Modum 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 ...

in Buskerud in Viken

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 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 ...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of

Vikersund Vikersund is a town of 3,232 (in 2020) inhabitants in the municipality capital of Modum, in the county of Viken, Norway. Overview Vikersund is located 30 kilometers south of Hønefoss and 40 kilometers northwest of Drammen. The village is loca ...

. The municipality of Modum 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 has a long tradition of

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

with several famous skiers. Modum is home to one of the largest ski jumping hills in the world,

Vikersundbakken Vikersundbakken or Vikersund Hill is a ski flying hill at Vikersund in Modum, Norway. It is one of the two largest purpose-built ski flying hills in the world. Nine world records have been set there, including the current record of 253.5 met ...

which is situated in Heggen, outside Geithus. The hill record, established in 2017 is a jump of .

General information

Name

The municipality (originally the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

) is named after the old ''Modum'' farm (

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 ...

: ''Móðheimr''), since the first church was built here. The first element is ''móða'' which means "

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

" (here the Drammenselva river) and the last element is ''heimr'' which means "

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

", "

homestead Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses *Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres *Homestead principle, a legal concept th ...

", or "

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

". The name of the farm was later changed to '' Buskerud''.

Coat-of-arms

The

coat-of-arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its w ...

is from modern times. They were granted on 15 March 1985. The arms show three wavy silver lines “ party per bend sinister” on a blue background. They represent the three main rivers in the municipality: Drammenselva, Snarumselva, and Simoa and the colour

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

represents Blaafarveværket.

Geography

The municipality is bordered in the north by Krødsherad and Ringerike, in the east by

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 ...

and Lier, in the south by Øvre Eiker, and in the west by Sigdal.

Communities

The municipality has three main villages: Åmot, Geithus, and

. Åmot is the starting point of Kunstnerdalen, which was frequently visited by of several Norwegian 19th and 19th century painters:

Christian Krohg Christian Krohg (13 August 1852 – 16 October 1925) was a Norwegian naturalist painter, illustrator, author and journalist. Krohg was inspired by the realism art movement and often chose motifs from everyday life. He was the director and s ...

, Adolph Tidemand and Hans Gude. It also was home to Theodor Kittelsen and Christian Skredsvig.

Edvard Munch Edvard Munch ( , ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His best known work, ''The Scream'' (1893), has become one of Western art's most iconic images. His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dr ...

also painted in Modum. This is also the site of Blaafarveværket whichnow includes a museum and art gallery. Geithus is the location of two hydroelectric powerplants; Geithusfoss kraftverk and Gravfoss kraftverk.

is the municipality administrative center of Modum and the site of the Modum City Hall. It is also the site of

Notable residents

Public service & business

* Hans Gulbranson (1787 in Modum – 1868) pioneer developer of the textile industry *

Gudbrand Gregersen de Saág Gudbrand Gregersen de Saág (born Gudbrand Gregersen; hu, saági Gregersen Guilbrand; 17 April 1824 – 24 December 1910) was a Norwegian-born Hungarian bridge engineer, architect and member of the Hungarian nobility since 1884. Biography ...

(1824 in Modum – 1910) Norwegian-Hungarian bridge engineer * Anders Sveaas (1840 in Modum – 1917) founded the Kistefos Wood Pulp Mill *

Albert Collett Albert Peter Severin Collett (15 September 1842 – 25 June 1896) was a Norwegian businessman, timber merchant and sawmill owner. He founded Firma Albert Collett and became one of the largest landowners in the valley of Namdalen in Nord-Trøn ...

(1842 at Buskerud Manor – 1896) timber merchant, sawmill owner, founded Firma Albert Collett *

Nils P. Haugen Nils Pederson Haugen (March 9, 1849April 23, 1931) was a Norwegian American immigrant, lawyer, and politician. He served four terms in the United States House of Representatives, representing western Wisconsin. He was a leading member of the Pr ...

(1849 in Modum – 1931), member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

* Charles E. Hanson (1855 in Modum – 1932), member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

* Christopher Hornsrud (1859 in Skotselv, Øvre Eiker – 1960), Norwegian Prime Minister in 1928 * Christian Hansen Tandberg (1872 at Nykirke – 1951) farmer, deputy mayor of Modum 1920's * Hjalmar Steenstrup (1890 in Modum – 1945) insurance agent and

Milorg Milorg (abbreviation of militær organisasjon – military organization) was the main Norwegian resistance movement during World War II. Resistance work included intelligence gathering, sabotage, supply-missions, raids, espionage, transport of ...

pioneer * Erling Diesen (born 1932 in Geithus) a Norwegian engineer and civil servant

The Arts

Maurits Hansen Maurits Christopher Hansen (5 July 1794 – 16 March 1842) was a Norwegian writer. He was born in Modum as a son of Carl Hansen (1757–1826) and Abigael Wulfsberg (1758–1823). In October 1816 he married teacher Helvig Leschly (1789–1874). ...

(1774 in Modum – 1843),

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, contributor to the

Romantic Movement Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

Thorvald Lammers Thorvald Lammers (15 January 1841 – 8 February 1922) was a Norwegian baritone singer, choral conductor, composer, and biographer. Lammers was born in Modum, and made his stage début in Oslo in 1873. He founded the choir known as ''Korfor ...

(1841 in Modum – 1922) baritone singer, choral conductor & composer * Andreas Edvard Disen (1845 in Modum – 1923) a mountain landscape painter * Hans Andersen Foss (1851 in Modum – 1929) Norwegian-American author, newspaper editor * Christian Skredsvig (1854 in Modum – 1924) painter and writer, style reflected naturalism * Arild Formoe (1912 in Modum – 2006), accordion player and orchestra conductor * Thure Erik Lund (born 1959 in Vikersund) author and cabinet maker ArtJorgensGoudeycard

Sport

Art Jorgens Arndt Ludwig "Art" Jorgens (May 18, 1905 – March 1, 1980) was a catcher in Major League Baseball who played from through for the New York Yankees. Biography Jorgens was born in Modum, Buskerud County, Norway. His family moved to the United S ...

(1905 in Modum – 1980) catcher in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

for

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

Knut Østby Knut Østby (12 November 1922 – 6 August 2010) was a Norwegian sprint canoeist who competed from the late 1940s to the late 1950s. Participating in three Summer Olympics, he won a silver medal in the K-2 10000 m event at London in 1948 and ano ...

(1922 in Modum – 2010) sprint canoeist, silver medallist,

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

Ole Gunnar Fidjestøl Ole Gunnar Fidjestøl (born 21 March 1960) is a Norwegian former ski jumper. Career He won silver medals in the team large hill event at the Nordic World Ski Championships (1987, 1989) as well as a bronze medal in the team large hill at the 1 ...

(born 1960), ski jumper team bronze medallist at the

1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games (french: XVes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Calgary 1988 ( bla, Mohkínsstsisi 1988; sto, Wîchîspa Oyade 1988 or ; cr, Otôskwanihk 1998/; srs, Guts� ...

, works in Vikersund * Tom Gulbrandsen (born 1964) retired footballer with almost 300 club caps and 17 for

Ole Einar Bjørndalen Ole Einar Bjørndalen () (born 27 January 1974) is a retired Norwegian professional Biathlon, biathlete and coach, often referred to by the nickname, the "King of Biathlon". With 13 Winter Olympic Games medals, he is second on the List of multip ...

(born 1974 in Simostranda), ski biathlete with 13 Winter Olympic Games medals

Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Modum: *

Laukaa Laukaa (; sv, Laukas) is a municipality of Finland. It is located next to Jyväskylä and is part of the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The ...

Western Finland Western Finland ( fi, Länsi-Suomen lääni, sv, Västra Finlands län) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland. ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

* Stevns, Region Sjælland,

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

* Östra Göinge,

Skåne County Skåne County ( sv, Skåne län, link=no ), sometimes referred to as Scania County in English, is the most southern county, or , of Sweden, basically corresponding to the traditional province Scania. It borders the counties of Halland, Kronobe ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Gallery

File:Gulsrud Kirke.jpg, Gulsrud Church File:Heggen kirke TRS 070429 022.jpg, Heggen Church File:Nykirke Modum TRS 1.jpg, Nykirke Church File:Rud kirke Modum.jpg, Rud Church File:Snarum kirke TRS 1.jpg, Snarum Church File:Vestre Spone kapell TRS 2.jpg, Vestre Spone Chapel

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 ...

*
Blaafarveværket

Cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element with the symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. The free element, pr ...

mines
Culture in Modum on the map
from

Kulturnett.no The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality ( no, Det kongelige kultur- og likestillingsdepartement; short name ''Kultur- og likestillingsdepartementet'') is responsible for cultural policy, regulations and other matters related to the ...

{{Buskerud Municipalities of Buskerud Municipalities of Viken (county) Ringerike (traditional district)