lillestrøm | |
  Lillestrøm Location within Norway | |
| Coordinates: 59°57′N 11°05′E / 59.950°N 11.083°E | |
| Country | Norway |
| County | Akershus |
| District | Romerike |
| Municipality | Lillestrøm |
| Elevation | 109 m (358 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 2000-2004 |
Etymology
editThe name means "the little [part of] Strøm", Strøm being the name of an old and large farm (Old Norse: straumr, which also meant "stream" as well).
History
editLillestrøm's history dates back to the times river powered sawmills came into use for the production of building materials. Later Lillestrøm got its own steam sawmill which laid the base for the development of the area that became the town. The area was, by and large, a moss covered swamp-like area, at the time considered almost uninhabitable. However, the almost non-existent property values were judged to be a fair exchange and so the workers started living and settling in the area around the sawmill, and Lillestrøm was born.[citation needed]
On 1 January 1908 Lillestrøm became a municipality of its own, having been split from Skedsmo. At that time Lillestrøm municipality had a population of 4,351[citation needed]. On 1 January 1962 the two municipalities were reunited under the name Skedsmo. Before the merger Lillestrøm municipality had a population of 10,840.[2]
In 1997, Skedsmo municipal council declared Lillestrøm to be a town (by) in its own right (an honorary status which has no effect upon the organization of local government). The event is commemorated annually with a 4-day street fair.
In 2020, Skedsmo was merged with the neighbouring municipalities Sørum and Fet to form a new municipality named Lillestrøm.
Transport
editRoad
editNorwegian national road 159 is a four-lane motorway connecting central Lillestrøm and Oslo. The E6 motorway bypasses Lillestrøm a few kilometres to the west on its way from Oslo to the north of the country. National road 22, running from northwest to southeast, passes through the north of the town.
Rail
editLillestrøm is connected to Oslo by three separate railway lines. The Trunk Line (opened 1854) running south to Oslo via the Grorud valley is used mostly by commuter and freight trains, while the northern part of the line carries frequent local passenger trains as far as Dal as well as freight trains to Eidsvoll, Lillehammer, and Trondheim. Non-stop commuter, airport express, and long-distance express trains use the high-speed Gardermoen Line (opened 1999), which runs mostly through tunnels from Oslo to Lillestrøm, is used by airport express trains, regional trains to Eidsvoll and Lillehammer, and long-distance passenger services to Trondheim to the north. The Kongsvinger Line (opened 1862), running northeast from Lillestrøm conveys hourly local trains to Kongsvinger as well as a number of longer-distance passenger and freight trains to and from Sweden.
Air
editKjeller, a town contiguous with the north of Lillestrøm, is the site of Kjeller Airfield, which has a long history of both military and civilian use. Founded in 1912, it is one of the world's oldest airports.[3] Today, the airfield is used mainly by light aircraft, and major air traffic is routed to the international airport at Gardermoen (opened 1998). In November 2016, the Norwegian government decided that they would close the airfield by 2023 and plans to redevelop the land for housing and small businesses.[4]
Education
edit
Lillestrøm is home to three primary schools (Vigernes, Volla and Kjeller), a lower secondary school (Kjellervolla), and two upper secondary schools (Lillestrøm and Skedsmo). The town also hosts a Folkeuniversitet campus,[5] the Norwegian Correctional Service's college[6] and a satellite campus of Oslo Metropolitan University.[7]
Government
editThe municipality in Lillestrøm is controlled by the local Labor party. Since 2011, Ole Jacob Flæten has been Lillestrøm's mayor.
The head office of Accident Investigation Board Norway is located in Lillestrøm.[8]
Sport
editThe local football team, Lillestrøm SK, plays in the Eliteserien. Their home ground is Åråsen stadion.
The nearby Lillestrøm stadion is used for training, and was an ice hockey venue at the 1952 Winter Olympics. There are also two indoor arenas, one multi-purpose (Skedsmohallen) and one for football (LSK-Hallen), and in 2007 a track and field stadium Romerike Friidrettsstadion was built as a cooperation between the municipalities Skedsmo, Rælingen and Lørenskog.[9]
The local track and field club is named Minerva. Athletes such as Hanne Haugland and Håkon Särnblom have represented the club.
Rugby league is represented by newly formed rugby league club Lillestrøm Lions RLK, who are Scandinavia's first ever rugby league club.[10]
Notable people associated with Lillestrøm
edit- Arild Andersen (1945–), jazz musician
- Pål Steffen Andresen (1982–), footballer
- Peder Borgen (1928–), theologian
- Sasha Gabor (1945–2008), actor[11]
- Fredrik Gulbrandsen (1992–), footballer
- Chris Holsten (1993–), singer, songwriter
- Anne Holt (Larvik 1958–), crimewriter, politician
- Carl Fredrik Lowzow (Oslo 1992–2009), politician
- Jan Mangerud (Oslo 1937–), geologist
- Bjarne Andre Myklebust (1972–), media professional
- Bjørn Nyland (1962–), speed skater
- Thomas Skoglund (1993–), handball player
- Kjell Sørensen (1930–), sports shooter
- Kay Stenshjemmet (1953–), speed skater
Culture
editNitja Center of contemporary Art is located in Lillestrøm.[12]
References
edit- ^ "Postnummer i Lillestrøm kommune". www.erikbolstad.no. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
- ^ Dag Juvkam / Statistics Norway (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF).
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Historie – Kjeller Aero Senter". kjellerflyplass.no. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
- ^ "Sak". Stortinget (in Norwegian). 2008-02-13. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
- ^ "Øst (Oslo, Bærum, Follo, Romerike og Østfold)". www.folkeuniversitetet.no. Archived from the original on 2016-05-16. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
- ^ "About Us." University College of Norwegian Correctional Service. Retrieved on 16 September 2018.
- ^ storbyuniversitetet, OsloMet-. "Kjeller Campus". www.oslomet.no. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
- ^ "Contact us Archived 2013-09-28 at the Wayback Machine." Accident Investigation Board Norway. Retrieved on January 13, 2011. "Visiting address: Sophie Radichsvei 17 N-2003 Lillestrøm."
- ^ "Jubel for bane uten ball". Romerikes Blad (in Norwegian). 2 September 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
- ^ "Lillestrom Lions RLK - The first ever RL Club in Scandinavia | Norway | International Rugby League News". www.rugbyleagueplanet.com. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
- ^ Hunter, Tod (10 July 2008). "Sasha Gabor Dies in Thailand". XBIZ. Archived from the original on 18 January 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
- ^ https://www.nrk.no/kultur/xl/anmeldelse_-nijta-senter-for-samtidskunst-pa-lillestrom-1.15407423 [towering outside, magnificent inside]
External links
edit
- Norwegian Defense Research Establishment
- Airport train, "Flytoget"
- Lillestrøm torv (in Norwegian)
- Lillstrøm Sportsclub, LSK (in Norwegian)
- Lillestrøm cultural centre (in Norwegian)
- VisitLillestrom.no Archived 2021-01-20 at the Wayback Machine (in Norwegian)