Holmenkollen () is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

and a

neighbourhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; American and British English spelling differences, see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community ...

in the

Vestre Aker Vestre Aker (Western Aker) is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. It has a population of 50,157 as of 2020. The previous Aker Municipality was merged into the city of Oslo in 1948. The borough of Vestre Aker was organized as part of the 1 Ja ...

borough of

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. It goes up to above sea level and is well-known for its international skiing competitions.

Overview

In addition to being a residential area, the area has been a ski recreation area since the late 19th century, with its famous

ski jumping hill A ski jumping hill is a sports venue used for ski jumping. They vary in size from temporary handmade snow structures to permanent competition venues. At the top is an in-run where the jumper runs down to generate sufficient speed, before reaching ...

, the Holmenkollbakken, hosting competitions since 1892. To the north, the area borders to the woodlands area Marka. The

Holmenkoll Line The Holmenkollen Line ( no, Holmenkollbanen) is an Oslo Metro line which runs between Majorstuen and Nordmarka in Oslo, Norway. Operating as Metro Line 1, it is the route with the fewest passengers and the only one still to have level crossi ...

of the

Oslo Metro The Oslo Metro ( no, Oslo T-bane or or simply ) is the rapid transit system of Oslo, Norway, operated by Sporveien T-banen on contract from the transit authority Ruter. The network consists of five lines that all run through the city centre, w ...

runs through the neighborhood, serving the stations Besserud and

Holmenkollen Holmenkollen () is a mountain and a neighbourhood in the Vestre Aker borough of Oslo, Norway. It goes up to above sea level and is well-known for its international skiing competitions. Overview In addition to being a residential area, the are ...

. The

Holmenkollen Chapel Holmenkollen Chapel (''Holmenkollen kapell'') is located in the neighborhood of Holmenkollen in the Vestre Aker borough of Oslo, Norway. The original chapel from 1903 was destroyed by arson in 1992. The new chapel was completed in 1996. Holmenk ...

was destroyed by arson in August 1992 by

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emp ...

artists Varg Vikernes, Bård “Faust” Eithun and Øystein “Euronymous” Aarseth, but later rebuilt. Michael Moynihan, Didrik Søderlind: '' Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground'', First Edition, Venice, CA: Feral House 1998, p. 94f. The chapel is a neighbour to the Norwegian

Royal Lodge The Royal Lodge is a Grade II listed house in Windsor Great Park in Berkshire, England, half a mile north of Cumberland Lodge and south of Windsor Castle. Part of the Crown Estate, it was the Windsor residence of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mothe ...

, the residence of the Norwegian Royal Family during events like

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

and Holmenkollen Ski Festival.

Climate

Holmenkollen has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

transitional with maritime subarctic influenced by its elevated position above the valley consisting of Oslo's downtown. It has cooler weather than the lower elevations, especially in summer and more precipitation both in terms of rain and snow because of

orographic lift Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...

. Winter temperatures are slightly colder than in lower areas, although the difference is lower that time of the year. Even so, Holmenkollen usually maintains a sizeable snowpack. In spite of the elevation, summer temperatures are comparable to sea level locations on the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

both in Norway and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

Etymology

The name is a compound of the farm name ''Holmen'' and the finite form of ''kolle'' m 'hill, rounded mountain top'. The farm name Holmen ( Norse ''Holmin'', from originally ''*Holmvin'') is a compound of ''holmr'' m ' bedrock' and ''vin'' f '

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or arti ...

In fiction

Large parts of the plot of Jo Nesbø's mystery novel ''

The Snowman ''The Snowman'' is a 1982 British animated television film based on Raymond Briggs's 1978 picture book '' The Snowman.'' It was directed by Dianne Jackson for Channel 4. It was first shown on 26 December 1982, and was an immediate success. It ...

''—particularly the book's final climactic scenes—are set in Holmenkollen, both the residential area and the ski jump.

References

Neighbourhoods of Oslo Ski areas and resorts in Norway Mountains of Oslo {{Oslo-geo-stub

Overview

Climate

Etymology

In fiction

See also

References