Maridalen

Maridalsvannet from the south

Church ruins of the old Saint Margret`s Church from the 13.th century in Maridalen.

Maridalen is a valley situated just north of Oslo, Norway, just above the suburb of Kjelsås. Most of the valley is made up of a lake known as Maridalsvannet, that serves as the primary source of drinking water for 90% of Oslo's population.^[1] The valley is a popular recreational area with many hiking trails and cycle tracks for summer usage, and groomed cross country trails in winter. Both the lake and valley are protected.^[2]

The name

The Norse form of the name was Margrétardalr. The first element is the genitive of Margrét, the last element is dalr m 'dale, valley'. The church (now in ruins) just north of the lake was dedicated to St Margaret of Scotland.

The name of the valley cannot be older than the Christian movement of Norway (around 1000 AD), and it probably replaced an older name that has since been forgotten. This is probably one of rare examples in Norway where an old name of a large valley has been replaced.

References

1. ^ Municipality of Oslo (17 September 2008). "Ofte stilte spørsmål om nye Oset vannbehandlingsanlegg" (in Norwegian). http://dnweb12.dirnat.no/nbinnsyn/status/NBdata.asp?FyNr=03&Datasett=VV. Retrieved 23 March 2009. 
2. ^ Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management. "Verneområder i Oslo sortert på kommuner" (in Norwegian). http://dnweb12.dirnat.no/nbinnsyn/status/NBdata.asp?FyNr=03&Datasett=VV. Retrieved 23 March 2009.