Lillestrøm

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Lillestrøm
Unincorporated city
Lillestrøm town centre
Lillestrøm town centre
Lillestrøm is located in Norway
Lillestrøm
Lillestrøm
Location within Norway
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Country Norway
County Akershus
District Romerike
Municipality Skedsmo
City status June 13, 1998
Elevation 109 m (358 ft)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 2000-2004

Lillestrøm is a city in the municipality of Skedsmo, Akershus, Norway. The municipal administration is located in Lillestrøm.

History

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 which 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 January 1, 1908, Lillestrøm became a municipality of its own, having been split from Skedsmo. At that time Lillestrøm municipality had a population of 4,351. On 1 January 1962 the two municipalities were reunited under the name Skedsmo. Before the merger Lillestrøm municipality had a population of 10,840.[1]

As of 1997, Lillestrøm is a city in its own right. Since then, Lillestrøm holds an annual 4 day city fair, which is entirely free of charge. It includes music by high profile Norwegian artists on several outdoor stages, food, retail business exhibitions and thrill rides en masse. Everything is held in Lillestrøm's main street and the connecting streets, which is reserved for pedestrians for the occasion.

In 2002, Norway Trade Fairs moved from Skøyen to Lillestrøm.[2]

Transport

Lillestrøm is connected by rail to Oslo by two separate railways. The Trunk line runs to Oslo via the Grorud valley and is mostly used by commuter trains halting at all stations, in addition to freight trains. Express trains, intercity trains and non-halting commuter trains uses the Gardermoen line, which runs mostly in tunnel to Oslo. Lillestrøm train station was built in 1854, in the grounds of, and named after, the farm Lillestrøm in the neighbour municipaplity of Rælingen, as part of the first Norwegian railway between Oslo and Eidsvoll. In 1862, with the opening of the eastbound Kongsvingerbanen, the railway station was moved across the river to Skedsmo - but the name remained. Lillestrøm also has rail connection north towards Oslo Airport and Trondheim with the continuation of Hovedbanen and Gardermobanen.

Kjeller, just outside Lillestrøm, is the site of Kjeller Airport, founded in 1912.

National highway 159 is a four-lane motorway that connects directly between downtown Lillestrøm and Oslo. The E6-motorway bypasses Lillestrøm a couple of kilometers to the west on its way from Oslo and further north. National highway 22 bypasses the northern outskirts of the conurbation in an east-west axis.

Education

Two of the primary/lower secondary schools here are Volla Barneskole and Vigernes Barneskole. There are two upper secondary schools in Lillestrøm. One of them is Lillestrøm upper secondary school which offers the International Baccalaureate Programme. Another one would be Skedsmo upper secondary school, located a 10-minute walk from the train station.

Government

The head office of Accident Investigation Board Norway is located in Lillestrøm,[3] and is led by Grete Myhre.

Facilities

Facilities in Lillestrøm include hotels, Norway trade fairs, a brand new cinema, a mall, Lillestrøm torv, restaurants, a high speed commuter train that reaches both Oslo and Gardermoen airport (the Gardermoen Line), a community cultural house (kulturhus), and a community outdoor swimming pool complex. At Kjeller, just outside the city, there is a military airport (1912) and several research institutes.

Sport

The local football team, Lillestrøm SK, plays in the Norwegian Premier League. Their home ground is Åråsen stadion.

The nearby Lillestrøm stadion is used for training, and was an ice hockey venue at the 1952 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 and Lørenskog.[4]

The local track and field club is named Minerva. Athletes such as Hanne Haugland and Håkon Särnblom have represented the club.

Rugby is represented by newly formed Rugby League club Lillestrøm Lions RLK.

People from Lillestrøm

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References

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  2. Norway Trade Fairs
  3. "Contact us." Accident Investigation Board Norway. Retrieved on January 13, 2011. "Visiting address: Sophie Radichsvei 17 N-2003 Lillestrøm."
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External links

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