Vestby

Vestby is a municipality in the county of Akershus, Norway. Main villages are Vestby, Pepperstad Skog, Hølen, Hvitsten, Garder, and Son. Son was, from the Renaissance until the 1700s, an important harbour. On some Dutch maps from that time, the Oslofjord is called Zoon Water.

Archaeological research in Hølen has confirmed that the area has been populated since about 2400 BC. The municipality and town of Vestby are both named after the most important farm in the area.

Many Norwegian emigrants went to America during the 1840s and later settled in the area of the present city of Westby, Wisconsin (named after general store owner and civil war Union soldier Ole T. Westby); a city which still has a mostly Norwegian-American population.

[edit] The name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old farm Vestby (Norse Vestbýr), since the first church was built here. The first element is vestr 'west', the last element is býr 'farm'. The neighbouring farms have the names Østby ('eastern farm'), Sunnby ('southern farm') and Nordby ('northern farm') - and they must all four be the parts of a bigger an older farm, which name is now unknown.

[edit] Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1982). It shows three crosses. The number of three is meant to represent the three parishes of the municipality: Vestby, Garder and Såner.

[edit] Famous residents

Erik Bodom, 1829-1879, painter
Ola Abrahamsson, (1883-1980), painter
Johan Herman Wessel, 1742-1785, poet

Municipalities of Akershus
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