Buskerud


Buskerud is a county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Innlandet, Vestland, Telemark and Vestfold. It extends from Oslofjord and Drammensfjord in the southeast to the Hardangervidda mountain range in the northwest. The administrative centre of the county is Drammen.
Buskerud was one of the three counties merged into Viken on 1 January 2020. On 23 February 2022, the Viken County Council voted 49-38 to submit an application to the Norwegian government for a demerger of itself. Due to this, Buskerud was re-established in 2024.

Etymology

The county was named after the old manor Buskerud located on the west side of the Drammen River in Åmot, Modum municipality. The first element is the genitive case of biskup, 'bishop', the last element is ruð n 'clearing, farm'. The farm was one of the largest in Buskerud, and the original name of the farm was probably Modum. At the time of the Reformation the farm became property of the Crown at which time the farm then served as the residence of the king's bailiffs until 1668.

Geography

Buskerud extended from Hurum at the Oslofjord to the Halling mountains and Hardanger. The county was conventionally divided into traditional districts. These were Hallingdal, Numedal, Ringerike, Lower Buskerud, which was originally part of Vestfold, and Western Vingulmark.
Hallingdal consisted of Flå, Nes, Gol, Hemsedal, Ål and Hol. Numedal consisted of Flesberg, Rollag and Nore og Uvdal. Ringerike consisted of Hole, Krødsherad, Modum, Ringerike and Sigdal. Western Vingulmark consisted of Hurum and Røyken. Lower Buskerud consisted of Drammen, Hurum, Kongsberg, Lier, Nedre Eiker, Røyken and Øvre Eiker. The district was merged from parts that belonged to Vestfold and Vingulmark.
Buskerud's western part was a mountainous plateau with forested valleys and high, grassy pastures; its eastern part contains a lowland basin with many lakes and streams. Tyrifjorden and Krøderen were the biggest lakes. Numedalslågen, the third longest river in Norway, starting in Hordaland, ran through Buskerud unto Vestfold where it reached the sea, while river Begna sweeps into lake Sperillen.

Mountains

  • Haukefjellet
  • Hestebottnuten
  • Julsennuten
  • Kyrkjebønosi
  • Nystølsvarden
  • Øljunuten
  • Raggsteinnuten
  • Storebottnosi
  • Storegrønut
  • Tyrvlesnuten
  • Vargebreen

    History

Buskerud was separated from Akershus as an amt of its own in 1685, but the amt was smaller than today. It then consisted of the present districts Eiker, Hallingdal, and Ringerike. The area of the present municipalities of Flesberg, Hurum, Kongsberg, Lier, Nore og Uvdal, Rollag and Røyken were transferred from Akershus amt to Buskerud amt in 1760. The name Buskeruds amt was changed to Buskerud fylke in 1919. The municipality of Skoger was transferred from Vestfold to Buskerud in 1964.
The area Ringerike may once have been a small kingdom. During the 10th century, Norway's kings Olaf Tryggvason and Olaf Haraldsson grew up at Bønsnes in Ringerike. In the valley of Numedal, silver was mined in Kongsberg from the 17th century until discontinued in 1957. Weapons industry had been developed in Kongsberg from 1814, and various high tech industry companies now represent the town's major employers. At Modum there was also Blaafarveværket, a cobalt pigment production works.

Economy

Today, agriculture, lumber, wood-pulp mills and other related industries are the county's main economic activities; ample hydroelectric power is produced by the rivers Begna and Rands . Buskerud has also a large forested area. Substantial income is derived from high tech industries located in Kongsberg. Other significant income comes from the cabin areas in northern Buskerud.
The company, Eneas Energy is based here.

Coat of arms

Buskerud's coat of arms were adopted in April 1966. It features a blue bear whose colours are symbolic of the blue colour works. The silver background of Buskerud's coat of arms represents the silver industry in Kongsberg.

Notable people from Buskerud

Sports figures

NrNameInhabitantsArea km2
3301 Drammen104 487317,68
303 Kongsberg28 848792,27
3305 Ringerike31 5811 555,10
3310 Hole6 989194,80
3312 Lier28 470301,33
3314 Øvre Eiker20 779456,76
3316 Modum14 665515,09
3318 Krødsherad2 241374,63
3320 Flå1 115704,48
3322 Nesbyen3 301809,64
3324 Gol4 986532,51
3326 Hemsedal2 666753,47
3328 Ål5 0071 171,29
3330 Hol4 4961 858,36
3332 Sigdal3 526842,15
3334 Flesberg2 781561,92
3336 Rollag1 395449,28
3338 Nore og Uvdal2 4862 502,33
Total Buskerud269 81914 693,87

Districts