Buskerud

Buskerud
County
Buskerud fylke

Flag Coat of arms
Buskerud within Norway
Coordinates: 60°30′00″N 09°30′00″E / 60.50000°N 9.50000°E / 60.50000; 9.50000
Country	Norway
Region	Østlandet
County ID	NO-33
Administrative centre	Drammen
Government
• Governor	Kirsti Kolle Grøndahl Arbeiderpartiet (1999–2020)
• County mayor	Tore Opdal Hansen Conservative Party (2024–)^[1]
Area
• Total	14,908 km² (5,756 sq mi)
• Land	13,794 km² (5,326 sq mi)
• Rank	#12 in Norway, 4.53% of Norway's land area
Population (30 September 2019)
• Total	284,955
• Rank	8 (5.29% of country)
• Density	18/km² (50/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	6.7 %
Demonym	Buskerudfolk
Time zone	UTC+01 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02 (CEST)
Official language form	Neutral
Income (per capita)	155,400 NOK
GDP (per capita)	227,626 NOK (2001)
GDP national rank	7 (3.57% of country)
Website	www.bfk.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Buskerud (Urban East Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈbʉ̂skərʉː] ^ⓘ) is a county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Innlandet, Vestland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardangervidda mountain range in the northwest. The county administration was in modern times located in Drammen.^[2] Buskerud was merged with Akershus and Østfold into the newly created Viken County on 1 January 2020.^[3] On 23 February 2022, the Viken County Council voted in a 49 against 38 decision to submit an application to the Norwegian government for a county demerger.^[4] Due to this, Buskerud (except the area forming the defunct municipalities of Røyken and Hurum) was re-established in 2024.

YouTube Encyclopedic

1/4
Views:
778
2 282
4 863
3 122

Transcription

Etymology

The county was named after the old manor Buskerud (Old Norse: Biskupsruð) (Biskopsrøysa) located on the west side of the Drammen River in Åmot, Modum municipality. The first element is the genitive case of biskup, 'bishop' (referring to the Bishop of Hamar), the last element is ruð n 'clearing, farm'. The farm was one of the largest in Buskerud, and the original name of the farm (before it became a benefice) was probably Modum. At the time of the Reformation (c. 1536–39) the farm became property of the Crown at which time the farm then served as the residence of the king's bailiffs until 1668.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Geography

Buskerud extended from Hurum at the Oslofjord to the Halling mountains and Hardanger. The county was conventionally divided into traditional districts. These were Hallingdal, Numedal, Ringerike, Lower Buskerud, which was originally part of Vestfold, and Western Vingulmark.

Hallingdal consisted of Flå, Nes, Gol, Hemsedal, Ål and Hol.^[8] Numedal consisted of Flesberg, Rollag and Nore og Uvdal.^[9] Ringerike consisted of Hole, Krødsherad, Modum, Ringerike and Sigdal. Western Vingulmark consisted of Hurum and Røyken.^[10]^[11] Lower Buskerud consisted of Drammen, Hurum, Kongsberg, Lier, Nedre Eiker, Røyken and Øvre Eiker. The district was merged from parts that belonged to Vestfold and Vingulmark.^[12]

Buskerud's western part was a mountainous plateau with forested valleys and high, grassy pastures; its eastern part contains a lowland basin with many lakes and streams. Tyrifjorden and Krøderen were the biggest lakes. Numedalslågen, the third longest river in Norway, starting in Hordaland, ran through Buskerud unto Vestfold where it reached the sea, while river Begna sweeps into lake Sperillen.

Mountains

History

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1951	156,220	—
1961	168,351	+7.8%
1971	198,852	+18.1%
1981	214,571	+7.9%
1991	225,261	+5.0%
2001	238,833	+6.0%
2011	261,110	+9.3%
2021?	300,142	+14.9%
2031?	332,808	+10.9%
Source: Statistics Norway.^[13]

Religion in Buskerud^[14]^[15]
religion			percent
Christianity			83.01%
Islam			3.14%
Buddhism			0.31%
Other			13.54%

Buskerud was separated from Akershus as an amt of its own in 1685, but the amt was smaller than today. It then consisted of the present districts Eiker, Hallingdal, and Ringerike. The area of the present municipalities of Flesberg, Hurum, Kongsberg, Lier, Nore og Uvdal, Rollag and Røyken were transferred from Akershus amt to Buskerud amt in 1760. The name Buskeruds amt was changed to Buskerud fylke in 1919. The municipality of Skoger was transferred from Vestfold to Buskerud in 1964.^[16]

The area Ringerike may once have been a small kingdom. During the 10th century, Norway's kings Olaf Tryggvason and Olaf Haraldsson grew up at Bønsnes in Ringerike. In the valley of Numedal, silver was mined in Kongsberg from the 17th century until discontinued in 1957. Weapons industry had been developed in Kongsberg from 1814, and various high tech industry companies now represent the town's major employers. At Modum there was also Blaafarveværket, a cobalt pigment production works (Blue Colour Works).^[17]

Economy

Today, agriculture, lumber, wood-pulp mills and other related industries are the county's main economic activities; ample hydroelectric power is produced by the rivers Begna (Begnaelva) and Rands (Randselva) . Buskerud has also a large forested area. Substantial income is derived from high tech industries located in Kongsberg. Other significant income comes from the cabin areas in northern Buskerud.^[18]^[19]

Coat of arms

Buskerud's coat of arms were adopted in April 1966. It features a blue bear whose colours are symbolic of the blue colour works. The silver background of Buskerud's coat of arms represents the silver industry in Kongsberg.

Nationality	Population (2017)
Number of minorities (1st and 2nd gen.) in Buskerud by country of origin in 2017^[20]
Poland	8,259
Turkey	2,975
Lithuania	2,961
Iraq	2,293
Afghanistan	1,928
Somalia	1,874
Sweden	1,842
India	1,662
Pakistan	1,641
Denmark	1,638
Kosovo	1,499
Germany	1,482
Iran	1,327
Eritrea	1,211
Bosnia-Herzegovina	1,206
Vietnam	1,193
Thailand	1,095
Syria	1,043
Russia	1,040
Philippines	956

Notable people from Buskerud

Sports figures

Entertainers

Politicians

Thorbjørn Jagland, Drammen

Municipalities

Rank	Name	Inhabitants^[21]	Area km²
1	Drammen	62,566	136
2	Ringerike	28,806	1,437
3	Kongsberg	27,817	761
4	Lier	23,267	283
5	Nedre Eiker	22,687	116
6	Røyken	18,894	112
7	Øvre Eiker	16,616	421
8	Modum	12,911	468
9	Hurum	9,045	156
10	Hole	5,976	135
11	Ål	4,672	1,083
12	Gol	4,479	517
13	Hol	4,422	1,669
14	Sigdal	3,514	813
15	Nes	3,420	776
16	Flesberg	2,578	542
17	Nore og Uvdal	2,514	2,281
18	Krødsherad	2,117	341
19	Hemsedal	2,087	715
20	Rollag	1,390	484
21	Flå	998	674
Total	Buskerud	257,673	12,336

Districts

Cities

Parishes

Bakke
Bragernes
Dagali
Drammen
Efteløt
Eggedal
Eiker
Fiskum
Flesberg
Flå
Frogner
Gol
Haug, see Eiker
Haug i Norderhov
Hedenstad
Heggen
Hemsedal
Hol
Hole
Holmen
Holmsbu
Hurum
Hval
Hønefoss
Jondalen
Komnes
Kongsberg
Krødsherad (Krydsherred)
Lier
Lunder
Lyngdal
Modum
Nedre Eiker
Nes (i Hallingdal)
Nes (i Ådal)
Norderhov
Nore
Nykirke
Opdal
Rollag
Røyken
Sandsvær
Sigdal (Holem)
Snarum
Sollihøgda
Strømsø
Svene
Sylling
Tangen
Torpo
Tranby
Tuft
Tyristrand
Uvdal
Veggli
Viker
Ytre Ådal
Ådal
Ål
Drammen Branch (LDS, 1854-1952)
Drammen (Den Katolske Apostoliske Menighet, 1877-1935)
Drammen and Oslo (Den Katolske Apostoliske Menighet, 1872-1932)
Hurum Branch (LDS, 1855-1867)
Kongsberg Branch (LDS, 1939-1948* )

Villages

Former Municipalities

Gallery

Blaafarveværket in Modum
Hokksund Station
Frogner Rectory in Lier
Hønefoss Church in Ringerike, burned down 2007.

References

^ "Fylkesordfører - Buskerud fylkeskommune". Buskerud. August 23, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
^ Geir Thorsnæs. "Buskerud". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
^ "Prop. 84 S". Norwegian Government. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
^ "Fylkestinget har vedtatt søknad om fylkesdeling". Viken County. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
^ Einar Sørensen. "Buskerud gård på Modum". historieboka. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
^ Geir Thorsnæs. "Buskerud hovedgård". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
^ "Buskerud, Modum herad". Matrikkelutkastet av 1950. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
^ Geir Thorsnæs. "Hallingdal". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
^ Geir Thorsnæs. "Numedal". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
^ Per G. Norseng. "Vestfold – gammelt navn". Store norske leksikon. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
^ Svein Askheim. "Vingulmark". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
^ Munch, Peter Andreas (1849). Historisk-geographisk beskrivelse over kongeriget Norge (Noregsveldi) i middelalderen. W. Gram. pp. 5–7.
^ Projected population - Statistics Norway
^ Statistics Norway - Church of Norway.
^ Statistics Norway - Members of religious and life stance communities outside the Church of Norway, by religion/life stance. County. 2006-2010 Archived November 2, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
^ Geir Thorsnæs. "Ringerike, Hallingdal, Eiker og Buskeruds amt". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
^ Ingolf Jarle Rui. "Modum Blaafarveværk". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
^ Geir Thorsnæs. "Begna". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
^ Asbjørn Vinjar. "Randselva". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
^ "Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents, by immigration category, country background and percentages of the population". ssb.no. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
^ Statistisk Sentralbyrå (1 January 2010). "www.ssb.no".

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Buskerud.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Buskerud.

Buskerud county, Norway

Main article: Buskerud
Capital: Drammen
County government: Buskerud County Municipality
County lists:

Towns and cities

Kongsberg (1624)
Drammen (1811)
Svelvik (1845)
Hønefoss (1852)
Hokksund (2002)

Municipalities

Hallingdal	Flå Gol Hemsedal Hol Nesbyen Ål
Numedal	Flesberg Kongsberg Nore og Uvdal Rollag
Drammen	Drammen Lier Øvre Eiker
Ringerike	Hole Krødsherad Modum Ringerike Sigdal

Former Municipalities in Buskerud
Eiker (1838-1885) Gol og Hemsedal (1838-1897) Hurum (1838-2020) Hønefoss (1852-1964) Nedre Eiker (1885-2020) Norderhov (1838-1964) Nore (1858-1961) Røyken (1838-2020) Sandsvær (1838-1908) Skoger (1838-1964) Strømm (1838-1964) Strømsgodset (1838-1844) Tyristrand (1916-1964) Uvdal (1901-1962) Ytre Sandsvær (1908-1964) Øvre Sandsvær (1908-1964) Ådal (1857-1964)

Counties of Norway

Current counties

Østfold (Est. 1662)	Akershus (Est. 1662)	Oslo (Est. 1842)	Innlandet (Est. 2020)	Buskerud (Est. 1685)	Vestfold (Est. 1821)	Telemark (Est. 1662)	Agder (Est. 2020)

Rogaland (Est. 1662)	Vestland (Est. 2020)	Møre og Romsdal (Est. 1662)	Trøndelag (Est. 2018)	Nordland (Est. 1662)	Troms (Est. 1866)	Finnmark (Est. 1662)

Former counties

Aust-Agder (1685–2019)	Bergen (1831–1972)	Hedmark (1781–2019)	Hordaland (1763–2019)	Oppland (1781–2019)	Sogn og Fjordane (1763–2019)

Sør-Trøndelag (1804–2017)	Troms og Finnmark (2020–2024)	Nord-Trøndelag (1804–2017)	Vest-Agder (1685–2019)	Vestfold og Telemark (2020–2024)	Viken (2020–2024)