Drammenselva ( en, Drammen River) is a river in

Buskerud Buskerud () is a former county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Ha ...

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

, southeastern

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, 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 ...

Location

Drammenselva is one of the largest rivers in Norway, with a

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of about and a

discharge Discharge may refer to Expel or let go * Discharge, the act of firing a gun * Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer * Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from ser ...

of per second. Drammen River's total length is making it the fifth longest river in Norway. Its 48 km course runs from Tyrifjorden in the north to Drammensfjord in the south, where it cuts through the centre of the city 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 ...

. The Drammen River gathers inflow from several streams and rivers. The largest include the Simoa River. The whole drainage system which includes the Drammenselva as the lowest part is known as Drammensvassdraget and is located in the provinces of Oppland and

Development and usage

For centuries the river was used for log driving, transporting timber from the forests in Eiker to the many paper mills and other industry along the river. From the 1850s onwards, many steam-powered sawmills and planing mills were established along the lower section of the river, and products became exports moving through the Port of Drammen. During the 20th century this activity caused the river to be heavily polluted. However, the majority of the paper and pulp factories in Drammen shut down in the 1960s and 1970s, and the river is now clean and safe. On its way to the sea, Drammen River passes a series of rapids and waterfalls. The largest are Vikerfoss, Geithusfoss, Kattfoss, Gravfoss, Embretsfoss, Døvikfoss and Hellefoss. There are a number of power plants on the Drammen River several with dams. The owner and operator is EB Kraftproduksjon which is headquartered in Drammen. The power company is owned by Buskerud Energy Power Generation (''Energiselskapet Buskerud AS''). *Hellefoss has a hydroelectric dam in

Hokksund Hokksund is a town in the municipality of Øvre Eiker in the county of Viken, Norway. History Hokksund is the administrative centre, and largest town in Øvre Eiker, with a population of around 8,000. Hokksund is located 18 km west of Dr ...

in Øvre Eiker municipality *Døvikfoss and Embretsfoss have hydroelectric dams in Åmot in

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 ...

municipality *Gravfoss and Geithusfoss have hydroelectric power station in Geithus

municipality Since then the city of Drammen has spent substantial resources on developing attractive park areas along the riverside. The area between the City and the Holmen bridges in Drammen has also been developed into parkland, and is now known as

Bragernes Bragernes is one of the central areas of the city of Drammen in Viken, Norway. Location Bragernes is located on the northern side of the Drammen River (''Drammenselva'') and contains the famous town square Bragernes square (''Bragernes Torg'' ...

Riverside Park. Hundreds of trees and thousands of perennials have been planted here in order to create a pleasant leisure area. Today Drammenselva is used for recreational purposes, and is known for its excellent salmon fishing. It is the site of the annual Drammen River Festival (''Drammen Elvefestival''). The festival features music concerts, dragon boats, raft racing and bathtub rowing. More than 100 different events take place during the River Festival.

Gallery

File:Mjöndalen bru IMG 2928.JPG, Mjöndalen bridge on the Drammenselva File:Ypsilon binder sammen Union Brygge med Bragernes.JPG, Ypsilon bridge betsween Strømsø and Bragernes File:MG Drammenselven og Union Brygge.JPG, Union Brygge area along the Drammenselva File:Bybrua Drammen.JPG, Bybrua bridge and Bragernes ship pier File:Drammen IMG 3996 övre sund bro.JPG, Øvre Sund bridge in Drammen File:Drammen Bragernes IMG 4000.JPG, Bragernes along the Drammenselva File:Jernbanebroa i Drammen.jpg, Jernbanebroa bridge in Drammen File:Drammenselva.jpg, Drammenselva downstream from Solbergelva.

References

External links

Drammen Elvefestival
{{coord, 59, 44, N, 10, 14, E, display=title, region:NO_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki Rivers of Viken Drammen Rivers of Norway