Etterstad () is a neighborhood in Oslo, located between the river Alna and Strømsveien, north of

Vålerenga Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for it ...

. It was incorporated into Oslo in 1946, two years before the merger of Oslo and

Aker Aker may refer to: Places * Aker, Norway, a geographic area in Oslo and a former municipality in Norway * Vestre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality * Nordre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality * Aker Br ...

. The area is mainly residential.

History

The area takes its name from Etterstad Farm, that was located close to the present Helsfyr area, about where the current Helsfyr T-bane station is located. The farm name is Old Norse and is a contraction of ''Eitill'' (a person's name) and ''stad'' (meaning "place"). Records of the farm are recorded back to 1396 as an estate of the bishop. It remained church property until 1795 when it was taken over by the city and made a military training field, in exchange for a rent paid by the city to the bishop. At the time the city was obliged to provide ground for the military. The military gave the area the name ''Etterstadsletta'', and was in use as a training field until 1881. In 1821, King Charles XIV John ordered an exercise with 6,000 soldiers as a political power demonstration aimed at the newly formed parliament. The field was also the site of executions, the last performed on 19 April 1864 on the Prussian Friedrich Wilhelm Priess and the Dane Knud Fredrik Christian Simonsen by

Samson Isberg Samson Isberg (26 April 1795 – 25 May 1873) was a Norwegian executioner. He served as Norway's official executioner from 1849 to 1868. Among his jobs were the beheading of Aslak Hætta and Mons Somby in 1854, and the last public execution i ...

with an audience of 5,000 people. The field was also used for

Harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australi ...

until 1928. The first demonstration of aviation in the country was performed by the Swedish aristocrat

Carl Cederström Friherre Carl Gustav Alexander Cederström (5 March 1867 – 29 June 1918) was a pioneering Swedish aviator, known as "the flying Baron". Biography He was born on 5 March 1867 to Anders Cederström and Maria Cecilia Wennerström in Södertä ...

from 14 to 23 October 1910. After many successful demonstrations, on the final day Cederström lost control of the aircraft at take-off; two people were hurt and the plane had to be sent to France for repairs. The government took over the cost of the military in 1840, but city pressed to be allowed to build housing in the area. This was permitted in 1922, and

Oslo Bolig- og Sparelag 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 of ...

started construction in the 1930s in a large reconstruction of all property down to the railway station. The plans were abandoned due to World War II, and changed afterwards. In 1967 the

Oslo T-bane 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, wit ...

replaced the Oslo Tramway.

References

{{coord, 59, 54, 36, N, 10, 48, 02, E, type:landmark_source:kolossus-nowiki, display=title Neighbourhoods of Oslo Gamle Oslo