Brandbu


Brandbu is a village in Gran Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located in Hadeland, along the eastern shore of the large lake Randsfjorden, about to the northwest of the capital city of Oslo.
Brandbu and its neighboring village of Jaren have grown together through conurbation, and Statistics Norway has considered them as one, single urban settlement for many years. The village of Brandbu/Jaren has a population of and a population density of.
From the top of the tall mountain Brandbukampen, there is a wide view of Brandbu and the villages surrounding it. The village of Egge lies at the base of the mountain, about to the northwest of Brandbu.
Just by the center of Brandbu lies the Brandbu lower secondary school as well as the Brandbu campus of the Hadeland upper secondary school. The nearby Nes Church is the seat of the Brandbu parish within the Church of Norway. The church is located on the northern side of Røykenvik.

History

Historically, the village of Brandbu was known as "Augedalsbro" since there was a bridge over the small river Vigga at the site. Locals still commonly refer to the village as "Brua".
From 1897 until 1962, the village of Brandbu and its surrounding area were part of Brandbu Municipality.
The Røykenvikbanen railway line stopped at the Brandbu Station from 1900 to 1957 as it connected Røykenvik along the Randsfjorden to the main railway line. The station building has since been demolished.

Augedalsbro

The "Augedalsbro" or "Åvedalsbro" is an ancient place for a bridge that crossed the Augedalselva river. There was a lift station there in older times as well. This was where the old and new Bergensveien met and Høgkorsveien went from here and over to Toten. Although the main bridge was moved to Rosendal, a little a bit further up river in the mid-1800s, Augedalsbro continued to be a lift station. The site was also the meeting place for the municipal council in the old Brandbu Municipality. The Old Molstad mill from 1915 which stood near the bridge is now a part of the Hadeland Folkemuseum.
Augedalsbro is also the motive for the painting Augedals bro by Gerhard Munthe.

Notable people