Oslo is the capital and most populous city of Norway, formerly located in the historic county of Viken. Known to the Norse as Ánslo, meaning "meadow consecrated to the gods", Oslo was founded in 1049 by King Harald Hardrada, and it became the capital of Norway under King Haakon V during the early 14th century. Haakon built Akershus Fortress to protect Oslo, but Oslo declined after the formation of the Denmark-Norway personal union, as Copenhagen became the new center of power. Oslo was destroyed several times by fire, and, in 1624, King Christian IV of Denmark rebuilt the city as Christiania. Christiania became a center of commerce, culture, and shipbuilding in Norway, and Christiania became the capital of Norway on the dissolution of the personal union with Denmark in 1814. Norway entered into a personal union with Sweden that same year, and the Bank of Norway was founded in 1828, the Royal Palace in 1848, and the Storting in 1866. The city expanded through annexing neighboring municipalities, and its population increased from 10,000 in 1814 to 230,000 in 1900. Norway became fully independent in 1905, and Christiania was renamed to Oslo in 1925. Oslo was occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II, but the Norwegian Resistance harried the German occupiers through sabotage and other acts of resistance. In 1948, Oslo merged with Aker, creating the modern, much larger Oslo municipality. During the early 2000s, it became the fastest growing major city in Europe, and, by 2010, the immigrant population in the city was growing at a faster rate than the Norwegian population; by then, 25% of Oslo's population consisted of immigrants and their children. In 2021, Oslo had a population of 698,660 people, of whom 70.4% were Norwegians and 30.4% of foreign heritage (the largest being Pakistanis, followed by Poles, Somalis, and Swedes).
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