Hølen is a village and former town and municipality in
Akershus county, Norway.
Hølen was in early times known for the production of timber, and from the 17th century important trade took place. Timber was floated on the river
Såna. Ships from the Netherlands visited the place.
The small town of Hølen was, together with the small town of
Son
A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative.
Social issues
In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...
, established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see
formannskapsdistrikt). Son and Hølen were separated as municipalities of their own January 1, 1848. Hølen was merged with the rural municipality
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 t ...
July 1, 1943 – and it then lost its status as a town.
Hølen is the smallest municipality (in area) that has ever existed in Norway – the total area was just 0.12 km
2.
The Østfold Line was completed in 1879. It was placed on the
Hølen Viaduct
The Hølen Viaduct ( no, Hølen viadukt) is a disused iron railway viaduct situated at Hølen in Viken (county), Viken county, Norway. The iron carried a single track of the Østfold Line over the river Såna and the valley where the village of H ...
which crosses over the town.
Hølen Station opened in 1931 and remained in use until 1996, when it and the viaduct were closed and the railway rerouted via the
Hølendalen Bridges.
Name origins
''Hølen'' is the finite form of ''høl'' m 'pool' (in a river).
References
Former municipalities of Norway
Former cities in Norway
Vestby
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