thumbnail, 250px, Grefsen Church Grefsen is a neighbourhood in the city 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 of ...

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 t ...

. Grefsen was a part of the municipality of Aker before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, later incorporated into Oslo. Together with Kjelsås, Grefsen then formed the borough Grefsen-Kjelsås until 1 January 2004, when they became part of the new borough of

Nordre Aker Nordre Aker (Northern Aker) is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. History This area became part of the city of Oslo in 1948. Before that it was a part of Aker municipality in the former Akershus county. Demographics and housing With a popula ...

. The Gjøvik Railway Line goes through the area, but Grefsen Station is actually located closer to the neighbourhood of Disen. The Kjelsås Tram Line also runs through the area. The local sports field Grefsen stadion is the home field of Kjelsås IL. There are four schools in the area, Grefsen Elementary School (year 1-7), Engebråten Middle School (year 8-10), Morellbakken Middle School (year 8-10) and Nydalen High School (year 11-13). Nydalen High School used to be Grefsen High School until 2014, when it was renovated and changed name. Grefsen Church (''Grefsen kirke'') was consecrated in 1940.

The name

The neighbourhood is named after the old farm Grefsen (

Norse Norse is a demonym for Norsemen, a medieval North Germanic ethnolinguistic group ancestral to modern Scandinavians, defined as speakers of Old Norse from about the 9th to the 13th centuries. Norse may also refer to: Culture and religion * Nor ...

', from '). The first element is ' 'steep hillside' (derived from the verb ' 'dig (out)'), the last element is ' f 'meadow'. The old farm had

Akerselva Akerselva or Akerselven ( en, Aker River) is a river which flows through Oslo. It starts at Maridalsvannet in Oslomarka, and traverses the boroughs of Nordre Aker, Sagene, Grünerløkka, central Oslo and Grønland, whereby it finally ends a ...

as its western border, and the hillside/riverside down to the river is very steep. The adjacent hill

Grefsenåsen Grefsenåsen is a hill in Lillomarka in Oslo, Norway. The height is 377 meter. The view from the top is magnificent, and the hill has for a long time been a popular resort for day-tripper A day trip is a visit to a tourist destination or visit ...

is named after the farm.

Notable people

* Peter Andreas Morell, campaigned for better education for Grefsen *

Jon Øigarden Jon Øigarden (born 31 May 1971) is a Norwegian actor, who is well known for his role as journalist Peter Verås in the TV series ''Mammon'', Jarl Varg in Norsemen, and other Norwegian films. Career Jon Øigarden was educated at the Norwegian N ...

, Norwegian Actor grew up in Grefsen

References

Neighbourhoods of Oslo {{Oslo-geo-stub