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 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 purposes Chambers 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 dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

: ''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

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. 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 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 prin ...

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

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 The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

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). The municipality and lading place of Hølen 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 in Vestby has never been a municipality of its own.)

Geography

Vestby includes the villages Vestby, Hølen, Hvitsten, Garder, and Son. 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 (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 comp ...

(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 (1882 in Hvitsten – 1951) shipping magnate, CEO of Fred. Olsen & Co. * Edith Roger (born 1922 in Vestby) a dancer, choreographer and stage director * Bodil Cappelen (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 (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 (born 1968) a bassist of the Norwegian band Mayhem

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Vestby is twinned with the following municipality: * Vara, Västra Götaland, Sweden

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway * {{authority control Municipalities of Akershus Municipalities of Viken (county) Villages in Akershus