Vestby 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 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 to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...

now

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. It is part of the Follo

traditional region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic, linguistic or political basis, regardless of latterday borders. They are used as delimitations for studying and analysing social ...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vestby.

General information

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old ''Vestby'' 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 ...

: ''Vestbýr''), since the first church was built here. The first element is ''vestr'' which means "west" and the last element is ''býr'' meaning "farm". The neighbouring farms have the names ''Østby'' ("eastern farm"), ''Sunnby'' ("southern farm"), and ''Nordby'' ("northern farm"); and they must all four be the parts of a bigger and older farm, whose name is now unknown.

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 18 June 1982 and designed by Bjørn Linnestad. The arms show three gold

bottony A number of cross symbols were developed for the purpose of the emerging system of heraldry, which appeared in Western Europe in about 1200. This tradition is partly in the use of the Christian cross an emblem from the 11th century, and increasi ...

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

es on a red background, two over one. They represent the three original parishes in the municipality: Vestby, Garder, and

Såner Såner is a parish and village in Vestby municipality, Viken county, Norway. The name The parish is named after the old farm Såner ( Norse ''Sánar''), since the first church was built there. The name is probably the plural form of an old riverna ...

. At the same time they also represent the three natural

harbor A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

s in the area: Emmerstad, Kjøvangen, and Sonskilen.

History

Archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

research in Hølen has confirmed that the area has been populated since about 2400 BC. There are various archeological finds in the area, such as the ones from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

. Many Norwegian emigrants went to America during the 1840s and later settled in the area of the present city of

Westby, Wisconsin Westby is a city in Vernon County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,332 as of the 2020 census. The name "Westby" is a Norwegian name and literally translates to "Western city". History Westby was named after general store owner an ...

(named after general store owner and

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

soldier Ole T. Westby); a city which still has a mostly

Norwegian American Norwegian Americans ( nb, Norskamerikanere, nn, Norskamerikanarar) are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the ...

population. Hølen became known for the production of timber. It became a lading place in the 17th century. From the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

until the 18th century, Son was an important harbour. On some Dutch maps from that time, 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 ...

is called ''Zoon Water''. Vestby was established as a municipality 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 municipality and lading place of

Hølen 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 f ...

was merged with Vestby on 1 July 1943. The municipality and lading place of Son was merged with Vestby on 1 January 1964. (The lading place of

Hvitsten Hvitsten is a former town in Akershus county, Norway, located between Drøbak and Son. It is the smallest town that has ever existed in Norway: In 1951 it had 76 inhabitants, and an area of just 0.07 km2. Due its size it could not be establi ...

in Vestby has never been a municipality of its own.)

Geography

Vestby includes the villages Vestby,

, Garder, and

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 ...

. Recently urbanized areas are Randem, Pepperstad skog, and Sole skog. Randem is located north of the municipal centre, Vestby, and includes an industrial area. Pepperstad is located southwest of Vestby, by the road 155. Sole skog lies west of the centre. The village of Vestby has 5,424 inhabitants (2006). All the small towns together have over 13,000 inhabitants.

Notable residents

Johan Herman Wessel Johan Herman Wessel (6 October 1742 – 29 December 1785) was an 18th-century Danish-Norwegian poet, satirist and playwright. His written work was characterized by the use of parody and satiric wit. Biography Wessel was born and raised at Vest ...

(1742 in Vestby – 1785) Danish-Norwegian poet and playwright, used parody and satiric wit * Ole Christopher Wessel (1744 in Vestby – 1794) a jurist, civil servant and landowner *

Caspar Wessel Caspar Wessel (8 June 1745, Vestby – 25 March 1818, Copenhagen) was a Danish–Norwegian mathematician and cartographer. In 1799, Wessel was the first person to describe the geometrical interpretation of complex numbers as points in the complex ...

(1745 in Vestby – 1818) Danish–Norwegian mathematician and cartographer * Erik Bodom (1829 in Vestby – 1879) a Norwegian landscape painter *

Oluf Wold-Torne Oluf Wold-Torne (7 November 1867 – 19 March 1919) was a Norwegian painter, illustrator, educator and designer. He was known primarily for landscapes and still-lifes and was influenced by Cézanne. Biography He was born in Son (now Vestby), No ...

(1867 in Vestby - 1919) painter of landscapes and still lifes *

Rudolf Olsen Rudolf Fredrik Olsen (29 September 1882 – 26 January 1951) was a Norwegian shipping magnate and Chairman of Fred. Olsen & Co. Biography Rudolf Fredrik Olsen was born in Hvitsten, in Akershus county, Norway. He was the son of Thomas Frederi ...

(1882 in Hvitsten – 1951) shipping magnate, CEO of Fred. Olsen & Co. *

Edith Roger Edith Roger (born 29 May 1922) is a Norwegian dancer, choreographer and stage director. She was born in Vestby. She made her debut as dancer at Rogaland Teater in 1945. Her debut as stage director was ''Sangen om utysket'' at Nationaltheatret in ...

(born 1922 in Vestby) a dancer, choreographer and stage director *

Bodil Cappelen Bodil Cappelen (born April 26, 1930) is a Norwegian painter, textile artist, and book illustrator. She has also written children's books. Early life Cappelen was born in Stavanger, the daughter of Johan Munthe Cappelen from Oslo and Edith Heiber ...

(born 1930) a painter, textile artist and book illustrator; lives in Son *

Svend Wam Svend Olaf Wamnes Akstuft, known as Svend Wam (5 May 1946 – 7 May 2017), was a Norwegian film director. Wam was born in Son, Norway. He was best known for his collaborations with Petter Vennerød, creating fourteen films under the moniker ' ...

(1946 in Son – 2017) a Norwegian film director *

Trond André Bolle Trond André Bolle (5 July 1968 – 27 June 2010) was a Norwegian military officer and a commando of Marinejegerkommandoen (Norwegian Navy Special Operations Command, NORNAVSOC), with the rank of '' orlogskaptein''. He was awarded the War Cross. ...

(1968 in Vestby – 2010) a military officer of Norwegian Navy Special Operations Command * Marit Fiane Grødum (born 1980 in Vestby) a footballer with over 150 club caps and 86 for Norway women *

Jørn Stubberud Jørn Stubberud (born 13 April 1968) is a Norwegian musician best known as the bassist in the black metal band Mayhem under the stage name Necrobutcher. He is one of Mayhem's founding members, along with Euronymous and Manheim. He is the band' ...

(born 1968) a bassist of the Norwegian band Mayhem

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Vestby is twinned with the following municipality: *

Vara Vara or VARA may refer to: Geography *Vara (river), in Liguria, Italy * Vara Parish, former municipality in Tartu County, Estonia * Vara, Estonia, village in Peipsiääre Parish, Tartu County, Estonia * Vara Municipality, municipality in western S ...

, Västra Götaland, Sweden

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 ...

* {{authority control Municipalities of Akershus Municipalities of Viken (county) Villages in Akershus