Eikeren or Eikern is a long and deep

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

in the municipalities of Hof in the county of

Vestfold og Telemark Vestfold og Telemark (; ) is a county under disestablishment in Norway. The county is the southernmost one of Eastern Norway and consists of two distinct and separate traditional regions: the former counties of Telemark and (most of) Vestfol ...

and

Øvre Eiker Øvre Eiker is a municipality in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Eiker. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hokksund. The old municipal ...

in the county of

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 ...

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 ...

. It is the largest lake in Vestfold. At the eastern end of Vestfold is the village of Eidsfoss. In this area, water flows into Lake Eikeren from the Bergsvann, Vikevann, Haugestadvann and Hillestadvann. Lake Eikeren also receives waterflow from the Hakavikelva and Steinbruelva Rivers. In the western part, Eikeren comes together with the Fiskumvannet in a narrow, strait known as ''Sundet''. Here water flows into Lake Fiskum, located at the top of Eikernvassdraget. Through this strait, water flows at an average of 7 m3 per second. From Lake Fiskum, water runs out into Vestfosselva to

Vestfossen Vestfossen is a village in the municipality of Øvre Eiker in the county of Buskerud, Norway. Vestfossen is a former industrial city with traditions dating back to the 16th century. As of 2008 Vestfossen had a population of 2,867 according to Sta ...

. The river then go to

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 ...

, where it splits into two river that both flow in the Drammen River. Eikeren, together with Fiskumvannet, is 20 km long, up to 2,5 km wide and up to 158 m deep. In 2005, Lake Eikeren was developed by the Vestfold Inter Municipal Waterworks, (''Vestfold Interkommunale Vannverk''), in order to provide extra drinking water for Vestfold. The other source is Farrisvannet, a lake on the border between the former counties of Vestfold and

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

(now united). Vestfold Inter Municipal Waterworks Authority is a company owned by ten municipalities in Vestfold and is responsible for water supply, water treatment, emergency power supply and the main distribution to its members. During the summer season, Lake Eikeren is served by tourist boat ''M/S Eikern'' between Eidsfoss and Vestfossen. The original ''M/S Eikern'' steamer was commissioned in 1861. The steam vessel ''Cappelen'' was built in 1880 and was used for timber and passenger traffic. In 1903, the steamship ''Stadshauptmand Schwartz'' carried regular traffic and provided a link between the Kongsberg Railway (''Kongsbergbanen'') and the Tønsberg–Eidsfoss Line. The current vessel ''M/S Eikern'' has carried traffic on Lake Eikern since 1997.

References

External links

More about EikerenMap of EikerenVestfold Intermunicipal Water WorksPictures of EikerenM/S Eikern website
Lakes of Vestfold og Telemark Lakes of Viken (county) {{Viken-geo-stub