Vettakollen is a hill and neighbourhood in the borough of Vestre Aker

Vestre Aker

Vestre Aker is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway.The previous municipality Aker was merged into the city of Oslo in 1948.The borough of Vestre Aker was organized as part of the 1 January 2004 reform. Previous boroughs...

 in Oslo

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...

.

The hill lies west of Sognsvann

Sognsvann

Sognsvann is a 3.3km circumference lake just north of Oslo, Norway.Lying just within the greenbelt around Oslo, the lake is a popular recreational area, used as a camping, picnicking and bathing destination for the residents of Oslo during the summer, as well as a cross-country skiing, skating and...

 and southeast of Voksenåsen and Holmenkollen

Holmenkollen

Holmenkollen is a neighborhood in the Vestre Aker borough of Oslo, Norway. In addition to being a residential area, the area has been a ski recreation area since the late 19th century, with its famous, eponymous, ski jump arena hosting competitions since 1892...

, and measures 419 metres above mean sea level

Above mean sea level

The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...

. The built-up residential area south of the hill is served by the Oslo Metro station Vettakollen

Vettakollen (station)

Vettakollen is a station on the Holmenkollen Line of the Oslo Metro. It is between Skådalen and Gulleråsen. The station was opened on 31 May 1898 as part of the tramway to Besserud. The station was originally opened as Greveveien, but changed its name a few months after the opening.-References:...

.

The name stems from the beacon hill's former use as the site of a beacon . Before modern times, such beacons were set alight on a series of hills to constitute an alarm system. The naming is found in other hills, such as Vardåsen, Varingskollen

Varingskollen

Varingskollen is a mountain of Akershus, in southeastern Norway....

 and probably Brannfjell.