Ås, Akershus
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Ås is a
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
in
Akershus Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...
county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. It is part of the Follo
traditional region A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...
. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ås. The parish of ''Aas'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see
formannskapsdistrikt () was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863. The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...
). Ås is one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Akershus, with a population of 20,652 in 2020, and an increase of 539 in 2008. Ås is the largest agricultural municipality of Akershus, and home to the
Norwegian University of Life Sciences The Norwegian University of Life Sciences (, NMBU) is a public university located in Ås, Akershus, Ås, Norway. It is located in Akershus (county), Akershus county and has around 7,700 students. History The institution was established in 185 ...
and the amusement park
Tusenfryd Tusenfryd (lit. "Thousand Joys", also Bellis perennis, Common Daisy) is an amusement park at Vinterbro, Norway. The park is located 20 kilometers south of Oslo. Two of the longest motorway corridors in Norway, European route E6, E6 and European ...
.


General information


Etymology

The parish was named after the old ''Ås'' ( Norse ''Áss'') farm, since the first church was built there. The name is identical with the word ''áss'' meaning "
hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as Mountain, mountains. Hills ...
", "
ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...
" or "
esker An esker, eskar, eschar, or os, sometimes called an ''asar'', ''osar'', or ''serpent kame'', is a long, winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North Amer ...
" (height in
moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...
landscape). Prior to 1921, the name was spelled ''Aas''.


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 last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achiev ...
is from modern times. They were granted on 23 July 1982. The three silver diamonds are a symbol for the many archaeological findings in the area. The diamond (
rhombus In plane Euclidean geometry, a rhombus (: rhombi or rhombuses) is a quadrilateral whose four sides all have the same length. Another name is equilateral quadrilateral, since equilateral means that all of its sides are equal in length. The rhom ...
) shape was taken as it resembled many of the
axe An axe (; sometimes spelled ax in American English; American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for thousands of years to shape, split, a ...
s found in the area ''(Nøstvet ax)''. The silver colour resembles the
flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...
, which the tools were made of. The number of three diamonds was chosen to represent the three parishes in the municipality: Ås, Kroer and Nordby.


Economy

The most important source of income is
agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
. Ås is the largest agricultural municipality of Akershus: providing the region with grain,
vegetable Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including edible flower, flo ...
s, and dairy products. Of the of land in the municipality, about are farmed and about are forested.


The park at NMBU

The park at
Norwegian University of Life Sciences The Norwegian University of Life Sciences (, NMBU) is a public university located in Ås, Akershus, Ås, Norway. It is located in Akershus (county), Akershus county and has around 7,700 students. History The institution was established in 185 ...
is one of the largest and most completed neoclassical parka facilities in Norway. The park today appears as a result of the docent Olav L. Moen's plans from around 1924. The park is located at highway 152 towards Drøbak, about 1 kilometre west of Ås town centre. The entire park area is about 600 acres and is used for recreation and teaching. The park contains 800 different types of shrubs and trees, a teaching field with just over 200 perennial species and a rosarium founded in 1965. The plant species are collected family and family. Most of the plants are labelled so that it is possible for plant enthusiasts to orient themselves in the plant collection. The park is an integral part of
NMBU The Norwegian University of Life Sciences (, NMBU) is a public university located in Ås, Akershus, Ås, Norway. It is located in Akershus (county), Akershus county and has around 7,700 students. History The institution was established in 185 ...
.


Leonardo da Vinci Bridge

In Nygårdskrysset in Ås municipality over The
European route E18 European route E18 runs between Craigavon, County Armagh, Craigavon in Northern Ireland and Saint Petersburg in Russia, passing through Scotland, England, Norway, Sweden and Finland. It is about in length. Although the designation implies the ...
lies the 108-metre-long Leonardo
Da Vinci project The da Vinci Project was a privately funded, volunteer-staffed attempt to launch a reusable crewed sub-orbital spacecraft. It was formed in 1996 specifically to be a contender for the Ansari X Prize for the first non-governmental reusable crewed s ...
which is a project by the painter and artist
Vebjørn Sand Vebjørn Sand (born March 11, 1966) is a Norwegian painter and artist. He is known for his paintings as well as his public arts projects, such as the Vebjørn Sand Da Vinci Project, Da Vinci Project, and the Kepler–Poinsot polyhedron, Kepler St ...
as part of his Da Vinci project. Vebjørn Sand saw the drawings of the bridge for the first time in 1985. Later in 1995 he saw a model of the bridge on display in
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
, and got the idea to build the bridge in full size. The bridge was opened in October 2001. The bridge has received solid media coverage in Norway and in the rest of the world. In the United States, the bridge has been featured in
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
,
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
,
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
and
Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...
.
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...
presented a miniature model of the bridge in 1502 that was originally designed by the Turkish sultan
Bayezid II Bayezid II (; ; 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, Bayezid consolidated the Ottoman Empire, thwarted a pro-Safavid dynasty, Safavid rebellion and finally abdicated his throne ...
and intended to cross the Golden Horn at the Bosporos-Strait. The bridge was originally supposed to be 240 metres long.


Climate


Transportation

Ås Station Ås Station () is a railway station in Ås, Akershus, Ås, Norway on the Østfold Line. The station was opened on 2 January 1879 and designed by Peter A. Blix in Swiss chalet style. The station was modernized in 1992, when the section between Sk ...
is a train station served by the line R21 of the
Oslo Commuter Rail Oslo Commuter Rail () is a commuter rail centered in Oslo, Norway, connecting the capital to six counties of Norway, counties in Eastern Norway. The system is operated by Vy (formerly NSB) and its subsidiary Vy Gjøvikbanen, using NSB Class 69, C ...
, operated by the Vy. Two of Norway's largest highways,
European route E6 European route E6 (, , or simply E6) is the main north–south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and through almost all of the countr ...
and
European route E18 European route E18 runs between Craigavon, County Armagh, Craigavon in Northern Ireland and Saint Petersburg in Russia, passing through Scotland, England, Norway, Sweden and Finland. It is about in length. Although the designation implies the ...
, run through the municipality, and many of the inhabitants commute to
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
. A bridge, which is a smaller-scale recreation of a bridge that
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...
proposed in 1502 for the crossing of the
Golden Horn The Golden Horn ( or ) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with the Bosphorus Strait at the point where the strait meets the Sea of Marmara, the waters of the ...
, is located in the municipality. It was created by Norwegian painter and artist
Vebjørn Sand Vebjørn Sand (born March 11, 1966) is a Norwegian painter and artist. He is known for his paintings as well as his public arts projects, such as the Vebjørn Sand Da Vinci Project, Da Vinci Project, and the Kepler–Poinsot polyhedron, Kepler St ...
as part of his
Da Vinci project The da Vinci Project was a privately funded, volunteer-staffed attempt to launch a reusable crewed sub-orbital spacecraft. It was formed in 1996 specifically to be a contender for the Ansari X Prize for the first non-governmental reusable crewed s ...
. The bridge serves as a pedestrian crossing over European route E18.


Population

As of 1 January 2020, Ås municipality covers and has 20,652 inhabitants. In 2007, the Ås urban area had a population of 8,095. The municipality also contains one additional urban area, Togrenda, with a population of 2,783. Also, 1,566 inhabitants live in the
Ski Skis are runners, attached to the user's feet, designed to glide over snow. Typically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partially secured heel. For climbing slopes, ski skins c ...
urban area.


Notable residents

*
Christian Magnus Falsen Christian Magnus Falsen (14 September 1782 – 13 January 1830) was a Norwegian statesman, jurist and historian. He was a member of the Norwegian Constituent Assembly and was one of the writers of the constitution of Norway. Falsen has been name ...
(1782–1830),
Norwegian constitution The 'Constitution of Norway'' (complete name: The Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway; Danish: ; Norwegian Bokmål: ; Norwegian Nynorsk: ) was adopted on 16 May and signed on 17 May 1814 by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll. ...
al father, jurist and historian; lived in Ås from 1808 * Ragnar Skancke (1890 in Ås – executed 1948), electrical engineer, appointed Govt. Minister in Vidkun Quisling's
Nasjonal Samling The Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norway, Norwegian far-right politics, far-right political party active from 1933 to 1945. It was the only legal party of Norway from 1942 to 1945. It was founded by former minister of defence Vidkun Quisling a ...
government; the last person to be executed in Norway *
Fanny Elsta Fanny Rebekka Elstad (26 April 1899 – 4 February 1978) was a Norwegian opera singer and founder of the Bergen International Festival. Early life Fanny Rebekka Elstad was born on 26 April 1899 to engineer and mineralogist Sigvard Elstad (1870 ...
(1899–1978), opera singer; raised in Ås * Birger Hønningstad (1904 in Ås – 1976), an engineer and aircraft designer * Karen Holtsmark (1907 in Ås – 1998), a Norwegian painter * Odd Tandberg (1924 in Ås – 2017), a Norwegian painter and printmaker *
Øystein Wiik Øystein Wiik (born 7 July 1956) is a Norwegian actor, singer, songwriter and novelist. He was born in Oslo. He has worked for Den Nationale Scene, Oslo Nye Teater and Det Norske Teatret, and played leading roles in several musicals. Among his alb ...
(born 1956), actor and singer *
Solveig Kringlebotn Solveig Kringlebotn () (4 June 1963), better known outside Norway as Solveig Kringelborn, is an internationally known Norwegian operatic soprano.Listen to Norway v1-3 Norsk musikkinformasjon – 1993 "Two of these are CD recordings featuring tw ...
(born 1963), a Norwegian operatic
soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
*
Edvard Skagestad Edvard Skagestad (born 6 July 1988) is a Norway, Norwegian association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football)#Centre-back, centre back for Follo FK, Follo. Skagestad played five seasons for Aalesunds FK, Aalesund in ...
(born 1988 in Ås), a Norwegian footballer with 230 club caps *
K-391 Kenneth Osberg Nilsen (born 2 November 1994), known professionally as K-391, is a Norwegian music producer and DJ. He is best known for his 2018 single " Ignite", a song featuring Alan Walker, Julie Bergan and Seungri which reached number one ...
(Kenneth Osberg Nilsen) (born 1994), a music producer


Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Ås: * –
Ljungby Municipality Ljungby Municipality () is a municipality in Kronoberg County, southern Sweden, where the town Ljungby is seat. In 1971 the ''City of Ljungby'' (1936-1970) was amalgamated with the rural municipalities surrounding it, thus creating the present m ...
,
Kronoberg County Kronoberg County (; ) is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. Kronoberg is one of three counties in the province of Småland. It borders the counties of Skåne, Halland, Jönköping, Kalmar, and Blekinge. Its capital is the city of V ...
,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
* –
Paimio Paimio (; ) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population ...
, Länsi-Suomi,
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
* –
Holbæk Municipality Holbæk Municipality () is a '' kommune'' in northwestern Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand in Denmark. The municipality includes the island of Orø, and covers an area of 583 km², and has a total population of 74,490 (2025). Its may ...
,
Region Sjælland Region Zealand () is an administrative region of Denmark. It is one of the five classified NUTS-2 statistical regions of Denmark. It was established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which abolished the traditional ...
,
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...


References


External links


Municipal fact sheet
from
Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every year on its web site. All rele ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aas Municipalities of Akershus Villages in Akershus *