Akershus County Norway

Akershus County is one out of 19 countys in Norway with a area 4,917 km2 and a population of approximately 584,899.

Each County is divided into different municipality. For Akershus County read a short story given below.

Gardermoen in Akershus is Norway´s main airport, with domestic and international traffic. Gardermoen is one of the most modern airports in Europe, have the fastest train in the country and a new extensive road system. The most important motorways and main roads to and from the whole of Norway go through Akershus.

Over 80 procent of its inhabitants live in towns. Akershus is divided into three regions; Romerike in the north, Follo in the south and Asker and Bærum in the west.

Most things can be found in Akershus: traditional agriculture and modern industry, four-lane motorways and gravelled pathways, research centres alongside important, historical memorials. There are idyllic coastlines and deep forests, modern shopping centres and small corner shops. This gives a variety of rich traditions, which help Akershus to maintain a central role in Norwegian history and society.

Travelers by train, coach, car and boat to and from the area around Oslo have to pass through Akershus. There is a very good public transport system carrying large numbers of passengers between Akershus and the surrounding area daily, facilitating travel around the county. This provides an alternative to the big city, whether it”s for just an afternoon trip or a longer stay. You can get to all parts of Akershus within one hour from the centre of Oslo.

Modern transport in Norway originated in Akershus. The ship “Jernbarden” began running to and from Eidsvoll on Lake Mjøsa in 1841, and Norway”s first railway line was opened between Eidsvoll and Christiania in 1854. Two years later the paddle steamer “Skibladner” began running every summer from the railway terminal. “The White Swan of Mjøsa” (“Mjøsas Hvite Svane”) is the world´s oldest running paddle steamer.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERTISE

The research environment at the Agricultural University of Norway at Ås goes back as far as 1859, and is a powerhouse for applied biological subjects in Norway. The environment plays a central part in the development of agriculture, and consists of 4,000 students and employees. Kjeller in Romerike features one of Norway”s heaviest technological environments with civilian and military research institutes consisting of a total of approximately 2,500 people working with technical research and development. There are more than 1,000 students at the university and college of further education closeby.

The Norwegian School of Management in Sandvika is established as one of the leading education and rescarch institutions for economics, management, marketing and internationalisation in Norway. In 1995, the school had 2,000 students trom 24 different countries. The researchers, teachers, students and specialists working at the various centres are an important natural resource and hold their own internationally to a great extent.

Committed collaboration bringing the research closer to industry is established at several of these research and education institutions in the county. Several people, places and events playing a central part in polar exploration are connected with Akershus, for example, Fridtjof Nansen and Otto Sverdrup both lived in Bærum, Roald Amundsen lived in Oppegård and the arctic vessel “Maud” was built at Vollen in Asker.

LONG INDUSTRIAL TRADITIONS

Previously, there were ironworks at Asker, Bærum, Eidsvoll and Hakadal. Hakadal was the oldest of them all, and was probably founded in the 15th century. Hurdal also had a glassworks. The ironworks were run by royal charter, had their own legal systems, and created their own societies with many foreign skilled workers.

There were many sawmills along the Akershus rivers. Most were built in the 16th-17th centuries. Europe”s forests had been cut down and there was increased demand for timber. Wood became Norway”s most important export. There are many traces of timber activities; including the Soot canal and the “Tertitten” railway line. The plant at Fetsund Lenser is left just as it was in 1985, when the last timber was floated down the River Glomma.

Ice-cutting became a useful additional industry for many coastal inhabitants from the 1850s. The ice was cut in small lakes and artificial dams in Follo and Asker each winter. After being cut, the ice was stored in sawdust in ice-houses and on board wooden vessels, which carried the ice-blocks to England, Germany and France. Proximity to the coast led to good boatbuilding traditions, while farming and forestry gave rise to artisan and home craft traditions which are still kept alive today.

NATURES TREASURE CHEST

The rock bed in Akershus was created between 1,000 to 200 million years ago. Many of the rock types, ores and minerals were used by the people of Akershus much later: lead, zinc, copper, gold and iron ore, emeralds, steatite and limestone from mines in Nittedal, Gjerdrum, Hurdal and Feiring among others.

The last ice age has shaped the landscape as we see it today. This is especially obvious in Øvre Romerike, in the area around Gardermoen, for instance. The landscape here is full of clay hills, gravel ridges and hollowed-out lakes. During the Ice Age, the sea was about 225 metres above its present level, all the way up to Lake Hurdal and lake Mjøsa. Later, rivers and streams cut into the clay and created the ravines typical of the area.

Large forest areas cover around 3/5 of the county which are important to maintain the variety of animal and plant life in Akershus, and for the primary industries and outdoor life. The Oslo fjord and coastal area is Norway´s most-used recreational area. A network of lakes and water-ways are typical of Akershus and are important for its open-air life and for recreational purposes.

The water-ways in Akershus have more kinds of inland fish than any other Norwegian county. Deep forests, Vestmarka, Østmarka, parts of Nordmarka, the hills of Romerike and the remaining agricultural landscape give rich opportunities for outdoor experiences. The large, uninhabited areas in the county allow for recreation and inspiration, without having to travel too far. Cultivated land alternates with deciduous and coniferous forests and shimmering lakes. Its animal life is unique, and skiers have miles of tracks to conquer in the winter!

VALLEY OF ARTISTS

Christian Skredsvig”s “Boy with a willow flute” and Monet”s “Sandvig village in the snow” are examples of well-known motifs from Akershus. The summer spent at Fleskum farm in Bærum by Erik Werenskiold, Eilif Peterssen, Christian Skredsvig, Gerhard Munthe, Harriet Backer and Kitty Kielland introduced the mood landscape to Norwegian art and was the forerunner of the neo Romanticism of the 1890s. The “Artists” Valley” lay in Asker, a few kilometres away, at the homes of Otto and Tilla Valstad (now Asker Museum), and Hulda and Arne Garborg.

Artists such as Kittelsen, Munch and Oscar Wergeland painted important works at Hvitsten. Sigrid Undset used Emmerstad bay at Hvitsten as the model for the novel “Olav Audunssøn at Hestviken”. The painter Karl Dørnberger and the author Nils Kjær lived at Son.

Akershus artists of the past few decades still have a central position. Arne Ekeland, Kåre Tveter, Kai Fjell, Erling Enger, Arnold Haukeland, Skule Waksvik, Ferdinand Finne and Frans Widerberg, to name a few. The Henie-Onstad Kunstsenter (Art Centre), Norways largest museum of modern, international art, is idyllically situated at Høvikodden in Bærum. It has touring exhibitions of Norwegian and foreign art, a permanent exhibition of the Centre”s own art works and of Sonja Henie”s prizes, and a sculpture park. Akershus Kunsrnersenter at Strømmen organises 230 painters and handicraftsmen. It also organises the Pilot gallery, where artists stimulate children and young people to experience and make their own art.

IN 1814 A NATION IS FORMED

In 1814, the National Assembly met at Eidsvoll Verk”s main building. 112 men gathered to shape the Norwegiall Constitution, which was proclaimed on 17 May 1814. Rich Stone-Age finds tell of a long period of human activity in Akershus. The finds at Nøstvedt at Ås proved that Norway had a hunter population several thousand years before the oldest farming culture (around 5,000 BC).

The at least 1,400 year old Raknehaugen is to be found in Ullensaker. It is northern Europe”s largest burial mound with a diameter of 95 metres and a height of 19 metres. The Eidsivatinget was held at Eidsvoll church for 600 years from 1022. Members of parliamellt from all over the Østland area met here every 17 June – St Botolph”s mass.

King Karl XII of Sweden marched over Høland”s boundary in 1716, and took control of Fet, Skedsmo, Enebakk, Hølen and Ås. He passed through Nittedal, around Nordmarka, and attacked Kristiania from Bærum. Two years later, 600 men held Blaker Skanse from 4,000 Swedes. In 1808, war was once again declared with Sweden. Blaker Skanse was captured, but another Swedish force was beaten at Toverud in Aurskog.

On 9 April 1940, two shots fired from the Oscarsborg fortress sent the warship, Blucher, to the seabed and stopped the German invasion. Colonel Erichsen”s action gave the royal family and the government time to get away and organise the resistance movement.

Below is a list of attractions and places to visit in Akershus. The list contains only a sample of these, and is not complete. There are more farms with opportunities for farming and wilderness experiences that we have not had room for. Several of the attractions are suitable for impulse visits in the summer and winter, while others are only open during the season.

ASKER

Asker Church, Asker Museum, Norway´s Bee keeping Association Museum, Vogelius-alleen (street) and Vollen Coastal Culture Centre.

BÆRUM

Bærums Verk Centre, Haslum and Tanum churches, the Henie Onstad Art Centre, lime kilns at Slependen and Ringi, the Lommedalsbanen (railway line) and the Samvirke Museum.

AURSKOG-HØLAND

The Aurskog-Høland Rural Museum, Hemnes Old Churchyard, Løken Old Churchyard, the Soot canal, the Toverud stone monument and Urskog Fort.

EIDSVOLL

The Eidsivating stone monument, the Eidsvoll Rural Museum, the Eidsvoll Building, the Mjøs Collection, the Skibladner paddle steamer, and the Emerald Mines at Byrud Gard.

ENEBAKK

Enebakk Rural Museum, Enebakk Church, Mari Church and the old administrative county hall.

FET

Fet Church, Fetsund Timber Museum, Høgas Battery, Nordre Øyeren Nature Reserve and the M/S See Møve.

DRØBAK

Drøbak Yacht Association”s Collection, Drøbak Church, Follo Museum, the Coastal Culture Path, Oscarsborg fortress, Tregaarden´s Christmas House, and Drøbak Aquarium.

GJERDRUM

The Asbjørnsen oak, the Dal mine, Gjerdrum Church and the burial mounds at Torshov.

HURDAL

Hurdal Rural Museum, Hurdal Church, Hurdal Works, Knaisætra, Rognlisaga, Skrukkeli Chapel and Fjellsjøkampen hill.

NANNESTAD

Holter and Nannestad Churches, Vigstein, Heimskringla, Økrisætra, Lake Rasjø and Romeriksåsen hill.

NES

M/S Elvekongen, Svanfoss lock, Funnefoss Industrial Workers´ Museum, Old Hvam Museum, Nes Church ruins, Stein school and Udenes Church.

NESODDEN

Hellviktangen, Sunnås Hospital, Nesodden Church, the Steilene and Nesodd House.

NITTEDAL

Hakadal Church, Markerud, Nittedal Rural Collection, Nittedal Church, Skyset Main Building and Varingskollen hill.

OPPEGÅRD

The Fredrikshald Royal Road, the ancient road over Grønliåsen hill, Roald Amundsen´s home “Uranienborg” and Ingierstrand Baths.

LILLESTRØM

Akershus Cultural Centre, Akershus County Museum, Lillestrøm Art Centre, the Motor Museum, Skedsmo Rural Museum and Skedsmo Church.

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