Grünerløkka


Grünerløkka is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. Grünerløkka became part of the city of Oslo in 1858. Grünerløkka is a traditional working class district, but from the late 20th century a gentrification process has taken place in the area. Although it is located in the East End, it has a relatively high price level today compared to other East End areas.

Etymology

The first element was derived from the surname Grüner. The last element is the finite form of løkke meaning paddock.
Grünerløkka was named after Friedrich Grüner who served as chief administrator and the administrator of the mint at Christiania from 1651 until his death in 1674. Grüner purchased the Kings Mill and surrounding acreage in the area from King Christian V of Denmark in 1672.

History

bought parts of the Grünerløkka area in 1861. The industrialist built the main street of Grünerløkka, now named Thorvald Meyers gate. During the 19th century, Grünerløkka became a working-class area. Several factories were placed here because of the advantages of being located close to the Akerselva River. Christiania Seildugsfabrikk from 1856 and Aktieselskapet Herkules from 1898 were two of the factories established.
Grünerløkka is located with the parish of Paulus Church. In 1866, Paulus parish had a total population of 13,600. By 1900, the parish population had risen to 22,000. At that time, only five streets in Oslo had a population above 3000. Of these, three were located in Grünerløkka: Markveien, Thorvald Meyers gate and Toftes gate. In 1864, a square meter had been priced at about 30 Norwegian shilling Active selling of property started in 1865. However, even as Thorvald Meyer offered low-priced land, almost no one bought any of it until after 1868.
The park square called Olaf Ryes plass has its name from Norwegian-Danish General Olaf Rye. It was an open field well into the 1880s. The property was bought by Oslo kommune from members of the Grüner family in 1883. A narrow diagonal street was built which led from Markveien to Thorvald Meyers gate. It had a stopping spot for horses and carriages at the middle point. This section is now a pedestrian park square.

Politics

As a borough of Oslo, Grünerløkka is governed by the city council of Oslo as well as its own borough council. The council leader is Geir Jensen from the Green Party and the deputy leader is Vemund Rundberget, of the Labour Party. The Green Party has the most seats. The 15 seats are distributed among the following political parties for the 2019-2023 term:
• 4 from the Green Party
• 3 from the Labour Party
• 3 from the Conservative Party
• 2 from the Red Party
• 2 from the Socialist Left Party
• 1 from the Liberal Party

Sports

The neighbourhood has its own sports club, Grüner, which was founded in 1914 with ice hockey and football as the most important activities. Grüner Fotball plays its home games at Dælenenga idrettspark and currently is part of the third division of the Norwegian football system. The ice hockey team plays the home games at Grünerhallen.

Notable landmarks