Follo (old spelling Foldouge) is one of three traditional and judicional

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

in the former fylke (county) of

Akershus Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

- south east of

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

towards the former county of

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other sid ...

, the other two regions being Romerike (east of Oslo following european route E6 going east and then north in

) and Asker og Bærum (west of Oslo). Follo borders Oslo to the North-West, fellow Akershus district Romerike to the North-East and East, and

to the south. The municipalities of

Frogn Frogn is a municipality in former Akershus Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages ...

and

Vestby Vestby is a municipality in former Akershus now Viken county, Norway. It is part of the Follo traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vestby. General information Name The municipality (originally th ...

have coast lines along the

Oslofjord The Oslofjord (, ; en, Oslo Fjord) is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the and lighthouses and down to in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the Nor ...

. Ås and

Oppegård Oppegård is an area in Nordre Follo, Viken, Norway. Oppegård was a municipality in the former county Akershus. It is part of the traditional region of Follo. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Kolbotn. The munic ...

have coast lines along the Bunnefjord (a part of the

that extends south-east), and

Nesodden Nesodden is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Follo. The administrative centre of the municipality is Nesoddtangen. The parish of ''Næsodden'' was established as a municipality on ...

has coast lines along both fjords. In the displayed map of

, the municipalities are numbered. Follo consists of:

(13),

(7),

(21),

(15), Ås (22), Ski (18), and

Enebakk Enebakk is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the Follo traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kirkebygda. The parish of ''Enebak'' was established as a municipa ...

(5). Follo covers around 819 km², and had a population of 121 368 on October 1, 2007.ssb.no: befolkningsendringer
/ref> As with other traditional districts in

, Follo has no official political or administrative significance - the regional administrative entity is the fylke, while the local administrative entities are the kommuner (municipalities). It does, however, have judicional significance, as a local police and court district. It also has practical significance, as the municipalities within the district tend to cooperate for practical and economical purposes. The largest town, and ''de facto'' district capital, is Ski. This is where judicial functions such as Follo Tingrett (Follo district court) and Follo Politikammer (Follo Police District) are located, and where the cooperating municipalities tend to concentrate administrative functions and public services. All municipalities in Follo are within an hour's drive from Oslo, and large parts of the workforce actually work in Oslo. Apart from the long coastline, Follo has extensive woods and farmland, and only little industry. Most parts of Follo are well suited for outdoor activities, and many athletes have come from this district – such as Trine Hattestad (javelin), Jon Rønningen (wrestling), and

Siren Sundby Siren Sundby (born 2 December 1982 in Lørenskog) is a former Norwegian sailor. She won an Olympic gold medal in the Europe-class in the 2004 Summer Olympics. She also won the world championships in the Europe-class in 2003 and 2004. Sundb ...

(sailing).

The name

The

Norse Norse is a demonym for Norsemen, a medieval North Germanic ethnolinguistic group ancestral to modern Scandinavians, defined as speakers of Old Norse from about the 9th to the 13th centuries. Norse may also refer to: Culture and religion * Nor ...

form of the name was ''Folló'' (from ''*Foldló''). The first element is the old name of

(see

and

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered t ...

), the last element is ''ló'' f 'meadow' (see also Lom and

Politics

After the local elections in 2015 five of the municipalities (Ski, Ås, Enebakk, Nesodden and Vestby) have a mayor from the Labour Party, while two (Oppegård and Frogn) have a mayor from the Conservative Party

References

External links

{{Wikivoyage, Follo
Visit Follo
Districts of Viken