Gjøvik

 

Gjøvik is a municipality in Innlandet county. It borders in the north to Lillehammer, in the south to Østre Toten and Vestre Toten, and in the west to Søndre Land and Nordre Land. Above Lake Mjøsa in the east are Ringsaker municipality, and Helgøya. Gjøvik was part of Oppland county until this became part of Innlandet in 2020.

The municipal center is the town Gjøvik which is located by Lake Mjøsa, also called "The white town by Lake Mjøsa". The wheeled steamer DS «Skibladner», «Mjøsa's white swan», has its home port here. The city was one of the host cities during the Olympics in Lillehammer in 1994 when Gjøvik Olympic Mountain Hall was the arena for ice hockey.

 

Geography
Gjøvik municipality consists of four main areas: Gjøvik town and the former manors (rural municipalities) Vardal, Snertingdal and Biri, which in 1964 were merged into Gjøvik municipality.

In the former Vardal county are the settlements Hunndalen and Bybrua (Hunndalen is today considered part of the settlement Gjøvik). In Snertingdal is the village «Snertingdal center» and in Biri is the village «Biri center». Almost in the middle of the municipality is the Redalen area.

The municipality's area is 672.16 km², of which 490 km² (73%) is forest area, 68.458 km² (10%) is cultivated land and 40.55 km² (6%) is water.

Nature and topography
Most of Gjøvik consists of three valleys that extend about 2-3 miles west of Lake Mjøsa. Biri and Biri Built along the river Vismunda, Snertingdal and Redalen along the Kjerringelva, Storelva and Stokkelva - and Vardal with Hunndalen and Gjøvik By along the Ålstadelva, Vesleelva and Hunnselva. Between these valleys are wooded hills. North of the valleys is Biristrand along Lake Mjøsa.

Gjøvik railway station is located 129.2 m above sea level, previously marked with a sign (Precision level element) at the bottom of the wall at the southeast corner of the station building, approximately at the height of the platform. Gjøvik's highest point is the lowest of two peaks on Ringsrudåsen, 837 masl, on the hill between Biri Øverbygd and Øvre Snertingdal, on the border with Nordre Land.

Population and demographics
A person from Gjøvik is called «gjøvikenser». The number of inhabitants in Gjøvik municipality was 29,677 as of 1 April 2014. On 1 January 2015, the population had increased to 30,063. The majority of the inhabitants of the municipality live in Gjøvik city. The town of Gjøvik had 20,474 inhabitants as of 1 January 2020. This makes Gjøvik the second largest of Mjøsbyene, after Hamar. Gjøvik and Hamar are equal in terms of population within the respective municipalities' borders.

Districts
Gjøvik city can be divided into several districts / residential areas that largely follow Hunnselva's course. Socially and geographically, however, there are three main parts of the city that stand out. Nordbyen (north of Hunnselva) consists of the most important areas in the center of Gjøvik in addition to the residential areas at the urban areas Hunn and Tranberg. This district has traditionally housed the bourgeoisie in the areas close to the city center north of the city center. Sørbyen has traditionally been home to the working-class families who were employed in the many large industrial companies in and around Gjøvik. These are residential areas by Tongjordet, Kallerud and Kopperud, and Vindingstad. Hunndalen is a suburb that grew up around Mustad Fabrikker and Totens cellulosefabrikk - and has gradually grown together with Gjøvik and become a significant part of the city. Northwest of the town are the hamlets Bybrua and Tobru from the old Vardal municipality. The population composition in the districts has largely changed in recent decades, and the traditional settlement pattern has changed significantly.