Grorud

Farmhouse between tall buildings at Rødtvet, Oslo. Labour day 2012.
The church at Grorud - with granite exteriors
Bydel Grorud
District

Coat of arms
Coordinates: 59°57′27″N 10°52′51″E / 59.95750°N 10.88083°E / 59.95750; 10.88083Coordinates: 59°57′27″N 10°52′51″E / 59.95750°N 10.88083°E / 59.95750; 10.88083
Country Norway
City Oslo
District Grorud Valley
Area
  Total 7.04 km2 (2.72 sq mi)
Population (2004)
  Total 24,452
  Density 3,500/km2 (9,000/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-030110
Website bydel-grorud.oslo.kommune.no

Grorud is a district of the city of Oslo, Norway. The district contains the Ammerud, Grorud, Kalbakken, Rødtvet, Nordtvet and Romsås areas. To the north of the district is the forest of Lillomarka. The district is the smallest in Oslo, with less than 30 000 inhabitants.[1]

The area now known as the district of Grorud was mostly farm land until after World War II, with an exception being Grorud proper, where mining was an important livelihood. The granite from Grorud is seen in all kinds of buildings in downtown Oslo - with the lion sculptures in front of Stortinget, the Norwegian Parliament being the most famous example. Textile industries were also a part of the urbanization of Grorud, with the river Alna and its waterfalls as power supply.

The railway station at Grorud is one of the oldest in Norway, and opened in 1854, and was a hub of the whole Grorud valley for many years until the arrival of urbanization and the subway. Some of the old farms are still present in the Grorud landscape, although apartment buildings now are a more dominant part of the scenery.

The first Secretary-General of the United Nations, Trygve Lie came from Grorud.

Traditionally a borough inhabited by the working class, Grorud has in the last few decades had a great influx of immigrants. Because of these statistics Grorud is a recurring theme in Norwegian immigration politics.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/20/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.