The East End and West End (, ) are used as names for the two parts of Oslo, Norway, formed by the economic and socially segregating separation line that has historically passed along the street Uelands gate. The Akerselva river is often seen as a boundary between west and east, but that can be misleading, as there are working-class neighbourhoods on both sides of the river.
The West End was built in the 1840s, and had since the 17th century been a common land area, with the area behind the castle as an exit point. The East End grew around the new industry and along the passageways to the east. Around 1890, the division between east and west was prominent and most districts of the city were marked by class, either by working-class or bourgeois class. This division was reflected in architecture, but also in politics in that the Conservative Party and the Labour Party were, taken together, much more dominant than in other parts of Norway. The dialects have traditionally been quite different, and there has been a sharp distinction line between the sociolects of the two parts of the city, but this has somewhat diminished in the latest decades. Youths who have grown up in one part of the city usually have little experience of the other.
The West End districts (boroughs), districts number 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, have a total population of about 202,000 as of 1 January 2011, while the East End districts have a total population of about 405,000 (January 2011).Tabell 4. Befolkningen i Oslo etter bydel, rode (grunnkrets) og alder pr. 01.01.2009, side 40 i: Notatserien 2/2009. Oslo kommune, Utviklings- og kompetanseetaten. Rodene 204-209 (Fredensborg och Hausmannsområdet) in the district St. Hanshaugen with a population of about 2500 has been included in the East End
In the East End, wealth, incomes and real estate prices are significantly lower than in the West End. Both the worst and the best living conditions in Norway can be found in Oslo. The economic difference is strengthened by the cultural capital of those who belong to the elite: social networks, education and activities that provide access to attractive jobs and other benefits. The distinction between east and west also concerns life expectancy, use of disability pension and self-experienced health conditions.
Since the 1970s, the great immigration to Oslo has influenced the city, concerning the distinction between east and west. Immigrants from Western Europe and North America are equally divided among the city's two parts, whereas most immigrants from Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe live in the East End. The worst living conditions can be found among immigrants from continents other than Europe.
Even though the districts in the East End of Oslo are among the worst in the city, they have relatively good living conditions and quality of education compared to the worst parts of most other major cities in Europe. Class distinctions play a smaller role for the majority of the population than in many other countries, and the good economic quality and living conditions of the Norwegian society are also reflected in the capital. What makes Oslo special is the lingering geographic class division of the city into two parts that has existed for almost 150 years.
Boundaries and exceptions
Researchers of languages and history see Uelands gate as the boundary between the East End and the West End.Østkant på begge sider av Akerselva. Pressklipp. Historisk-filosofisk fakultets nätplats . Accessed 21 July 2008. Also see Oslo bys historie, volume 3 page 379 and volume 4 page 45, and Knut Kjeldstadli: "'Den fine verden søger vestover' – om Vestkant og Østkant i Oslos historie." In: Jan Eivind Myhre and Knut Kjelstadli: Oslo - spenningenes by. Oslo, Pax, 1995, page 94, where he shows that districts on both sides of the Akerselva river became working-class districts, and the boundary went along Iladalen. The boundary is not sharp, and differences between Iladalen immediately east of Uelands gate and the area around Bjerregaards gate are not marked by either architecture nor economy. Nearer to the city centre, the boundary goes along Akerryggen to the east of Vår Frelsers gravlund and approximately along Hammersborghøyden. The boundary is more vague in the city centre; the area between Møllergata and Pilestredet has no clear east-west distinction.
To the north of Uelands gate, the boundary goes along Voldsløkka and Maridalsveien. Further north, the villa areas of Kjelsås, Grefsen and Korsvoll in the district of Nordre Aker have had mixed population - today, the prices of apartments are high, while the participation in elections is less representative of the West End than further west. This article counts the entire district of Nordre Aker as belonging to the West End.
It is traditional to say "øst og vest for elva" ("east and west of the river" in Norwegian) to mean the economic difference. However, both sides of the Akerselva river are seen as belonging to the East End - Sagene, Bjølsen and the Hausmann area, located west of the river, are typical East End districts.
Of the districts in the inner city, Frogner and St. Hanshaugen are located in the West End, called inner west, while Sagene, Grünerløkka and Gamle Oslo are located in the East End and belong to the inner east. Ullern, Vestre Aker and Nordre Aker belong to the outer west area. The outer east area includes the districts of Alna, Bjerke, Grorud and Stovner in Groruddalen, and Østensjø and Søndre Nordstrand further south.
Nordstrand is an exception from the east-west distinction. The district includes the villa areas of Bekkelaget, Nordstrand, Ljan and others south of Ekebergskråningen. It has the best sun conditions and the best views in the city, and it is the furthest away from the industrial area. This is a well-off district, often called "beste østkant" ("the best of the East End"), where the population has the same economic and social features as further west. The formerly working-class areas in the West End, such as Pipervika, Skøyen, Hoffsbyen and Lilleaker, are no longer working-class areas.
Geographical and economic differences before 1840 In pre-industrial times, the rich and the poor lived in the same houses, with a wider distribution than what became common after the latter half of the 19th century. In Christiania, the elite lived in Kvadraturen inside the city walls, which were at that time called Kvartalerne (the Blocks). This area was the focus of well-off business owners in the East End near Bjørvika, whereas many workers lived in the north-western part along the streets Akersgata, Nedre Vollgate and Øvre Vollgate.Oslo - spenningenes by, pp. 87-88
The mandatory use of masonry or timber frame with brick infill construction (murtvang) was enforced in the area from 1624, and in the early 18th century this use spread out about 200 metres outside the city walls. It was many times more expensive to build houses of masonry than of wood. The mandatory use of masonry, intended to prevent fire hazards, was found difficult to enforce already from 1624, and occasional disputes about it arose as the city grew.
In 1766, about 50% of all apartment buildings in Kvadraturen were timber-framed, 30% of logs and 20% of masonry. The mandatory use of masonry was one of the reasons that the city became popular among business owners and officials, while low-income inhabitants lived in wooden houses outside the city. The 200-metre boundary caused suburbs to be built outside the city. The decision to spread out the mandatory use of masonry, in 1837, 1844, 1855 and 1858, did not proceed in equal steps with the growth of the city, and wooden suburbs soon rose outside what happened to be the boundary of the mandatory use of masonry at each point of time.
The wooden suburbs from the 17th century are gone: Pipervika, Vaterland, Sagene, Grønland, "Oslo" (Gamlebyen). Some of the newer ones are protected and are today seen as attractive places to live: Telthusbakken from the late 18th century and the short street Damstredet from the early 19th century. Of the wooden suburbs that grew precisely outside the city limits in the years before the city expansions in 1859 and 1878, Rodeløkka, Kampen and Vålerenga remain, at "Ny York" on Grünerløkka a few houses remain, while Ruseløkkbakken and Enerhaugen are gone.Pål Henry Engh and Arne Gunnarsjaa: Oslo: En arkitekturguide. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, 1984, pp. 86-87.
In some of the suburbs, Storgaten, Grensen, Grønland and Gamle Oslo, lived also officials and well-off people. In Sagene, both factory owners and workers lived near the factories, as was common in early industrial times. Bryn is an example from the outer city. Around 1840, Vaterland was the area with the most diverse population.
In 1629, a large area to the west of Akerelva became city property. Citizens of Oslo had pastures in the area where they could farm animals. Resourceful citizens fenced off their pastures and built houses for people already in the 17th century - even though it wasn't allowed. This way, a market for country-side summer houses formed, and later they became full-year residences in what would become the West End.
From the 1840s to 1900 The Royal Palace becomes the new core of the West End - socially similar areas in both the east and the west
The placement of the Royal Palace, on which construction started in 1824, was to be significant for the development of the East End and the West End. The castle architect Linstow drew a connection between the city and the palace in a city plan from 1838, so that there would be apartments for the well off along the connecting streets Karl Johans gate, Kristian IV:s gate and St. Olavs gate. In contrast, an area that became called Bak Slottet (Behind the Royal Palace), along Parkveien and Wergelandsveien, did become popular by the elite, having had city villas constructed in the 1840s to secure a pleasing neighbourhood for the new royal residence in Slottsparken. Homansbyen for the upper class bourgeois dates from the late 1850s.Oslo. En arkitekturguide., pp. 128-29 In the 1860s and especially in the 1870s, a ring of new, socially similar residence areas were built around the old town: Hegdehaugen, Uranienborg, along Drammensveien, Meyerløkka in the west, Fredensborg, Youngsløkka, the lower end of Grünerløkka and Nedre Tøyen in the east. Tenements with rented apartments were originally a form of living for the upper class - the first one in the city arrived in the 1840s and was located near Grev Wedels plass, along Karl Johans gate, and Maltheby in Akersgata 65,Oslo bys historie, volume 3, page 375 whereas the worker class lived in wooden houses in the suburbs.
In that time, wealthy people moved from what would become the East End to the new West End, professors from the university buildings in Tøyen, factory owners from Sagene, officials from Gamlebyen, people in the city gardens in Kvadraturen which became shop buildings etc. In the East End, the population became more homogenous than before: new immigrants from Eastern Norway and original citizens built the new worker class in the city of Kristiania together, affecting the growing industry, handwork, transport, and other areas.
Around 1880 the division between the East End and the West End was prominent but not complete. In this early stage, new apartments for wealthy people in areas such as Gamlebyen (Schweigaards gate)Oslo bys historie, volume 3, page 382 were built, and it was attractive to settle down in Kvadraturen. The expansion of the city in the 1890s strengthened the division and the systematic boundary line. In 1910, the average income in Sofienberg was a tenth of that in Frogner.