Jessheim

History

The railway station with the Jessheim station was built in 1854 as part of the Hovedbanen line from Oslo to Eidsvoll. The railroad had at the initial construction of the railroad in 1854 called the stop "Trøgstad", but because of confusion with the town name Trøgstad in Østfold, the name was changed in 1897 to "Jessum". This name was used blasphemically, for example by military recruits who said they had passed through Bøn (town north of Jessheim) which sounds like "prayer" in Norwegian to Jessum, which could sound like Jesus. The priests in the area complained to the bishop who in 1900 brought the case up with the local council and suggested the form "Jessheim". The name was changed to "Jesseim". In 1920 the railroad changed the spelling to the current form, Jessheim.