4. City borders
Odas bro
Natural formations such as mountains, rivers, and shorelines defined the boundaries around medieval Oslo.
The Akerselva River, known as Frysja in the Middle Ages, was later called O.
Nonneseter Monastery had the rights to salmon and trout fishing in the river.
Water power and milling activities are mentioned in medieval manuscripts from 1341.
Under Oda's Bridge, flows today's Akerselva, the name being a simplification of "Aggershuses elv/river" mentioned in a royal decree from 1636.
The Akerselva river flows into the harbor basin past the Munch museum. The sound of the frothing, cascading water may have inspired the medieval name of the river- Frysja- an onomatopoeia refering to that sound.
The power of water
The Akerselva River with the Vaterland bridge, photographed by Inger Marie Munch in 1932. Inger Munch was the sister of famous painter Edvard Munch. Courtesy Oslo Museum.
The city center was bordered by the Alna River to the south, Eikaberg to the southeast, Klosterbekken to the north, and the shoreline to the west. Outside the city center lay Oslo's outlying areas.
Water power and milling activities are mentioned in written sources from 1341. The Akerselva river provided important water power to grind flour - as Snigill the baker shows the importance of for the daily bread.
Continue!
