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Ski () is a
town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
and former
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 the new municipality (as of January 1, 2020) of Nordre Follo Municipality in the greater region Follo, 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,
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 ...
. Ski is the most populous and largest town in Follo, and serves as the de facto municipality center of Nordre Follo. Institutions like the hospital, tingrett (district
court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...
), police station, and other regional public services, are located in and around the town of Ski.


Etymology

The municipality of Ski inherited its name from the town of Ski, upon being instated as a separate municipality, with the town as its administrative centre. The town of Ski is named after a large farm called Skeidi (
Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
: ''Skeiði''). The word ''skeiði'' is a side form of ''skeið'', meaning "running track for horse racing" - suggesting that there may have been such a track at the farm in medieval times. Accordingly, and contrary to popular assumption, the name is a reference to
horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
, not
skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...
.


History

Archeological remains from settlements dating as far back as 11,000 years have been found in the Ski and Ã…s areas.
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...
tools are still being found when fields are ploughed, and Ski has more than 300 registered ancient historical artifacts. From the Middle Ages and up to modern times the areas of Kråkstad and Ski were originally administered as medieval church parishes, and each have a
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
stone church from the 1150s. During the 19th century, Kråkstad was the political and administrative centre of the municipality. On July 1, 1931, the rural, but rapidly growing municipality of Kråkstad was split into two separate municipalities. The village of Ski was chosen as the administrative centre of the northern part, thus giving its name to the new municipality. The village of
Kråkstad Kråkstad is a village and former municipality located in Nordre Follo municipality in Akershus, Norway. Overview The parish of ''Kraakstad'' was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Ski was separated from K ...
remained the administrative centre of the southern part, retaining its original name. By 1964 Ski had developed into a busy town and trading hub for the surrounding, rural areas. Ski municipality had by far outgrown its southern neighbour economically and population-wise. Consequently, on January 1, Kråkstad was officially absorbed into Ski municipality, ceasing to be a municipality of its own. Today, the name "Kråkstad" simply refers to the village, just southeast of the much larger town of Ski.


Coat of arms

The current
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
was approved on December 19, 1986. It was based on a logo used since 1979. It was designed to reflect the original meaning of the name "Ski" - thus depicting three silver
horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...
heads arranged in a
triskelion A triskelion or triskeles is an ancient motif consisting either of a triple spiral exhibiting rotational symmetry or of other patterns in triplicate that emanate from a common center. The spiral design can be based on interlocking Archimedean s ...
on a blue background.


Geography

Ski is located 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, south of
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 ...
. It borders Oppegård Municipality to the west, Enebakk Municipality to the east, Ås Municipality to the south-west and Hobøl Municipality to the south-east. Ski is an inland municipality and is separated from the
Oslofjord The Oslofjord (, ; ) is an inlet in southeastern Norway. The fjord begins at the small village of Bonn in Frogn, Frogn Municipality and stretching northwards to the city of Oslo, and then curving to the east and then south again. It then flows s ...
by Oppegård and Ås. The landscape is dominated by rolling hills, covered in forest and farmland interspersed with settlements. In fact, 102.12 of the total of 165.5 square kilometres of land area belonging to the municipality are forest. Apart from the town of Ski, other notable settlements are the villages of
Kråkstad Kråkstad is a village and former municipality located in Nordre Follo municipality in Akershus, Norway. Overview The parish of ''Kraakstad'' was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Ski was separated from K ...
and Siggerud, and the larger, sub-urban area of Langhus. Both major roads leading from Oslo through eastern Norway to Sweden, the E6 and E18, pass through Ski, as well as the main southbound railway line.


Economy

Ski is traditionally a rural municipality, and agriculture is still prominent. However, its location at the centre of the district, with Norway's two most important main roads intersecting nearby and the main railway line passing through, has made it the commercial and transport hub of the region. This has drawn companies to set up headquarters, factories and logistics hubs in the area, boosting the economy. Ski town is a regional passenger hub for the national rail service, Vy, and as much of Ski municipality is easily reachable by train or car from central Oslo, the number of people living in Ski and commuting to Oslo has increased rapidly over the last 30 years, and is set to continue increasing - as immigration and birthrates in the Oslo/Akershus region is strong and housing in Oslo proper is of limited availability - and therefore costly. Ski town has retained its traditional status as a market town and trading hub, and is home to the largest shopping centre in the district and one of the largest in Norway – Ski Storsenter. Ski town is also the political and administrative hub of the Follo region, and the local police headquarter, hospital, and district court - as well as a number of inter-municipal services companies, are located there.


Ethnicity and foreign minority


Geology

Ski, as most of Follo, lies on ancient rock foundations. Throughout the local area from east to west there is a
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 ...
left from the
Ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...
.


Sports

There are numerous sports clubs in Ski municipality, covering a wide range of sports. Most are junior or amateur sports clubs. The best known sports team is the
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
team
Follo FK Follo Fotballklubb is a football club from Ski, Akershus, Norway. Follo play in light blue, and their home ground is Ski stadion. It was founded in September 2000 and their biggest achievement was playing in the 2010 Norwegian Football Cup fi ...
, which is based in Ski town. Follo FK is a joint effort by a number of local sports clubs in the Follo district, in order to be able to field a national-level football team. Follo FK currently (2016) plays in the 2nd division of the national football league, having played both in the 1st division and in the 3rd division previously, and have played in the national cup finals twice.


Notable people

* Borghild Holmsen (1865 in Kråkstad – 1938) a Norwegian pianist, music critic and composer * Gunhild Ziener (1868 in Ski – 1937) a Norwegian politician and pioneer in Norway's women's movement *
Ingrid Bjoner Ingrid Kristine Bjoner Pierpoint (8 November 1927 – 4 September 2006) was a Norwegian soprano who had an international opera career between 1956 and 1990. She was particularly celebrated for her portrayal of Wagnerian heroines and for her perfor ...
(1927 in Kråkstad – 2006) a Norwegian operatic soprano, portrayed Wagnerian heroines IMDb Database
retrieved 10 March 2021 * Alf Magne Austad (1946–2013) a realist painter, lived in Ski * Anne Kristine Linnestad (born 1961) a politician, Mayor of Ski, 2011 to 2015 *
Trude Mostue Trude Mostue (born 28 March 1968) is a Norwegian veterinary surgeon and television presenter. She is best known for her appearances in the BBC documentary series ''Vet School'' in 1996, and later in the follow-up series ''Vets in Practice''. She ...
(born 1968) a veterinary surgeon and TV presenter, brought up in Siggerud * Martin Andresen (born 1977 in Kråkstad) a former footballer with 355 club caps and 43 for
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 ...
* Tuva Moflag (born 1979) a Norwegian politician, Mayor of Ski, 2015 to 2017 * Linn-Kristin Riegelhuth Koren (born 1984 in Ski) a retired handball player, 279 caps with Norway women and three time Olympic team medallist * Fredric Aasbø (born 1985 in Ski) a professional drifter and stunt driver


Twin towns and sister cities

Ski municipality is twinned with: *
Gladsaxe Gladsaxe Municipality () is a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') near Copenhagen in Region Hovedstaden on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , and has a total population of 70,958 (2025). ...
, Denmark *
Viimsi Parish Viimsi Parish () is a rural municipality in Northern Estonia, located North-East and neighbouring the capital Tallinn. It occupies an area of with a population of 20 580 (). The municipality contains the Viimsi Peninsula and several islands, in ...
, Estonia *
Solna Solna ( or , ), also known as Solna Municipality, is a municipality in central Stockholm County, Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna i ...
, Sweden


See also

* Stunner (Stone Age site)


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 ...
* * {{Authority control Cities and towns in Norway Populated places in Akershus