A roofline of the Holmenkollen Hotel creates an angular silhouette against a stormy sky and sunset in Vestre Aker, Oslo, Norway. The Holmenkollen and the Voksenåsen hill, rising 500 meters above sea level, is the site of several historic hotels and the royal family’s estate, Kongsseteren. The area is a historical and contemporary nexus of Norwegian skiing traditions.    

Vestre Aker

The Vestre Aker district is bound by wilderness to the north and west and situated in the western hillside of the city. The iconic ski jump, visible from many parts of the city, famously punctuates Holmenkollen hill.   Holmenkollen regularly hosts ski festivals, including the Ski Jumping World Cup and Winter Olympic events.

The area developed as a tourist and residential area starting in the 1880s following the development of public transport connections to the city centre. Unlike the history of the subway in many metropolises, the rail lines connected the city to farther and farther points into undeveloped land, rather than connecting the interstices of the inner city. This enabled the unique gregarious urban practice to seek recreation and sporting activities in the surrounding nature.   All the metro's westbound lines are found within the district's boundaries. There are several hotels and conference centres that capitalize on the unique combination of sitting near the surrounding nature, with dramatic vistas and access to public transportation—some date to the 19th century.

The district is characterized by low housing density and is dominated by single-family housing developments. After the Second World War, housing has become denser in many places and some blocks of flats. Over the last 150 years, the district's population has increased tenfold.

The Oslo Metro – mass transit to mass culture

In 1863, the world’s first underground railway line opened in London, connecting Paddington Station to Farringdon Street. The line was built by the Metropolitan Railway Company, originating the term commonly used for underground rail lines – the metro.  In his book, City: A Guidebook for the Urban Age, PD Smith highlights that London’s metro played an essential role in developing London’s mass culture, transporting industrial workers, and fostering consumer society. [1]

 In 1894, the first transit line in the Nordic countries opened in Oslo (called Kristiania at the time).[2]  In Oslo, the Metro is known as the T-bane. Unlike London and other cities whose inaugural transit lines connected the inner city, Oslo's lines went the other direction, out of town, connecting city and countryside and fostering a unique urban culture in nature. The first electric tram line was built between the public square at Jernbanetorget and Majorstua, on the city's outskirts.  The second line connected from Majorstua, at the city’s boundary, into the wilderness north of Oslo to Holmenkollen (where the Besserud station is today).[3]  When the Holmenkollen line opened in 1898, it caused a regular rush of city dwellers into the surrounding forests of Normarka.[4]  Whereas London’s metro fostered a consumer society,  Oslo’s public transit nurtured the city’s outdoor life. 

 The hills north of Oslo had gained popularity for outdoor recreation in the second half of the 19th century. Thomas Johannesen Heftye, one of the founders of the Norwegian Tourist Association, bought forest tracts in 1864 and opened them to the public. The area quickly became popular for skiers from the city.[5] In 1892, at the slope up from Besserud Pond, the first ski jumping and cross-country ski event drew a crowd of 12,000 spectators to the forest.[6] 

 The Holmenkollen line opened Nordmarka for public recreational use; it facilitated access and enabled a burgeoning lifestyle that integrated urban culture with an outdoor lifestyle. The line opened the development of a residential suburb, bolstering city access and outdoor lifestyles.[7]  Land sales promoted the urban-by-nature condition, targeting urbanites who also wanted the respite of nature.  Sales literature highlighted the prevailing fashion of the good life in nature, promising ‘magnificent forest plots with ample opportunity for relaxation and revitalisation of the body and soul in nature, year-round, for all ages.’ The outdoor lifestyle underpinned the development’s value; the marketing from 1895 declared, "It is hardly necessary to elaborate further the desire all people have to get out into the free nature."[8]

Subsequent developments of the Holmenkollen line further established transit between the city centre and suburban developments in the surrounding nature. In 1916, the line expanded to Frognerseteren station, the northernmost station in Oslo, affording convenient access to the mountain as part of city life. The entire Holmenkollen line is located within the Vestre Aker district, except for the last part, which is in Marka. Today, this line continues to link the forest to city life, strengthening the unique outdoor urban culture.

Throughout the 20th century, the Holmenkollen area was elevated to a national ski arena. It was home to the 1952 Winter Olympics and the Nordic World Ski Championships in 1930, 1966, 1982 and 2011. Every year, tens of thousands congregate to watch World Cup events in ski jumping and cross-country skiing. Holmenkollen Ski Jump, rebuilt in 2011, is visible throughout the city. Nearby, there is lift-assist skiing with eight slopes and 11 lifts. You can sled down the bobsled course from the 1952 Winter Olympics, using the T-bane to return to the top of the hill for each repeated run. The area is a gateway to over 2,600 km of ski networks surrounding the city. Many ski trails originate from the metro stations. Trails are groomed, and over 90 km are Lysløpa – illuminated trails through the forests, with views through the trees to the city lights and the fjord beyond. It is commonplace for passengers to board the T-bane with skis, snowboards and sledges in the winter seasons and bikes and backpacks year-round.

In the book, My Kind of Transit, city designer Darrin Nordhal, conceives transportation as “a mobile form of public space.”  His thesis is that the planning and design of mass transit provides a setting for public life, enriching everyday lives.[9] Metro systems have shaped urban development and urban mobility in many cities. The London metro circulated city-goers to the new department stores, such as Harrods, and in Oslo, city-goers gained access to the surrounding nature. Mass transportation goes beyond taking us from point A to point B; moreover, these networks create other connections. The public transit encouraged the outdoor life in nature, akin to how the metro promoted the consumer society in London.

Even in the most primitive sense, the way we travel further defines the way for others to follow. A path becomes rutted, signalling the way forward. Significant transportation investments do this too, but in a more trenchant manner, and the result is profound, laying tracks to be traversed over and over again. 

In the course of daily life, we pick our routes, but some will beckon more than others for their convenience, attributes, and destinations. The ease of these travels becomes a nudge to go here or there. These well-travelled routes become the crossroads of our community.  Oslo’s T-bane provides a critical link to many parts of the city, but, notably, out of the city too, into nature. In Oslo, the tracks have been laid into the forest; the nudge is to nature. 

[1] Peter D. Smith, City : a guidebook for the urban age, 1st ed. (New York: Bloomsbury, 2012), 181-89.

[2] Arne Danielsen et al., T-banen : 50 historier om byens puls, ed. Arne Danielsen (Oslo: Sporveien Oslo Oslo Vognselskap Ruter, 2016), 20.

[3] Kirkeveien became Kristiania’s city boundary in 1855.

[4] Bjørn Andersen, Holmenkollbanen (Lokaltrafikkhistorisk forening, 1993). https://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014072208179.

[5] Andersen, Holmenkollbanen.

[6] Danielsen et al., T-banen : 50 historier om byens puls.

[7] Egil Werner Erichsen, Holmenkolbanen gjennom 50 år, ed. Hans Amundsen and P. Chr Andersen (Fabritius, 1948). https://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2010070805039.

[8]Torgrim Hegdal, "Holmenkolbanen 100 år -For knickersadel og sanatoriepasienter," Tobias : tidsskrift for arkiv og oslohistorie., no. 2 (1997).

[9] Darrin Nordahl, My kind of transit : rethinking public transportation in America, 1st ed. (Chicago: The Center for American Places at Columbia College in association with The Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation : Distributed by the University of Chicago Press, 2008).