Lillestrøm | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Square in central Lillestrøm | |
  Lillestrøm Location within Norway | |
| Coordinates:59°57′N11°05′E / 59.950°N 11.083°E /59.950; 11.083 | |
| Country | Norway |
| County | Akershus |
| District | Romerike |
| Municipality | Lillestrøm |
| Elevation | 109 m (358 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 2000-2004 |
Lillestrøm is a town located some 18 km (11 mi) east-northeast ofOslo, the capital city ofNorway. With a population of 14,379 inhabitants (18,805 including Kjeller),[1] it is the administrative centre ofLillestrøm Municipality inAkershus County, and lies within thetraditional district ofRomerike.
The name means "the little [part of] Strøm", Strøm being the name of an old and large farm (Old Norse:straumr, which also meant "stream" as well).
Lillestrøm's history dates back to the times river powered sawmills came into use for the production of building materials. Later Lillestrøm got its own steam sawmill which laid the base for the development of the area that became the town. The area was, by and large, a moss covered swamp-like area, at the time considered almost uninhabitable. However, the almost non-existent property values were judged to be a fair exchange and so the workers started living and settling in the area around the sawmill, and Lillestrøm was born.[citation needed]
On 1 January 1908 Lillestrøm became amunicipality of its own, having been split from Skedsmo. At that time Lillestrøm municipality had a population of 4,351[citation needed]. On 1 January 1962 the two municipalities were reunited under the name Skedsmo. Before the merger Lillestrøm municipality had a population of 10,840.[2]
In 1997, Skedsmo municipal council declared Lillestrøm to be a town (by) in its own right (an honorary status which has no effect upon the organization of local government). The event is commemorated annually with a 4-day street fair.
In 2020, Skedsmo was merged with the neighbouring municipalitiesSørum andFet to form a new municipality namedLillestrøm.
Norwegian national road 159 is a four-lane motorway connecting central Lillestrøm and Oslo. TheE6 motorway bypasses Lillestrøm a few kilometres to the west on its way from Oslo to the north of the country.National road 22, running from northwest to southeast, passes through the north of the town.
Lillestrøm is connected toOslo by three separate railway lines. TheTrunk Line (opened 1854) running south to Oslo via theGrorud valley is used mostly by commuter and freight trains, while the northern part of the line carries frequent local passenger trains as far asDal as well as freight trains toEidsvoll,Lillehammer, andTrondheim. Non-stop commuter, airport express, and long-distance express trains use the high-speedGardermoen Line (opened 1999), which runs mostly through tunnels from Oslo to Lillestrøm, is used by airport express trains, regional trains toEidsvoll andLillehammer, and long-distance passenger services toTrondheim to the north. TheKongsvinger Line (opened 1862), running northeast from Lillestrøm conveys hourly local trains toKongsvinger as well as a number of longer-distance passenger and freight trains to and fromSweden.
Kjeller, a town contiguous with the north of Lillestrøm, is the site ofKjeller Airfield, which has a long history of both military and civilian use. Founded in 1912, it is one of the world's oldest airports.[3] Today, the airfield is used mainly by light aircraft, and major air traffic is routed to the international airport atGardermoen (opened 1998). In November 2016, the Norwegian government decided that they would close the airfield by 2023 and plans to redevelop the land for housing and small businesses.[4]
Lillestrøm is home to threeprimary schools (Vigernes, Volla and Kjeller), alower secondary school (Kjellervolla), and twoupper secondary schools (Lillestrøm and Skedsmo). The town also hosts a Folkeuniversitet campus,[5] the Norwegian Correctional Service's college[6] and a satellite campus ofOslo Metropolitan University.[7]
The municipality in Lillestrøm is controlled by the localLabor party. Since 2011,Ole Jacob Flæten has been Lillestrøm's mayor.
The head office ofAccident Investigation Board Norway is located in Lillestrøm.[8]
The localfootball club,Lillestrøm SK was founded in 1917 and currently plays in theNorwegian first division. The club is among the most successful in Norwegian football and has won fiveleague titles in addition to sixcups. During the 70s, the club went through the divisions with back-to-back promotions before eventually winning the double in1977, largely thanks to their legendary playerTom Lund. Their home ground isÅråsen Stadion which accommodates 10,540 spectators.
The nearbyLillestrøm stadion is used for training, and was anice hockey venue at the1952 Winter Olympics. There are also two indoor arenas, one multi-purpose (Skedsmohallen) and one for football (LSK-Hallen), and in 2007 a track and field stadium Romerike Friidrettsstadion was built as a cooperation between the municipalities Skedsmo,Rælingen andLørenskog.[9]
The local track and field club is named Minerva. Athletes such asHanne Haugland andHåkon Särnblom have represented the club.
Rugby league is represented by newly formed rugby league club Lillestrøm Lions RLK, who are Scandinavia's first ever rugby league club.[10]
Nitja Center of contemporary Art is located in Lillestrøm.[12]
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)59°57′N11°05′E / 59.950°N 11.083°E /59.950; 11.083
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