Hokksund
Hokksund is a town in the municipality of Øvre Eiker in the county of Buskerud in Norway.
History
Hokksund is the administrative centre, and largest town in Øvre Eiker, with a population of around 8,000. The river Drammenselva flows through the town, 500m from the centre. Hokksund has developed on both sides of the river. Forestry has traditionally been the principal industry, but engineering, especially electrical as well as the cement industry, have become important within the past century.
There are three hotels in Hokksundand a campsite there, which holds up to 240 caravans.[1] The railway line that passes through the town is part of the Oslo - Bergen, and the Oslo - Kristiansand - Stavanger route. The two nearest international airports are Oslo Airport, Gardermoen and Sandefjord Airport, Torp, but there is a Hokksund Airport, with the ICAO airport code of ENHS. Hokksund is approximately 17 km to the west of Drammen.
Local attractions
- Haug Church (Haug kirke), originally built in 1152, is a Medieval stone church consisted of the west tower, nave and chancel. The church was extensively repaired and redecorated from 1961 to 1962. The organ was built by the German organ builder Jürgen Ahrend in 2004. [2]
- Nøstetangen Museum at the old county farm (Sorenskrivergården), shows how glass was made according to ancient tradition. Nøstetangen glassworks operated here from 1741 to 1777. It produced table-glass and chandeliers in the German and English style. Adjacent to the museum's garden is the Skriverparken, a beautiful park area extending down to river.[3][4]
Notable residents
- Ole Bremseth, ski jumper
- Johan Buttedahl, politician for the Centre Party
- Stian Hole, graphic designer, illustrator and writer of children's books
- Geir Holte, cross-country skier
- Tor Håkon Holte, cross country skier
- Jonas Lie (1833-1908), novelist, poet, and playwright
- Svend Karlsen, strong man
- DJ Broiler, Norwegian DJ
- Sverre Isachsen, rallycross driver