Jessheim is a town in the

Ullensaker Ullensaker is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Jessheim. I ...

municipality in

Akershus Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

History

The railway station with the Jessheim station was built in 1854 as part of the

Hovedbanen In telecommunications, trunking is a technology for providing network access to multiple clients simultaneously by sharing a set of circuits, carriers, channels, or frequencies, instead of providing individual circuits or channels for each clie ...

line from

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

Eidsvoll Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the munic ...

. The railroad had at the initial construction of the railroad in 1854 called the stop "Trøgstad", but because of confusion with the town name

Trøgstad Trøgstad was a municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Skjønhaug. The municipality included the parishes of Skjønhaug, Havnås and Båstad. The parish of ''Trygstad'' was estab ...

Østfold Østfold () is a county in Eastern Norway, which from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2023 was part of Viken. Østfold borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other ...

, the name was changed in 1897 to "Jessum". This name was used blasphemically, for example by

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

recruits who said they had passed through

Bøn Bøn is a village in Eidsvoll, Akershus, Norway. It is approximately 49 km away from Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a p ...

(town north of Jessheim) which sounds like "prayer" in Norwegian to Jessum, which could sound like Jesus. The priests in the area complained to the bishop who in 1900 brought the case up with the local council and suggested the form "Jessheim". The name was changed to "Jesseim". In 1920 the railroad changed the spelling to the current form, Jessheim.

Facilities and landmarks

Jessheim is a center for commerce and regional service functions at

Øvre Romerike Øvre Romerike is the upper (northern) half of the traditional Norwegian district Romerike. It consists of the Akershus municipalities Gjerdrum, Nannestad, Eidsvoll, Hurdal, Ullensaker Ullensaker is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality i ...

. The area also has some industry such as a concrete factory that utilizes the sand and gravel resources in the area as well as a wood products manufacturer. Jessheim Storsenter (mall) located in the center of town, is one of the biggest shopping malls in Norway. Jessheim is also home to Ullensaker Kulturhus which is a cultural center with a library and cinema. West of the town is the old royal burial mound Raknehaugen which dates back to between AD 533 and 551.

Etymology

The name "Jessheim" is from Norse ''Jasseimr'' or ''Jesseímr'' where the first part has unknown origin, while the second part (heimr) means ''home''. It is also possible that the first part "Jess" can mean

jarl Jarl was a rank of the nobility in Scandinavia during the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages. The institution evolved over time and varied by region. In Old Norse, it meant "chieftain", specifically one appointed to rule a territory in a king's stea ...

or jarls (earls). The name was originally used for the Hovin parish.

Population

As at January 2020, Jessheim's population was estimated to be 21,598.

Transport

Jessheim Station Jessheim Station () is a railway station at Jessheim which opened in 1854. It is from Oslo Central Station and has an elevation of above mean sea level. The station is part of Norway's first railway, the Trunk Line, which ran from Kristiania ( ...

(''Jessheim stasjon'') is located on the main track of Norway's first railroad, completed in 1854, and formed the foundation for the later town. From Jessheim trains go north to

Dal Dal is a term in the Indian subcontinent for dried, split pulses. Dal or DAL may also refer to: Places Cambodia *Dal, Ke Chong Finland * Laakso, a neighbourhood of Helsinki India * Dal Lake, in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India * Dal ...

and south to

. The E6 highway runs past on the west side of the town. Distance to

is 41 km along this road, distance along the railroad is 45 km. Jessheim is also an important crossroad between Riksvei 35 westward to

Oslo Airport, Gardermoen Oslo Airport () , alternatively referred to as Oslo Gardermoen Airport or simply Gardermoen, is an international airport serving Oslo, the capital and most populous city of Norway. The airport is the second largest in Scandinavia and the Nord ...

and

Hønefoss __NOTOC__ Hønefoss is a town and the administrative center of the municipality of Ringerike in Buskerud county, Norway. Hønefoss is an industrial center of inner Østlandet, containing several factories and other industry. As of 1 January 2022 ...

Riksvei 174 Norwegian County Road 174 () is long and runs between Nordby and Dalstua in Ullensaker, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Th ...

Nannestad Nannestad is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Teigebyen. History Nannestad was established as a municipality on 1 Janua ...

and

Hurdal Hurdal is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hurdal. Hurdal is located about north of Oslo, along the lake Hurdalsjøen. ...

, and eastward to

Kongsvinger Kongsvinger () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger. Other settlements in the municipality include Aust ...

( Riksvei 2).

Sports

As of 2016 the local

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

team Ullensaker/Kisa plays in the professional

Norwegian First Division The Norwegian First Division, also called 1. divisjon () and OBOS-ligaen (due to sponsoring ties with :no:OBOS, OBOS), is the second-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Each year, the top finishing teams in the 1. divisjon ...

Notable locals

Martin Julius Halvorsen Martin Julius Halvorsen (4 November 1867 – 7 March 1951) was a Norwegian newspaper editor and politician for the Norwegian Labour Party, Labour and Social Democratic Labour Party of Norway, Social Democratic Labour parties. Born in Oslo, Krist ...

(born 1867), founded the

Akershusingen is a local newspaper published in Lillestrøm, Norway. It covers the Romerike district. History and profile was established by Martin Julius Halvorsen in 1902 in Jessheim under the name ''Akershusingen'', and was affiliated with the Norwegian ...

, later

Romerikes Blad is a local newspaper published in Lillestrøm, Norway. It covers the Romerike district. History and profile was established by Martin Julius Halvorsen in 1902 in Jessheim under the name ''Akershusingen'', and was affiliated with the Norwegian ...

, in 1902. Typographer and book printer. Best known as M. Jul. Halvorsen * Diaz (born 1976), artist and rap artist *

Ole Kristian Furuseth Ole Kristian Furuseth (born 7 January 1967) is a retired Norwegian alpine skier. He scored his first World Cup victory in Furano in 1989 and his final World Cup victory in Bormio in 2000, and in total he has three World Cup victories in gian ...

(born 1967), slalom racer. *

Anniken Huitfeldt Anniken Scharning Huitfeldt (born 29 November 1969) is a Norwegian historian and politician for the Labour Party (Norway), Labour Party. She has served as the Norwegian Ambassador to the United States since 2024. She previously held several mini ...

(born 1969), Politician * Tanja Hansen (born 1973), former porn star * Egil Nyhus (born 1962), illustrator *

Solveig Kloppen Solveig Kloppen (born 10 June 1971) is a Norwegian journalist, actress and TV hostess.Solveig Kloppen
in

Memnock, artist and black metal musician (

Susperia Susperia is a Norwegian thrash metal band formed in October 1998 by Tjodalv and Cyrus. The band was originally named Seven Sins, but since there was another band with that name they changed it to the title of the horror film ''Suspiria'', chan ...

) *

Dimmu Borgir Dimmu Borgir () is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic lang ...

symphonic black metal Symphonic black metal is a subgenre of black metal that emerged in the 1990s and incorporates symphonic and orchestral elements. History One of the earliest forerunners in what would come to be the sound of symphonic metal was Celtic Frost ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

formed in 1993. *

Alexandra Rotan Alexandra Rotan (born 29 June 1996) is a Norwegian singer. Rotan began her career as a child singer, becoming a superfinalist in Melodi Grand Prix Junior 2010 with the song "Det vi vil". She later joined the supergroup KEiiNO in 2018, and as ...

, singer, songwriter, member of the Europop band Keiino, participated in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2019 The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, following the country's victory at the with the song "Toy" by Netta. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ...

* Malin Brenn (born 1999), football player * Sebastian Sponevik (born 2005), artistic national team

gymnast Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

Gallery

File:Storgata_Jessheim.jpg, The main street "Storgata" at Jessheim in

. File:Storgata_7_Jessheim.jpg, Storgata 7 on the main street of Jessheim. File:Herredshuset_Ullensaker.jpg, Herredshuset was completed in 1901 and housed Ullensaker county administration until 1967. File:Jessheim_railway_station.jpg, Jessheim railway station was originally built in 1854. File:Jessheim i Ullensaker - 1.jpg, Jessheim city seen from the south, with the

European route E6 European route E6 (, , or simply E6) is the main north–south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and through almost all of the countr ...

running on the west side of the city.

References

{{authority control Villages in Akershus Populated places in Akershus Ullensaker