Heistadmoen is a Norwegian military encampment in

Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud, Viken county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms production ...

, in

Viken county 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. Heistadmoen currently provides able quarters for the

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 ...

and

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 ...

Home Guard District (''Telemark og Buskerud Heimevernsdistrikt''). The camp is large and modern, most of the buildings have been recently refurbished. The camp is also used by other departments for training and shooting.

History

There were scattered activity on site dating from 1909 when the Telemark Infantry Regiment was based there. The earliest buildings were relocated from the Gråtenmoen area in

Skien Skien () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. In modern times it is regarded as part of the traditional region of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the ...

. The principal function was to provide better protection for the Kongsberg Weapons Factory. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Telemark Infantry Regiment capitulated to the invading German Army without a fight on 13 April 1940 due to the threat of German bombing. A number of officers and crew took arms and continued the defense in Telemark. During the

occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

, the German Military built up most of the camp with labor provided by

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

prisoners of war. After the war ended in 1945, the camp housed German prisoners of war, guarded by U.S. and British soldiers. From 1946 to 1952 continued training of infantry battalions of the Tysklandsbrigaden, the Norwegian army's contribution to the Allied occupation force in Germany. In 1994, the new Battalion Telemark created Heistadmoen. The Battalion was moved to Camp Rena during August 2001. It was next occupied by His Majesty the King's Guard 6 Company, which later was also moved to Camp Rena. Telemark Regiment was laid down on 1 January 2003, and Heistadmoen camp was transferred to the Telemark and Buskerud Home Guard District The facilities are presently available for the use of all districts surrounding the

Oslo Fjord 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 ...

. The Telemark Battalion, Krigsskolen Military Academy, National Guard and local police are the principal users. About half the camp is scheduled to be sold, when National Guard does not need buildings.''Velkommen til Krigsskolens Venner'' (Krigsskolens)
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References

Kongsberg Military installations in Viken {{Viken-geo-stub