Oppegård is an area in Nordre Follo, Akershus, Norway. Oppegård was a municipality in the county Akershus.

Oppegård Municipality
Oppegård kommune
Akershus within Norway
Akershus within Norway
Oppegård within Akershus
Oppegård within Akershus
Coordinates: 59°47′33″N 10°47′25″E / 59.79250°N 10.79028°E / 59.79250; 10.79028
CountryNorway
CountyAkershus
DistrictFollo
Administrative centreKolbotn
Government
 • Mayor (1995)Ildri Eidem Lovaas (H)
Area
 • Total37 km2 (14 sq mi)
 • Land34 km2 (13 sq mi)
 • Rank#424 in Norway
Population
 (2008)
 • Total23,964
 • Rank#37 in Norway
 • Density681/km2 (1,760/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
Increase +8%
DemonymOppegårding[1]
Official language
 • Norwegian formBokmål
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-0217[3]
WebsiteOfficial website

It is part of the traditional region of Follo. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Kolbotn. The municipality of Oppegård was separated from the municipality of Nesodden on 1 July 1915. Oppegård municipality had an area of 37 square kilometres (14.3 sq mi), hence it was the smallest municipality in Akershus by area.

On 1 January 2020, Oppegård municipality was merged with Ski into the new Nordre Follo municipality.

Within Oppegård, there is an eponymous village.

Name

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The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Oppegård farm (Old Norse: Uppigarðr), since the first church was built here. The first element is uppi which means "upper" and the last element is garðr which means "farm". (The farm is probably a part of an older and bigger farm.)

Coat-of-arms

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The coat-of-arms were granted on 6 August 1976. The arms show 17 gold triangles on a black background. The 17 triangles symbolize 17 trees, which again symbolize the 17 old farms in the municipality. Most of the farms lie in an area called Svartskog ('black forest'), so the arms are canting arms.[4][5]

Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Oppegård by country of origin in 2017[6]
Ancestry Number
  Poland 433
  Pakistan 355
  Sweden 340
  Denmark 169
  Somalia 159
  Germany 149
  Iran 133
  Vietnam 128
  Iraq 118
  UK 111

History

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Oppegård has been populated since the end of the last ice age. Archeological remains of hunter-gatherer societies dating back to 5000–6000 BCE have been found, as well as the remains of agricultural settlements from 1000 to 2000 BCE. The main southern roads connecting Oslo to Sweden and Denmark have passed through Oppegård since the Iron Age.

19 farms from the Middle Ages, have been counted.[7]

The former municipality was created from the eastern part of the municipality of Nesodden in 1915. At the time, the population of Oppegård was only 600. The 1960s and 1970s saw a population boom, as larger housing projects established the Oppegård villages as suburbs of Oslo. The commercial centres along the main railroad axis is examples of the functionalist architecture characteristic of that period of urbanization in Scandinavia.

Arctic explorer Roald Amundsen lived in Svartskog and his house is now a museum, administered by the municipality. Svartskog is also home to a medieval stone church, and is likely the oldest settlement in Oppegård.

Politics

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Since 1968, coinciding with the population boom, the Conservative Party of Norway (Høyre) has held either a majority or plurality of representatives in the municipal council. Several leading politicians for Høyre began their political careers as mayors of Oppegård, including Rolf Presthus (mayor from 1968 to 1970, Conservative Party Leader and Minister of Finance) and Jan Petersen (mayor from 1975 to 1981, Conservative Party Leader and Minister of Foreign Affairs). Oppegård is demographically an urban middle class area, demographically similar to Bærum and Asker and a traditional stronghold for Høyre.

Former Prime Minister and leader of the Christian Democratic Party Kjell Magne Bondevik lives in Oppegård.

Party representation in the Council 2007-2011

Conservatives: 15 Labour: 7 Progress Party: 4 Liberal Party: 2 Socialist Left: 2 Christian People's Party: 1

Geography

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Oppegård is located at the eastern coast of Bunnefjorden (originally called "Foli", like the Årungen lake to the south), which is an arm of Oslofjord. It includes the villages Oppegård, Svartskog, and Kolbotn. The landscape is dominated by a vast part of the north–south oriented lake Gjersjøen, which roughly divides the district into western and eastern sections. The lake Kolbotnvannet is located here as well. The undeveloped areas are largely covered by forest.

Oppegård is a largely residential suburb of Oslo, but also a business hub. It hosts the Norwegian headquarters of several larger corporations (including Kodak and IBM) within its borders. Tax revenues from large corporations made Oppegård one of Norway's richest municipalities in the 1980s and 1990s. These revenues, and the wealth they brought, were lost in the 2000s when corporations were made to pay taxes directly to the national government, rather than the local government.

Commuter trains connect Oppegård to Oslo, and makes the neighbourhoods close to the train stations (Rosenholm, Kolbotn, Solbråtan, Myrvoll, Greverud, and Oppegård) popular residential areas.

Notable people

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Sylvi Graham, 2017
 
Haddy N'jie, 2010

Musicians

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  • Radka Toneff (d. 1982), jazz singer, grew up in Kolbotn
  • Eivind Aarset (born 1961 in Kolbotn) a Norwegian jazz guitarist
  • Øyvind Sauvik (born 1976) stage name Vinni, a musician and hip hop artist, works in Kolbotn
  • Haddy N'jie (born 1979 in Kolbotn) a singer, songwriter, writer and journalist
  • Siri Wålberg (born 1980 in Oppegård) a Norwegian pop singer / songwriter
  • Eivind Lønning (born 1983 in Kolbotn) a jazz trumpeter
  • Joakim With Steen (born 1989 in Kolbotn) stage name Jowst, a music producer and songwriter
  • Gylve Fenris Nagell, known as Fenriz (Born 1971 in Kolbotn), drummer for Darkthrone
  • Ted Skjellum, known as Nocturno Culto (Born 1972 in Kolbotn), vocalist for Darkthrone

Sister cities

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The following cities are twinned with Oppegård:[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
  2. ^ "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  3. ^ Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (2023-01-26). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
  4. ^ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". Retrieved 2008-12-20.
  5. ^ "Kommunevåpenet" (in Norwegian). Oppegård kommune. Archived from the original on 2008-03-06. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
  6. ^ "Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents, by immigration category, country background and percentages of the population". ssb.no. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  7. ^ Middelaldergårdene. Oppegard-historielag.org. Retrieved 2 September 2022. "Bålerud ... Dal ... Ekornrud ... Vestre Greverud gård ... Østre Greverud (Greifarrud) ... Grønmo ... Hvitebjørn gård ... Kullebunden ... Kurud ... Li gård ... Oppegård Søndre ... Oppegård Vestre ... Oppegård Østre ... Ormerud ... Sjødal ... Sætre ... Vassbonn ... Fløysbonn ... . Gården regnes som en av to urgårder i vårt område. ... . Den andre urgården var Fåle"
  8. ^ IMDb Database retrieved 09 March 2021
  9. ^ IMDb Database retrieved 09 March 2021
  10. ^ "Vennskapskommuner" (in Norwegian). Oppegård kommune. Archived from the original on 2008-03-06. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
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