Lier is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Viken Viken may refer to: *Viken, Scandinavia, a historical region *Viken (county), a Norwegian county established in 2020 *Viken, Sweden, a bimunicipal locality in Skåne County, Sweden *Viken (lake), a lake in Sweden, part of the part of the Göta cana ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of

Lierbyen Lierbyen is the administrative center of Lier municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The village is situated on the Lierelva River in the valley of Lierdalen which extends from Drammensfjord north toward Sylling near Tyrifjorden. Lierbyen is l ...

. The municipality of Lier was established on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January ...

). The area Åssiden was transferred from Lier to the neighboring municipality of

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such as Konne ...

on 1 July 1951. Norway's longest indoor shopping center, Liertoppen, is located in

Lierskogen Lierskogen is the easternmost village of Lier municipality in Viken county, Norway. Lierskogen makes up the eastern part of Lier together with the nearby village of Tranby. It borders Asker to the east and Drammen to the west. One of the bus ...

. The newspaper ''

Lierposten ''Lierposten'' (The Lier Gazette) is a Norwegian newspaper published in Lier in Buskerud county. ''Lierposten'' was established in 1987 and is published weekly. It is politically independent. The newspaper's editor and manager is Pål A. Næss. C ...

'' is published in Lier.

General information

Name

The

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

form of the name was ''Líðir''. The name is the

plural The plural (sometimes abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the default quantity represented by that noun. This de ...

form of ''líð'' which means "hillside".

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

and was designed by

Hallvard Trætteberg Hallvard Trætteberg (1898 in Løten – 21 November 1987 in Oslo) was the leading Norwegian heraldic artist and the expert adviser on heraldry to the Government of Norway and the Norwegian Royal Family for much of the 20th century. From about ...

and granted on 14 August 1970. The arms show five silver-colored apple blossoms on a red background. The area is well known for the production of various types of fruit,

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, rasp ...

, vegetables, and flowers, so this was chosen as a symbol of the area's lush scenery and agriculture.

Geography

Lier borders to the municipalities of

Asker Asker ( no, Asker), properly called Askerbygda in Norwegian, is a district and former Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus, Norway. From 2020 it is part of the larger administrative municipality Asker, Viken (also known as Greate ...

Bærum Bærum () is a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Norway that forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of 128,760 (2021). It is part of the electoral ...

Modum Modum is a municipality in Buskerud in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Vikersund. The municipality of Modum was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The area has a long tr ...

and

Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...

. It includes the villages of

, Sylling,

Sjåstad Sjåstad is a village in Lier municipality, Buskerud 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 th ...

, Nøste,

Gullaug Gullaug is an unincorporated village at Lier municipality in Buskerud, Norway. Gullaug is located between Lierbyen, Røyken and Drammen. Geographically, Gullaug is an area that encompasses little more than a small commercial area and local sho ...

, and

Tranby Tranby is a village in Lier municipality in Viken, Norway. The village consists mainly of three residential areas located in a semi-circle around a small forest area. Tranby is a part of a greater urban area which also encompasses the village o ...

. Lier is thought of as a "green lung" for Norway's capital,

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 ...

, with its vast number of fields and apple trees. It is also famous for its agricultural products as

strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

and vegetables. The Gilhusodden Nature Preserve is home of many different bird species. The area is also used for recreation, especially swimming and sunbathing, with its long, shallow beach.

Notable residents

Hallvard Vebjørnsson Hallvard Vebjørnsson (''Hallvard Den Hellige'') ( 1020–1043), commonly referred to as Saint Hallvard (''Sankt Hallvard''), is the patron saint of Oslo. He is considered a martyr because of his defence of an innocent thrall woman. His religious ...

(ca.1020 in Lier – 1043) or ''St. Hallvard'',

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

Hans Christian Heg Hans Christian Heg (December 21, 1829September 20, 1863) was a Norwegian American abolitionist, journalist, anti-slavery activist, politician and soldier, best known for leading the Scandinavian 15th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment on the Union s ...

(1829 at Haugestad – 1863) Norwegian American

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

* Cæsar Peter Møller Boeck (1845 in Lier – 1917) a Norwegian

dermatologist Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medical ...

* Harald Saue (1876 at Saue – 1958) Mayor of Lier in the 1920s and politician for

Nasjonal Samling Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norwegian far-right political party active from 1933 to 1945. It was the only legal party of Norway from 1942 to 1945. It was founded by former minister of defence Vidkun Quisling and a group of supporters such a ...

* Sæbjørn Buttedahl (1876 in Lier – 1960) a Norwegian stage and film actor and sculptor * Alf Wollebæk (1879 in Lier – 1960) a Norwegian zoologist and curator *

Viggo Brun Viggo Brun (13 October 1885 – 15 August 1978) was a Norwegian professor, mathematician and number theorist. Contributions In 1915, he introduced a new method, based on Legendre's version of the sieve of Eratosthenes, now known as the ' ...

(1885 in Lier – 1978) a professor, mathematician and number theorist *

Thorleif Haug Thorleif Haug (28 September 1894 – 12 December 1934) was a Norwegian skier who competed in nordic combined and cross-country. At the 1924 Olympics he won all three Nordic skiing events (18 km, 50 km and combined). He was also awarde ...

(1894 in Vivelstad – 1934)

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partia ...

er/

ski jump Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...

er, he won three Nordic skiing events at the 1924 Winter Olympics *

Kirsten Brunvoll Kirsten Brunvoll, née Sørsdal (24 December 1895 – 5 April 1976), was a Norwegian playwright, resistance member, Nacht und Nebel prisoner, World War II memoirist and politician for the Labour Party. Biography She was born in Lier to blacksm ...

(1895 in Lier – 1976) playwright and resistance member in WWII * Knut Tvedt (1906 in Lier – 1989) jurist and acting CEO of the

NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...

1946 to 1948 *

Ole Ivar Lovaas Ole Ivar Løvaas (8 May 1927 – 2 August 2010) was a Norwegian-American clinical psychologist and professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is most well known for his research on what is now called applied behavior analysi ...

(1927 in Lier – 2010) a Norwegian-American clinical psychologist and pioneering behaviorist * Gert Nygårdshaug (born 1946) author of poems, children's books and novels; lives in Lier *

Martin Kolberg Martin Kolberg (born 24 February 1949) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He served as the party secretary from 2002 until 2009 and an MP from Buskerud from 2009 until 2021. He was elected to the Parliament of Norway in 2009 and l ...

(born 1949)

Norwegian Labour Party The Labour Party ( nb, Arbeiderpartiet; nn, Arbeidarpartiet; A/Ap; se, Bargiidbellodat), formerly The Norwegian Labour Party ( no, Det norske Arbeiderparti, DNA), is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is positioned on the centr ...

secretary 2002/2009; lives in Lier *

Karin Fossum Karin Fossum (born 6 November 1954) is a Norwegian author of crime fiction, often referred to as the "Norwegian queen of crime". Early life Karin Mathisen was born on 6 November 1954 in Sandefjord, in Vestfold county, Norway. She currently lives ...

(born 1954) crime fiction author, ''"Norwegian queen of crime"'', lives in Sylling * Frode Kjekstad (born 1974 in Lier) a Norwegian jazz guitarist * Mads Hansen (born 1984 in Lier) singer and former footballer with over 230 club caps

Attractions

* ''Bygdeborgen'' – village stronghold from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

on Fosskollen * ''Frogner Kirke'' – romanesque parish church built in 1650 * ''Gilhusodden'' – Nature Preserve * ''Gjellebekk skanse'' – defence bulwark during the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

which prevented a Swedish invasion of Norway in 1716 * ''Lier Bygdetun'' – Rural Museum including a farm *''Hans Christian Heg statue'' - at Haugestad in the community of

* ''St. Hallvard's minne'' – memorial of St. Hallvard, patron saint of

* '' Sylling cemetery'' – Ten British

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

Airmen are buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Plot

Twin towns – sister cities

Lier is twinned with: *

Falköping Falköping is a locality and the seat of Falköping Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 16,350 inhabitants in 2010. History The town of Falköping was first spoken of in the Icelandic ''Rimbegla'' (around 1100 A.D.), and ...

, Sweden *

Kokemäki Kokemäki (; sv, Kumo) is a town and municipality in the Satakunta Region of Finland. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Finland is constitutionally bi-lingual with a Swedis ...

, Finland *

Mariagerfjord Mariagerfjord is a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') in North Jutland Region in Denmark. It covers an area of 723.63 km² (2011) and a has a population of 42,093 (2014). On 1 January 2007 Mariagerfjord municipality was created as the r ...

, Denmark

Gallery

File:Liertoppen Shopping Center Front 20110921.jpg, Liertoppen Shopping Center File:Lier rockeverksted.jpg, Gamle Hegg skole File:Jacobsen elektro main office.jpg, Jacobsen Elektro main office File:Hvalsdammen i Lier - panoramio (2).jpg, Hvalsdammen

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every yea ...

*
Lier BygdetunSylling churchyard
{{authority control Municipalities of Buskerud Municipalities of Viken (county) Villages in Buskerud