Buskerud () is a former county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering

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 ...

, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardangervidda mountain range in the northwest. The county administration was in modern times located in Drammen. Buskerud was merged with

and Østfold into the newly created Viken County on 1 January 2020. On the 23 February 2022 Viken County Council voted in a 49 against 38 decision to submit an application to the Norwegian government for a county demerger.

Etymology

The county was named after the old manor Buskerud ( non, Biskupsruð) (Biskopsrøysa) located on the west side of the Drammen River in Åmot,

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 ...

municipality. The first element is the genitive case of ', 'bishop' (referring to the

Bishop of Hamar The Diocese of Hamar ( no, Hamar Bispedømme) is a diocese within the Church of Norway. The Diocese of Hamar includes all of the churches in Innlandet county plus the churches in Lunner in Viken county. Administratively, the diocese is divided ...

), the last element is ' n 'clearing, farm'. The farm was one of the largest in Buskerud, and the original name of the farm (before it became a benefice) was probably ''Modum''. At the time of the Reformation () the farm became property of the Crown at which time the farm then served as the residence of the king's bailiffs until 1668.

Geography

Buskerud extended from Hurum at the Oslofjord to the Halling mountains and Hardanger. The county was conventionally divided into traditional districts. These were Hallingdal, Numedal, Ringerike, Lower Buskerud, which was originally part of Vestfold, and Western Vingulmark. Hallingdal consisted of Flå, Nes, Gol, Hemsedal,

Ål Ål is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hallingdal. The administ ...

and

Hol Hol is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. Administrative history The area of Hol was separated from the municipality Ål in 1877 to become a separate municipality. In 1937 a part of neighboring Uvdal with 220 inhabitants moved to Hol municip ...

. Numedal consisted of

Flesberg Flesberg is a municipality in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Numedal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lampeland. The economy of ...

, Rollag and Nore og Uvdal. Ringerike consisted of Hole, Krødsherad,

, Ringerike and Sigdal. Western Vingulmark consisted of Hurum and

Røyken Røyken is a district and village (''bygd'') and a former municipality in Buskerud in Viken County, Norway. In 2020 Røyken was merged with the municipalities of Hurum and Asker to form the new Asker Municipality (informally called "Greater Asker ...

. Lower Buskerud consisted of Drammen, Hurum, Kongsberg, Lier, Nedre Eiker,

and Øvre Eiker. The district was merged from parts that belonged to Vestfold and Vingulmark. Buskerud's western part was a mountainous plateau with forested valleys and high, grassy pastures; its eastern part contains a lowland basin with many lakes and streams.

Tyrifjorden Tyrifjorden (Lake Tyri) is a lake in Norway. It lies northwest of Oslo and is the nation's fifth largest lake with an area of 139 km2. It has a volume of 13 km3, is 295 meters deep at its deepest, and lies 63 meters above sea level. T ...

and Krøderen were the biggest lakes. Numedalslågen, the third longest river in Norway, starting in Hordaland, ran through Buskerud unto Vestfold where it reached the sea, while river Begna sweeps into lake Sperillen.

Mountains

Øljunuten Øljunuten is a mountain of Buskerud, in southern 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 Scandi ...

Tyrvlesnuten Tyrvlesnuten is a mountain of Buskerud, in southern 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 Scan ...

History

Buskerud was separated from

as an

amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...

of its own in 1685, but the amt was smaller than today. It then consisted of the present districts

Eiker Eiker is a traditional district in the county of Buskerud, Norway. History Eiker consists of the municipalities of Nedre Eiker and Øvre Eiker. The area is located in the southern part of Buskerud county. Eiker is an agricultural area with a lo ...

, Hallingdal, and Ringerike. The area of the present municipalities of

, Hurum, Kongsberg, Lier, Nore og Uvdal, Rollag and

were transferred from Akershus amt to Buskerud amt in 1760. The name ' was changed to ' in 1919. The municipality of

Skoger Skoger is a village located on the border between Buskerud and Vestfold counties, Norway. Of its population of 1,082 as of 2005, 654 were registered as residents of Drammen whereas 428 live in Sande in Vestfold county, Norway. History Histor ...

was transferred from Vestfold to Buskerud in 1964. The area Ringerike may once have been a small kingdom. During the 10th century, Norway's kings Olaf Tryggvason and Olaf II of Norway, Olaf Haraldsson grew up at Bønsnes in Ringerike. In the valley of Numedal, silver was mined in Kongsberg from the 17th century until discontinued in 1957. Weapons industry had been developed in Kongsberg from 1814, and various high tech industry companies now represent the town's major employers. At

there was also , a cobalt pigment production works (Blue colour works, Blue Colour Works).

Economy

Today, agriculture, lumber, wood-pulp mills and other related industries are the county's main economic activities; ample hydroelectric power is produced by the rivers Begna (') and Rands (') . Buskerud has also a large forested area. Substantial income is derived from high tech industries located in Kongsberg. Other significant income comes from the cabin areas in northern Buskerud.

Coat of arms

Buskerud's coat of arms were adopted in April 1966. It features a blue bear whose colours are symbolic of the blue colour works. The silver background of Buskerud's coat of arms represents the Kongsberg Silver Mines, silver industry in Kongsberg.

Notable people from Buskerud

Sports figures

* Frode Andresen, Ringerike * Christer Basma,

* Dag Bjørndalen,

* Ole Einar Bjørndalen,

* Håvard Bøkko,

* Kim Christiansen (snowboarder), Kim Christiansen, Drammen * Ole Gunnar Fidjestøl,

* Tord Asle Gjerdalen, Hole * Erik Hagen, Ringerike * Anders Jacobsen (ski jumper), Anders Jacobsen, Ringerike * Jørre Kjemperud,

* Pål Gunnar Mikkelsplass, Nes * Børre Næss, Kongsberg * Sigurd Pettersen, Rollag * Steinar Pettersen, Drammen * Asbjørn Ruud, Kongsberg * Birger Ruud, Kongsberg * Sigmund Ruud, Kongsberg * Strømsgodset IF, Strømsgodset, Gulskogen, Drammen * Ådne Søndrål,

Entertainers

* Sæbjørn Buttedahl, Lier * Karin Fossum, Lier * Morten Harket, Kongsberg * Thorbjørn Jagland, Lier * Theodor Kittelsen, Sigdal * Jonas Lie (writer), Jonas Lie,

* Jørgen Moe, Hole * Anne Marie Ottersen, Kongsberg * Olav Thon,

* Christian Skredsvig, Sigdal * Jonas Fjeld, Drammen * :no:Elin Sogn, Elin Sogn, Kongsberg

Municipalities

Districts

* Eggedal * Hallingdal * Hurumlandet * Jondalen * Numedal * Ringerike * Lower Buskerud * Kjenner * Klokkarstua

Cities

* Drammen * Hønefoss * Kongsberg * Hokksund

Parishes

* Bakke * Bragernes Church, Bragernes * Dagali * Drammen * Efteløt * Eggedal * Eiker * Fiskum * Flesberg Stave Church, Flesberg * Flå * Frogner * Gol * Haug, see Eiker * Haug i Norderhov * Hedenstad * Heggen * Hemsedal * Hol * Hole * Holmen Church (Buskerud), Holmen * Holmsbu * Hurum * Hval * Hønefoss Church, Hønefoss * Jondalen * Komnes * Kongsberg Church, Kongsberg * Krødsherad (Krydsherred) * Lier * Lunder * Lyngdal * Modum * Nedre Eiker * Nes (i Hallingdal) * Nes (i Ådal) * Norderhov * Nore Stave Church, Nore * Nykirke * Opdal * Rollag Stave Church, Rollag * Røyken Church, Røyken * Sandsvær * Sigdal (Holem) * Snarum * Sollihøgda Chapel, Sollihøgda * Strømsø * Svene * Sylling * Tangen * Torpo Stave Church, Torpo * Tranby * Tuft * Tyristrand * Uvdal * Veggli * Viker * Ytre Ådal * Ådal * Ål * Drammen Branch (LDS, 1854-1952) * Drammen (Den Katolske Apostoliske Menighet, 1877-1935) * Drammen and Oslo (Den Katolske Apostoliske Menighet, 1872-1932) * Hurum Branch (LDS, 1855-1867) * Kongsberg Branch (LDS, 1939-1948* )

Villages

* Ask, Buskerud, Ask * Askgrenda * Burud * Bødalen, Buskerud, Bødalen * Båtstø * Dagali * Dagslett * Darbu * Dramdal * Drolsum * Efteløt * Egge, Buskerud, Egge * Filtvet * Gardnos * Geilo * Geithus * Gomnes * Gulsvik * Hagafoss * Hallingby * Haugastøl Station, Haugastøl * Haugsbygd * Helgelandsmoen * Hen, Buskerud, Hen * Hennummarka * Holmsbu * Hovet, Buskerud, Hovet * Hønefoss * Hval (Ringerike), Hval * Hvittingfoss * Hyggen * Kjenner * Klokkarstua * Konnerud * Krokstadelva * Kroksund * Krøderen (village), Krøderen * Kvisla, Buskerud, Kvisla * Lahell * Lampeland * Lierbyen * Lierskogen * Lierstranda * Mjøndalen * Røyken Municipality, Midtbygda * Nakkerud * Nedre Eggedal * Nes, Ådal * Nesbyen * Nore, Norway, Nore * Noresund * Nærsnes * Oddevall * Ormåsen * Ovenstadlia * Prestfoss * Reistad * Rollag * Rødberg * Sjåstad *

* Skollenborg * Skotselv * Slemmestad * Sokna * Solbergelva * Sollihøgda * Spikkestad * Steinberg, Norway, Steinberg * Steinsåsen * Storsand * Sundvollen * Svene * Sylling * Sysle * Sætre, Buskerud, Sætre * Tofte, Norway, Tofte * Torpo * Tronstad * Tyristrand * Ustaoset * Uvdal * Veggli * Vestbygda, Buskerud, Vestbygda * Vestfossen * Vik, Buskerud, Vik * Vikersund * Åmot * Åros * Åsa, Ringerike, Åsa * Åsbygda

Former Municipalities

* Gol og Hemsedal * Hønefoss * Norderhov * Nore, Norway, Nore * Sandsvær *

* Strømm * Strømsgodset * Tyristrand * Uvdal * Ytre Sandsvær * Øvre Sandsvær * Ådal

Gallery

File:Blaafarveværket1.jpg, Blaafarveværket in Modum file:Hokksund stasjon front.jpg, Hokksund Station file:Frogner prestegård.jpg, Frogner Rectory in Lier file:Honefoss kirke.jpg, Hønefoss Church in Ringerike, burned down 2007.

References

External links

Buskerud fylkeskommune

Hallingdal

Ringerikes region

Drammens region

Vest region
{{Authority control Buskerud, Former counties of Norway 2020 disestablishments in Norway Populated places disestablished in 2020 States and territories disestablished in 2020