Maridalen
Encyclopedia
Maridalen is a valley situated just north of Oslo
, Norway
, just above the suburb of Kjelsås
. Most of the valley is made up of a lake known as Maridalsvannet
, that serves as the primary source of drinking water for 90% of Oslo's population. The valley is a popular recreational area with many hiking trails and cycle tracks for summer usage, and groomed cross country trails in winter. Both the lake and valley are protected.
The name of the valley cannot be older than the Christian movement of Norway (around 1000 AD), and it probably replaced an older name that has since been forgotten. This is probably one of rare examples in Norway where an old name of a large valley has been replaced.
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, just above the suburb of Kjelsås
Kjelsås
Kjelsås is a one of the northern suburbs of Oslo situated in Nordre Aker, the northern borough of Oslo, Norway.- History :Together with Grefsen, Kjelsås was part of the borough Grefsen-Kjelsås until January 1 2004, when they both became part of the new borough of Nordre Aker...
. Most of the valley is made up of a lake known as Maridalsvannet
Maridalsvannet
Maridalsvannet is a lake in Maridalen, Oslo, Norway. It is the largest lake in the municipitality of Oslo, and serves as the main drinking water supply for the city. The lake drains via the river Akerselva to the Oslofjord. The primary inflows are Skjærsjøelva and Dausjøelva. The Hammeren...
, that serves as the primary source of drinking water for 90% of Oslo's population. The valley is a popular recreational area with many hiking trails and cycle tracks for summer usage, and groomed cross country trails in winter. Both the lake and valley are protected.
The name
The Norse form of the name was Margrétardalr. The first element is the genitive of Margrét, the last element is dalr m 'dale, valley'. The church (now in ruins) just north of the lake was dedicated to St Margaret of Scotland.The name of the valley cannot be older than the Christian movement of Norway (around 1000 AD), and it probably replaced an older name that has since been forgotten. This is probably one of rare examples in Norway where an old name of a large valley has been replaced.