Øvre Eiker 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 the traditional and electoral district

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 Hardan ...

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 purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 ...

. It is part of the

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 ...

Eiker Eiker is a traditional district in the county of Buskerud, Norway. History Eiker consists of the municipalities of Nedre Eiker and Øvre Eiker. The area is located in the southern part of Buskerud county. Eiker is an agricultural area with a lo ...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of

Hokksund Hokksund is a town in the municipality of Øvre Eiker in the county of Viken, Norway. History Hokksund is the administrative centre, and largest town in Øvre Eiker, with a population of around 8,000. Hokksund is located 18 km west of Dr ...

. The old municipality of

was divided into ''Øvre Eiker'' (upper Eiker) and ''

Nedre Eiker Nedre Eiker was a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Eiker. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Mjøndalen. The old municipality of Eiker was divided into ''Nedre Eiker ...

'' (lower) on 1 July 1885. As of 2015, more employees worked for the unicipalgovernment and in the service sector, than in any other field of employment; even fewer—16 %—are employed in construction or in lectricalpower companies and water companies; 3%work in the

manufacturing sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in constructio ...

General information

Name

The

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is 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 of Scandinavia and t ...

form of the name was ''Eikjar''. The name is the

plural The plural (sometimes abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the default quantity represented by that noun. This de ...

form of ''eiki'' which means "

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

wood". The meaning of ''Øvre Eiker'' is "(the) upper (part of) Eiker". (The municipality of Eiker was divided in 1885.)

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 24 October 1981. The arms show three silver oak

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

and two

acorn The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'' and '' Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne ...

s on a blue background. The oak is a canting element, since ''Eik'' means oak in the

Norwegian language Norwegian ( no, norsk, links=no ) is a North Germanic language spoken mainly in Norway, where it is an official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regio ...

. (See also coat-of-arms of Eigersund,

Songdalen Songdalen is a former municipality in the old Vest-Agder county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1964 until 2020 when it was merged with Søgne and Kristiansand municipalities to form a new, much larger Kristiansand municipality in what i ...

and

Tingvoll Tingvoll is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Nordmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Tingvollvågen. Other villages include Meisingset, Kvisvik, and Torjulvågen. The municipality co ...

)

Geography

Øvre Eiker is a lush valley along

Drammenselva Drammenselva ( en, Drammen River) is a river in Buskerud county, southeastern Norway. Location Drammenselva is one of the largest rivers in Norway, with a drainage basin of about and a discharge of per second. Drammen River's total length is ma ...

with

Modum Modum is a municipality in Buskerud in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Vikersund. The municipality of Modum was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The area has a long tr ...

to the north and

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken (county), Viken, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and village ...

to the east. To the south flows

Eikeren Eikeren or Eikern is a long and deep lake in the municipalities of Hof in the county of Vestfold og Telemark and Øvre Eiker in the county of Viken, Norway. It is the largest lake in Vestfold. At the eastern end of Vestfold is the village of E ...

watercourse, which is dominated by the contiguous

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

and Fiskumvannet. Eikeren is 156

Meters The metre ( British spelling) or meter ( American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its p ...

deep and is partly located in

Holmestrand is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Holmestrand. The town was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). ...

municipality in the south. The municipality's highest point, Myrehogget, 707

meters above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The com ...

. is located west, between Øvre Eiker and

Flesberg Flesberg is a municipality in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Numedal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lampeland. The economy of ...

municipality. About half of the municipality's inhabitants live in the municipal center

, which in 2021 had 9,514 inhabitants, the rest live mainly in the settlements

Vestfossen Vestfossen is a village in the municipality of Øvre Eiker in the county of Buskerud, Norway. Vestfossen is a former industrial city with traditions dating back to the 16th century. As of 2008 Vestfossen had a population of 2,867 according to Sta ...

, Skotselv,

Ormåsen Ormåsen is a village in Buskerud, Norway. It is a residential area located the municipality of Øvre Eiker. The village was built during 1986. Ormåsen is located midway between Hokksund and Vestfossen Vestfossen is a village in the municip ...

, and

Darbu Darbu is a village within the parish of Fiskum, in the municipality of Øvre Eiker, Buskerud County, Norway. The population of the village was 539 as of 2019. Darbu is located on the Sørland Line Railway, 81.61 km from Oslo, about midway ...

. The municipality is part of the Drammen region and Buskerudbyen, which is a collaboration within transport, environment and health.

Energy

Hakavik Power Station Hakavik Power Station is a 7 MW hydroelectric power plant at Øvre Eiker in Buskerud, Norway, located 25 metres above sea level. The power station was inaugurated in 1922. It generates only railway traction current, single phase 55&nbs ...

, startpoint of 55 kV single phase AC grid for traction current.

Notable residents

Christopher Borgersen Hoen Christopher Borgersen Hoen (26 August 1767 – 17 May 1845) was a Norwegian farmer and politician. Christopher Hoen was born on the Vølstad farm in Øvre Eiker in the county of Buskerud, Norway. In 1791, he acquired the Hoen farm (''Nedre Hoen ...

(1767 in Eiker – 1845) farmer and rep. at the

Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly (in Norwegian ''Grunnlovsforsamlingen'', also known as ''Riksforsamlingen'') is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in Norway, that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised th ...

at Eidsvoll in 1814 * Jonas Lie (1833 at Hokksund – 1908) novelist, poet, and playwright *

Olaf Mørch Hansson Olaf Mørch Hansson (28 July 1856 – 22 February 1912) was a Norwegian actor and theatre director, journalist and newspaper editor. He was married to Thora Hansson from 1880 to 1896, and then to Agnethe Schibsted-Hansson from 1896 to 1912. Biogr ...

(1856 in Øvre Eiker – 1912) an actor, theatre director and journalist *

Christopher Hornsrud Christopher Andersen Hornsrud (15 November 1859 – 12 December 1960) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He served as leader of the Labour Party from 1903 to 1906 and became a member of the Storting in 1912. In 1928, he became the f ...

(1859 in Skotselv – 1960)

Prime Minister of Norway The prime minister of Norway ( no, statsminister, which directly translates to "minister of state") is the head of government and chief executive of Norway. The prime minister and Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior government department ...

in 1928 * Henny Dons (1874 at Aker – 1966) a Norwegian educator and

inner mission The Inner Mission (german: Innere Mission, also translated as Home Mission) was and is a movement of German evangelists, set up by Johann Hinrich Wichern in Wittenberg in 1848 based on a model of Theodor Fliedner. It quickly spread from Germany to ...

ary * Hans Dons (1882 in Øvre Eiker – 1940)

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

officer, first manned flight in Norway *

Thina Thorleifsen Thina Nilsine Thorleifsen (1885–1959) was a Norwegian politician who was active in the women's movement. She was a prominent member of ''Den Kvinnelige Tjenerstands Forening'' (The Women's Servant Class Association) from 1910 and its chair from ...

(1885 in Hokksund – 1959) a politician, active in the women's movement * Else Halling (1899 in Øvre Eiker – 1987) a Norwegian textile artist * Harald Henschien (1902 at Øvre Hoen – 1968) accordionist, accordion manufacturer, editor *

Aage Møst Aage Møst (29 August 1923 – 19 April 2011) was a Norwegian journalist and sports official. He was born in Skotselv. He represented the clubs Bakke IF, Oslo-Studentenes IK, IL Tyrving and Høvik IF during his career. He was a journalist by ...

(1923 in Skotselv – 2011) a journalist and sports official * Thorleif Enger (born 1943 in Øvre Eiker) former CEO of

Yara International Yara International ASA is a Norwegian chemical company. It produces, distributes, and sells nitrogen-based mineral fertilizers and related industrial products. Its product line also includes phosphate and potash-based mineral fertilizers, as well ...

* Per Olaf Lundteigen (born 1953) farmer and Øvre Eiker municipal councillor 2003/07 * Nikolai Hængsle (born 1978 in Skotselv) a Norwegian bass guitarist, member of

BigBang Big Bang (; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean boy band formed by YG Entertainment. The group consists of four members: G-Dragon, T.O.P, Taeyang, and Daesung. Originally a five-piece band, Seungri retired from the entertainment industry ...

Masud Gharahkhani Masud Gharahkhani ( fa, مسعود قره‌خانی; born 22 September 1982) is a Norwegian politician who has served as the President of the Storting since 2021, and as an Member of the Storting for Buskerud since 2017 for the Labour Party. E ...

(born 1982) an Iranian-Norwegian politician, brought up in Skotselv

Sport

Randi Thorvaldsen Randi Thorvaldsen (4 March 1925, in Øvre Eiker – 10 February 2011) was a Norwegian speedskater, silver medalist from the allround World Championship, and a previous World Record holder in 1,500 metres. She was the dominating female speedskater ...

(1925 in Fiskum – 2011) a champion speedskater in the early 1950s *

Jorunn Horgen Jorunn Horgen (born 6 December 1966) is a Norwegian windsurfer. She was born in Hokksund. She participated at the 1992 Summer Olympics, where she placed 8th, and at the 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of ...

(born 1966 in Hokksund) a windsurfer, world champion in 1980's & 90's *

Mona Bollerud Mona Bollerud born 1968 in Fiskum in Øvre Eiker is a former Norwegian biathlete. She participated on the Norwegian team that received a silver medal in the 3 × 5 km relay in the 1988 Biathlon World Championships The first Biathlon W ...

(born 1968 in Fiskum) former biathlete, World Championship medallist *

Gustav Wikheim Gustav Mendonça Wikheim (born 18 March 1993) is a Norwegian association football, footballer who plays for Djurgårdens IF Fotboll, Djurgårdens IF as a Winger (association football), winger. Career Strømsgodset Wikheim made his debut for Str ...

(born 1993 in Hokksund) a Norwegian footballer with over 200 club caps

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Øvre Eiker: *

Kerteminde Kerteminde (nickname: ''Min Amandas by'', i.e. ''My Amanda's town''), is a town in central Denmark, located in Kerteminde Municipality on the island of Funen. The town has a population of 6,042 (1 January 2022).

Region of Southern Denmark The Region of Southern Denmark ( da, Region Syddanmark, ; german: Region Süddänemark, ; frr, Regiuun Syddanmark) is an administrative Regions of Denmark, region of Denmark established on Monday 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Munici ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Lempäälä Lempäälä (; Swedish also ) is a municipality in the Pirkanmaa region of Finland with inhabitants (). Lempäälä is located south of the city of Tampere. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Th ...

Western Finland Western Finland ( fi, Länsi-Suomen lääni, sv, Västra Finlands län) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland. ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

Ulricehamn Ulricehamn is a locality and the seat of Ulricehamn Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden, with 9,787 inhabitants in 2010. History Ulricehamn, originally known as ''Bogesund'', has been populated at least since the Middle Ages. The town h ...

Västra Götaland County Västra Götaland County ( sv, Västra Götalands län) is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden. The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties and it comprises 49 municipalities (''kommuner''). Its population of 1 ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Gallery

File:Bakke kirke TRS.jpg, Bakke Church File:Fiskum kirke TRS 060715 046A.jpg, Fiskum Church File:Haug kirke Hokksund Norway 2016-10-29l 02.jpg, Haug Church in Hokksund File:Dam at Øksnevann.JPG, Øksnevann Dam File:Darbu stasjon.jpg, Darbu Station File:Nøstetangenmuseet.jpg, Nøstetangen Museum in Hokksund File:Hokksund stasjon front.jpg, Hokksund Station

References

External links

* *
Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, 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 yea ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ovre Eiker Municipalities of Buskerud Municipalities of Viken (county)