| Eidsvoll kommune | |||
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| — Municipality — | |||
| Sundet, the municipal center, with the old bridge | |||
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| Eidsvoll within Akershus | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Akershus | ||
| District | Romerike | ||
| Administrative centre | Sundet | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor (2009) | Terje Teslo (Senterpartiet) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 457 km2 (176.4 sq mi) | ||
| • Land | 385 km2 (148.6 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | 222 in Norway | ||
| Population (2004) | |||
| • Total | 18,338 | ||
| • Rank | 52 in Norway | ||
| • Density | 48/km2 (124.3/sq mi) | ||
| • Change (10 years) | 9.4 % | ||
| Demonym | Eidsvolling[1] | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| ISO 3166 code | NO-0237 | ||
| Official language form | Bokmål | ||
| Website | www.eidsvoll.kommune.no | ||
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is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet.
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The first element is the genitive case of the word eid (Old Norse: eiđ) and the last element is voll (Old Norse: völlr) which means "meadow" or "field". The meaning of the word eid in this case is "a road passing around a waterfall". People from the districts around the lake (Mjøsa) who were sailing down the river Vorma, and people from Romerike sailing up the same river, both had to enter this area by passing the Sundfossen waterfall. Because of this, the site became an important meeting place long before the introduction of Christianity.
Prior to 1918, the name was spelled "Eidsvold". The town of Eidsvold in Queensland, Australia still uses this spelling.
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 20 November 1987. The arms show a balance as a symbol of justice. In the early Middle Ages a local court was established in Eidsvoll.[2]
The parish of Eidsvold was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The municipality of Feiring was merged with Eidsvoll on 1 January 1964.
Eidsvoll is mentioned in Old Norse manuscripts. In the 11th century, it became the site of court and assembly (ting) for eastern parts of Norway, replacing Vang, now a part of Hamar in Hedmark. Because of its access to the river Vorma and the lake Mjøsa has long provided a thoroughfare to northern parts of inland Norway. Eastern parts of Eidsvoll were for a short time the site of a minor gold rush when gold was found in 1758, and these areas are still known as Gullverket, (the Gold works).
Eidsvoll Verk was opened to smelt iron ore by King Christian IV of Denmark in 1624, relying on the excellent water power from the Andelva river. In 1688, it was owned by the director of the Kongsberg Silver Mines, Schlanbusch, and remained in his family until 1781. Carsten Anker came into possession of works in 1794, at which time it was in decay since many of the surrounding forests required for charcoal had been depleted. He restored it and set up the production of stoves and similar iron goods. He also took residence in Eidsvoll in 1811, rebuilding the house which is now the Eidsvollsbygningen. Eidsvollsbygningen is the building where the Norwegian Constitution was signed in 1814.
Until recently, the main industry of Eidsvoll was agriculture, though the soil is rich in clay.
Eidsvoll was the site where the constitutional assembly met to draft and sign the Constitution of Norway on 17 May 1814. The building (Eidsvollbygningen) in which the meetings were held is today a famous museum.
In 1854, Eidsvoll became the end point for the first railroad line in Norway from Oslo. This became the transit point for travel with the steamship Skibladner to Hamar, Gjøvik, and Lillehammer.
Eidsvoll municipality is bordered on the north by Østre Toten (in Oppland county on the west side of Mjøsa) and by Stange (on the east side of the lake) and to the east by Nord-Odal (both in Hedmark county). In the county of Akershus to the southeast lies Nes, to the south lies Ullensaker, and to the west lies Nannestad and Hurdal.
In addition to being a commuter town for Oslo, it also has agriculture and forestry industries. The main population and commercial centres are Sundet and Råholt.
The following cities are twinned with Eidsvoll:[4]
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