Follo (old spelling Foldouge) is one of three traditional and judicional districts in the former fylke (county) of

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 ...

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 Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

- south east of

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) 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 ...

towards the former county of

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other side o ...

, the other two regions being

Romerike Romerike is a traditional district located north-east of Oslo, in what is today south-eastern Norway. It consists of the Viken municipalities Lillestrøm, Lørenskog, Nittedal, Rælingen and Aurskog-Høland in the southern end (Nedre Romerike) ...

(east of Oslo following european route E6 going east and then north in

) and Asker og Bærum (west of Oslo). Follo borders Oslo to the North-West, fellow Akershus district

to the North-East and East, and

to the south. The municipalities of

Frogn Frogn is a municipality in former Akershus now Viken county, Norway. It is part of the Follo traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Drøbak. Frogn was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 ...

and

Vestby Vestby is a municipality in former Akershus now Viken county, Norway. It is part of the Follo traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vestby. General information Name The municipality (originally t ...

have coast lines along 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 ...

. Ås and

Oppegård Oppegård is an area in Nordre Follo, Viken, Norway. Oppegård was a municipality in the former county Akershus. It is part of the traditional region of Follo. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Kolbotn. The m ...

have coast lines along the Bunnefjord (a part of the

that extends south-east), and

Nesodden Nesodden is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Follo. The administrative centre of the municipality is Nesoddtangen. The parish of ''Næsodden'' was established as a municipality on 1 ...

has coast lines along both fjords. In the displayed map of

, the municipalities are numbered. Follo consists of:

(13),

(7),

(21),

(15), Ås (22),

Ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partia ...

(18), and

Enebakk Enebakk is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the Follo traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kirkebygda. The parish of ''Enebak'' was established as a municipalit ...

(5). Follo covers around 819 km², and had a population of 121 368 on October 1, 2007.ssb.no: befolkningsendringer
/ref> As with other traditional districts in

, Follo has no official political or administrative significance - the regional administrative entity is the fylke, while the local administrative entities are the kommuner (municipalities). It does, however, have judicional significance, as a local police and court district. It also has practical significance, as the municipalities within the district tend to cooperate for practical and economical purposes. The largest town, and ''de facto'' district capital, is

. This is where judicial functions such as Follo Tingrett (Follo district court) and Follo Politikammer (Follo Police District) are located, and where the cooperating municipalities tend to concentrate administrative functions and public services. All municipalities in Follo are within an hour's drive from Oslo, and large parts of the workforce actually work in Oslo. Apart from the long coastline, Follo has extensive woods and farmland, and only little industry. Most parts of Follo are well suited for outdoor activities, and many athletes have come from this district – such as

Trine Hattestad Elsa Katrine Hattestad (née Solberg; born 18 April 1966) is a retired Norwegian track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. During her career, she was a European, World, and Olympic Champion, and broke the world record twice. Her ...

(javelin),

Jon Rønningen Jon Rønningen (born November 28, 1962, in Oslo) is a former Norwegian wrestler and a member of Kolbotn IL (one of the largest sports clubs in Norway). He won a total of 9 medals in international championships and was the third ...

(wrestling), and

Siren Sundby Siren Sundby (born 2 December 1982 in Lørenskog) is a former Norwegian sailor. She won an Olympic gold medal in the Europe-class in the 2004 Summer Olympics. She also won the world championships in the Europe-class in 2003 and 2004. Sundby ...

(sailing).

The name

The Norse form of the name was ''Folló'' (from ''*Foldló''). The first element is the old name of

(see

and

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered th ...

), the last element is ''ló'' f 'meadow' (see also Lom and

Politics

After the local elections in 2015 five of the municipalities (Ski, Ås, Enebakk, Nesodden and Vestby) have a mayor from the Labour Party, while two (Oppegård and Frogn) have a mayor from the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

References

External links

{{Wikivoyage, Follo
Visit Follo
Districts of Viken