Sandvika is the administrative center in Bærum municipality and
is located in both the city of Oslo and the greater Oslo region.
Administratively, Sandvika was located in Akershus county, diocesan
county, county and county since the Middle Ages, and in 2020 became
part of Viken county; Sandvika is also located in the diocese of
Oslo. The name Sandvika is associated with the bay in the fjord and
the land that river deposits have formed around the outlet.
Bærum municipal council approved the city status for Sandvika on 4
June 2003. Sandvika is physically a western sub-area in the
contiguous urban area of Oslo and has no natural boundaries to
other parts of the city of Oslo, so the urban definition of Sandvika
is of a purely administrative nature. Sandvika is located southwest
of Bærum, in the innermost part of the Vestfjord and approximately
15 kilometers southwest of central Oslo. Bærum's administration,
together with most other public services, is located in Sandvika.
Sandvika has undergone major infrastructural changes since the end
of the 1980s and has grown radically. Sandvika is the municipality's
largest administration and trade center.
According to
Statistics Norway's statistics for cities and towns, Sandvika, like
the rest of the densely populated part of Bærum municipality, is
part of the town of Oslo. The city of Sandvika is (as of February
2020) not geographically delimited, and it is therefore difficult to
determine the city's exact population and area. Statistics Norway
states 115,134 inhabitants from Bærum who belonged to this
settlement as of 1 January 2020. There were 127,731 inhabitants in
the municipality per. January 1, 2017
History
The first settlement in Sandvika is connected to past
farms such as Løkke, Hamang, Kjørbo and Bjørnegård, which belonged
to Nesøygodset. Kjørbo was used as a noble estate instead of Nesøya
in the 17th century, while Evje was a church estate until 1840.
Sandviksgrunnene were rich fishing grounds that were originally
part of Oxehoved (Blommenholm). Fishing in the fjord provided an
important contribution to the farms in Sandvika.
Transport
The main traffic route E18 goes through Sandvika, while E16 starts
at Sandvika. Sandvika station is one of the largest in the district.
Here, both Flytoget and selected Inter-city trains stop on the Asker
line and local trains on the Drammen line. At the train station
there is also a bus station and taxi rank.
In addition to
cars and trains, public transport is based on buses. Traffic to Oslo
from the municipality is otherwise located (metro, buses) at
Bekkestua (metro, tram, buses) and Østerås
Cultural life
Sandvika has a large cinema (Kino 1) with eight halls, and right
next to this is Bærum Kulturhus with 500 seats. This is mainly used
for dance performances and concerts. Sandvika Theater, formerly
Sandvika Cinema, is today used mainly for children's theater, Bærum
Children's Theater and Sandvika Children and Youth Theater. Close to
the theater is also the club stage Musikkflekken. Baracoa Bar and
Stage have weekly concerts. Since the beginning of 2000, Sandvika
has played an important role in Norwegian modern music.
Leisure time
In the fjord outside Sandvika is Kalvøya, an island
that is connected to the mainland via an approx. 100 m long
suspension bridge. In the summer, people go on beach trips here, and
festivals, football matches and private groups use Kalvøya.