New day and new friends

14/07/2022

In 2003, Oslo's GDP was NOK 268.047 billion (€33.876 billion), which is about 17% of the country's GDP. Thus, Oslo is the region with one of the highest levels of GDP per capita, amounting to NOK 391,399 (€49,465) in 2003.
Oslo is considered one of the most expensive cities in the world (14th place in 2009). In terms of the number of large firms that have settled in the city, Oslo ranks 5th in Europe (2654 companies). A significant sector is occupied by oil and gas companies. Oslo is also one of the most visited tourist sites in Norway.

14/07/2022

Oslo is Norway's largest economic center. As a port city, Oslo employs[when?] about 980 maritime-related companies (a total of 8,500 jobs). Companies engaged in maritime transport, ship brokers, and insurance companies have settled here. Det Norske Veritas is one of the top three classification societies. The Oslo Dock serves annually about 6,000 ships with a cargo turnover of 6 million tons and over 5 million passengers.

14/07/2022

As of January 1, 2009[6]
19.9% of the population are children
70.3% - working-age population (retirement age - 67 years, regardless of gender[7])
9.8% are older than working age.
The female population (50.6%) slightly exceeds the number of men (49.4%)[6].
As of January 1, 2021, 697,010 people lived in Oslo. By 2020, the population of Oslo has increased by a total of 3,516 people. This was the lowest annual population growth in Oslo since 2000.

14/07/2022

About 360,000 people live in the eastern part, of which 65-80% are first and second generation immigrants. Many schools and colleges in this part of the city do not have ethnic Norwegians, including teachers. The eastern outskirts of the city are characterized by block-type multi-storey buildings built in the period 1985-1995, when there was a huge flow of immigrants from North and East Africa, as well as Central Asia. Closer to the center are old five-story houses where the working class of the 50s lived. Grönland is the most famous ethnic quarter in Oslo.

14/07/2022

Since the 19th century, the city began to be divided into Western (Vestkanten) and Eastern parts (Ostkanten).
The western part is dominated by ethnic Norwegians and settlers from Western countries, living in houses and cottage settlements spread over a vast territory up to Berum, the nearest suburb of Oslo. The standard of living is considered the highest in the country, and the average income is almost twice the national average. The population of the Western part for 2009 is 196,000 people.

11/07/2022

Since 2015, the city government has been formed by three parties: the Workers' Party, the Green Party and the Socialist Left Party. The ruling coalition does not have a majority in the city parliament and operates largely thanks to the support of the ultra-left Red party. The current mayor of the city since 2015 is the representative of the Socialist Left Party, Marianne Borgen.

11/07/2022

Due to the status of the capital, government organizations are located in Oslo. Most government offices are located in the Government Quarter (Regjeringskvartalet), not far from the Norwegian parliament - the Storting.
Since Oslo is both a municipality and a county, the city is represented in parliament by 17 deputies.

11/07/2022

After the Great Northern War at the beginning of the 18th century, Christiania's economy began to grow rapidly thanks to shipbuilding and trade. Industrialization came to the city in the 1840s when a large number of factories sprang up, mostly on the banks of the Akerselva.
As a result of the Anglo-Danish war of 1807-1814, the Danish-Norwegian Union declared itself bankrupt and, according to the Kiel Treaty of 1814, ceded Norway to Sweden. During the reign of the Swedish-Norwegian king Oscar II, a spelling reform took place, as a result of which the city was renamed Christiania in 1877. Only in 1924 was the city returned to its original name of Oslo.

11/07/2022

Due to the fact that the buildings were mostly made of wood, the city often burned, and new ones were built on the site of the burnt buildings, but again from wood. After a three-day fire in 1624 that destroyed the city, the Danish king Christian IV (at that time Norway was a province of Denmark) moved the inhabitants to a new place near the Akershus fortress, which was named Christiania in honor of the king. The new city was built in the best traditions of the Renaissance with wide streets and strictly defined quarters. They decided to build buildings of stone in order to prevent devastating fires in the future. Despite the king's ban, the old city was repopulated, mostly by poor people who did not have the means to live in prosperous Christiania.

11/07/2022

In the set of sagas "Circle of the Earth" by the Icelandic skald Snorri Sturluson, it is mentioned that Oslo was founded by Harald III the Severe in 1048. During archaeological excavations, Christian burials dating back to around 1000 were found.
In the Middle Ages, the city consisted of two fortresses - the royal castle and the episcopal one. Within the city walls there were 9 churches, one hospital, about 400 wooden houses of merchants and artisans. King Hakon V the Saint named Oslo the capital of Norway in 1299 and built the Akershus fortress here. During the High Middle Ages, Oslo became an important trading post, including connections with the Hanseatic League. The population doubled to 3,500.

11/07/2022

The origin of the name Oslo has been the subject of much debate among linguists. According to one version, the name Oslo means "mouth of Lo" (Norwegian os - "mouth", Lo - the name of the river), after the name of the river that once flowed here. It is considered established that the oikonym is of Old Norse origin and was in all likelihood originally the name of a large farm in Bjørvik, but the meaning of this name is disputed. Modern linguists usually interpret the name Óslo or Áslo as "meadow at the foot of the hill" or "meadow consecrated by the gods", with both options being considered equally likely.

11/07/2022