Geography and history

The district Øvrevoll was built around the farm Øvre Vold, which stems from the separation of Vold

Voll, Akershus

Voll is a district in eastern Bærum, Norway.The district Voll was built around the farm of the same name. The farm was mentioned as Vælli in 1398, Woldt in 1578, Wold in 1723 and later Vold. It belonged to the St. Hallvard's Cathedral during the Middle Ages, and later the state church...

 farm into two farms; Øvre and Nedre (Upper and Lower) Vold in 1721. Today, Øvrevoll and Voll are sometimes referred to as one district. Øvrevoll borders Jar

Jar, Norway

Jar is a district in the municipality of Bærum, Norway. Its population is 4,868.It is served by the Jar rail station on the Kolsås Line.-References:...

 in the south, Grav

Grav

Grav is a district in the municipality of Bærum, Norway. Mainly a residential area, the population is 4,463.-References:...

 in the west, Østerås

Østerås

Østerås is a village in Akershus, Norway....

, Eiksmarka

Eiksmarka

Eiksmarka is a suburb of the Norwegian municipality of Bærum with around 4,000 inhabitants, just west of Oslo. It is served by Eiksmarka station.It is an affluent area in the most expensive part of Bærum, north of the borough of Jar...

 and Grini

Grini

Grini prison camp was a Nazi concentration camp in Bærum, Norway, which operated between 1941 and May 1945.-History:Grini was originally built as a women's prison, near an old croft named Ilen , on land bought from the Løvenskiold family by the Norwegian state...

 in the north and Voll in the east.

The farm had one croft

Croft (land)

A croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant farmer.- Etymology :...

 under it; Lindeberg. In 1809, Øvre Vold farm was designated as the seat of the district stipendiary magistrate, but he chose to live at Øvre Stabæk

Ringstabekk

Ringstabekk is a district in Bærum, Norway. Named after the local farm, the district is also known for its schools and the sports field. The sports club Stabæk IF originates in the area.-The farm:...

 instead. In 1826 the farm was registered as having 165 decares of crop, three horses, eleven cattle and twelve sheep. It had various owners until it was bought by dentist Einar Hirsch in 1910. He soon started to parcel out lots, starting with the area around the farm around World War I.

The farm's communications had been drastically improved in 1872, when the road Vollsveien from Lysaker

Lysaker

Lysaker is a section of and a postal code area of the Norwegian municipality of Bærum, just west of Oslo.Geographically, it is bordered by Lysakerelven on the east, which also forms the border to Oslo; Fornebu to the south; Stabekk to the west; and Jar to the north...

 opened. The main purpose was to aid the timber industry around the river Lysakerelva. Vollsveien was connected to Norwegian National Road 168

Norwegian National Road 168

Norwegian National Road 168 is a major route between Bærum and Oslo, Norway.It stretches from the industrial area of Rud, Bærum to the inner city of Oslo. It is connected with important roads like the European route E16 and the National Roads 150 , 161 and 162...

 around 1930. Since 1951 the district is served by Lijordet Station

Lijordet (station)

Lijordet is a station on the Røa Line of the Oslo Metro. It is located between Østerås and Eiksmarka, 9.6 km from Stortinget. It is the second of three stations on the Røa Line within Bærum municipality, and passengers travelling here from Oslo need to pay a higher fare.The station was opened in...

 on the Røa Line, located north of the horse racing track.
Øvrevoll is the name of a bus stop, served by line 131 of Ruter

Ruter

Ruter As is the public transport authority for Oslo and Akershus, Norway. The company, organized as a limited company is responsible for managing, but not operating, public transport in the two counties, including bus, the Oslo Metro, the Oslo Tramway and ferries...

's bus network.

Sports

Øvrevoll is famous as the site of Øvrevoll Galoppbane

Øvrevoll Galoppbane

Øvrevoll Galoppbane is the only gallop racecourse in NorwayIt is located at Øvrevoll between Østerås , Jar and Eiksmarka in Bærum. It has both a turf track and an all-weather track. It was officially opened in 1932 by King Haakon VII and Queen Maud.The biggest event of the year is the Derby Day,...

, One of Norway's track for gallop horse racing

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

. The idea for establishing the track came from Einar Hirsch in 1927, and approved by the central government despite local protests. Construction was carried through between 1930 and 1932. In 1984 a dirt track was added to the grass track, to allow racing and training in different kinds of weather. Proposals from track owners to build housing there have so far been turned down.

The car park at the racing track was for some time used for association football and bandy

Bandy

Bandy is a team winter sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal.The rules of the game have many similarities to those of association football: the game is played on a rectangle of ice the same size as a football field. Each team has 11 players,...

 by the team Øvrevollkameratene, founded on 26 April 1955. A clubhouse was raised further south at Jarmyra in 1968, and that open grass plain at Jar became their home field. The club was named Øvrevoll BK through most of its existence, and on 26 September 2007 it was merged to form Øvrevoll Hosle IL

Øvrevoll Hosle IL

Øvrevoll Hosle Idrettslag is a Norwegian multi-sports club from eastern Bærum.-Organization and history:Sections are bandy, baseball, association football, ski jumping, cross-country skiing and handball. The club covers the areas Øvrevoll, Voll, Grav, parts of Bekkestua and Jar as well as Hosle...

, with clubhouse at Hosle

Hosle

Hosle is a district in the municipality of Bærum, Norway. Its population is 5,713.-References:...

.