Lier is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lierbyen. 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 Åssiden is the largest borough of Drammen in Buskerud county, Norway. Åssiden was a part of Lier municipality until 1951, when it became part of Drammen municipality. Åssiden is located on the western side of Drammen, north of the Drammenselv ...

was transferred from Lier to the neighboring municipality of Drammen on 1 July 1951. Norway's longest indoor shopping center, Liertoppen, is located in Lierskogen. The newspaper '' Lierposten'' is published in Lier.

General information

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was ''Líðir''. The name is the plural form of ''líð'' which means "hillside".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms and was designed by Hallvard Trætteberg and granted on 14 August 1970. The arms show five silver-colored apple

blossom In botany, blossoms are the flowers of stone fruit trees (genus ''Prunus'') and of some other plants with a similar appearance that flower profusely for a period of time in spring. Colloquially, flowers of orange are referred to as such as wel ...

s on a red background. The area is well known for the production of various types of fruit, berries, 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, Bærum, Drammen,

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. It includes the villages of Lierbyen,

Sylling Sylling is a village in Lier municipality, in the county of Viken, Norway. Sylling is located 27 kilometres west of Oslo. The settlement has 707 inhabitants as of 1 January 2016. Location Sylling is located on Holsfjorden, the southeastern arm ...

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, Lierskogen, and Tranby. Lier is thought of as a "green lung" for Norway's capital, Oslo, 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 (ca.1020 in Lier – 1043) or ''St. Hallvard'', Oslo's patron saint * Hans Christian Heg (1829 at Haugestad – 1863) Norwegian American abolitionist *

Cæsar Peter Møller Boeck Cæsar Peter Møller Boeck (28 September 1845 – 17 March 1917) was a Norwegian dermatologist born in Lier, Norway. He was a nephew to dermatologist Carl Wilhelm Boeck (1808-1875) and zoologist Christian Peder Bianco Boeck (1798-1877). In 187 ...

(1845 in Lier – 1917) a Norwegian dermatologist *

Harald Saue Harald Saue (20 February 1876 – 28 December 1958) was a Norwegian farmer and politician for the Agrarian Party and later Nasjonal Samling. He was born at Saue in Lier as a son of farmers Kristen Nilsen Saue (1844–1923) and Gina Helgerud (18 ...

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

Sæbjørn Buttedahl Sæbjørn Buttedahl (10 November 1876 – 10 July 1960) was a Norwegian stage and film actor who later found prominence as a sculptor. Stage and film career Nils Sæbjørn Buttedahl was born in Lier, Norway and began his career as a stage actor ...

(1876 in Lier – 1960) a Norwegian stage and film actor and sculptor *

Alf Wollebæk Alf Wollebæk (8 January 1879 – 9 March 1960) was a Norwegian zoologist and curator. Personal life Wollebæk was born in Lier to colonel Sigurd Polidor Wollebæk (1835–1920) and his wife Anine Julie Augusta Dahl (1834–1912). His elder br ...

(1879 in Lier – 1960) a Norwegian zoologist and curator * Viggo Brun (1885 in Lier – 1978) a professor, mathematician and

number theorist Number theory (or arithmetic or higher arithmetic in older usage) is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and integer-valued functions. German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855) said, "Math ...

* Thorleif Haug (1894 in Vivelstad – 1934) skier/ ski jumper, he won three Nordic skiing events at the

1924 Winter Olympics The 1924 Winter Olympics, officially known as the I Olympic Winter Games (french: Iers Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Chamonix 1924 ( frp, Chamôni 1924), were a winter multi-sport event which was held in 1924 in Chamonix, France ...

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 Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

in WWII *

Knut Tvedt Knut Tvedt (27 September 1906 – 30 September 1989) was a Norwegian director and jurist. He was acting chief executive of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation from 1946 to 1948. Early life and education Tvedt was born in Lier to ...

(1906 in Lier – 1989) jurist and acting CEO of the NRK 1946 to 1948 * Ole Ivar Lovaas (1927 in Lier – 2010) a Norwegian-American clinical psychologist and pioneering behaviorist *

Gert Nygårdshaug Gert Hermod Nygårdshaug (born 22 March 1946 at Tynset) is a Norwegian author. He has written poems, children's books and novels, and is in particular known for the series of crime novels featuring the gastronomer amateur detective Fredric Drum. ...

(born 1946) author of poems, children's books and novels; lives in Lier * Martin Kolberg (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 (born 1954) crime fiction author, ''"Norwegian queen of crime"'', lives in

Frode Kjekstad Frode Kjekstad (born 23 November 1974 in Lier, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz guitarist and known from collaboration and recordings with jazz musicians Lonnie Smith, Eric Alexander, Mike LeDonne, Joe Farnsworth, Byron Landham, Alberto Marsico, Fra ...

(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 on Fosskollen * ''Frogner Kirke'' – romanesque parish church built in 1650 * ''Gilhusodden'' – Nature Preserve * ''Gjellebekk skanse'' – defence bulwark during the Great Northern War 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 Lierbyen * ''St. Hallvard's minne'' – memorial of

St. Hallvard ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

, patron saint of Oslo * ''

cemetery'' – Ten British RAF

Airmen An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred as a soldier in other definitions. In civilian aviation usage, t ...

are buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Plot

Twin towns – sister cities

Lier is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: * Falköping, Sweden * Kokemäki, Finland * Mariagerfjord, 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