Øvre Eiker

Øvre Eiker kommune
Municipality

View of the village of Vestfossen

Coat of arms
Buskerud within
Norway

Øvre Eiker within Buskerud
Coordinates: 59°46′19″N 9°50′10″E / 59.77194°N 9.83611°E / 59.77194; 9.83611Coordinates: 59°46′19″N 9°50′10″E / 59.77194°N 9.83611°E / 59.77194; 9.83611
Country Norway
County Buskerud
District Eiker, Lower Buskerud
Administrative centre Hokksund
Government
 • Mayor (2009) Ann Sire Fjerdingstad (H)
Area
 • Total 457 km2 (176 sq mi)
 • Land 418 km2 (161 sq mi)
Area rank 223 in Norway
Population (2005)
 • Total 15,633
 • Rank 62 in Norway
 • Density 37/km2 (100/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years) 4.3 %
Demonym(s) Eikværing[1]
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-0624
Official language form Bokmål
Website www.ovre-eiker.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Øvre Eiker is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Eiker. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hokksund. The old municipality of Eiker was divided into Øvre Eiker (upper Eiker) and Nedre Eiker (lower) on 1 July 1885.

General information

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was Eikjar. The name is the plural form of eiki which means "oak wood". The meaning of Øvre Eiker is "(the) upper (part of) Eiker". (The municipality of Eiker was divided in 1885.)

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 24 October 1981. The arms show three silver oak leaves and two acorns on a blue background. The oak is a canting element, since Eik means oak in the Norwegian language.[2]

(See also coat-of-arms of Eigersund, Nedre Eiker, Songdalen and Tingvoll)

Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Øvre Eiker by country of origin in 2017[3]
Ancestry Number
 Poland611
 Lithuania267
 Afghanistan110
 Germany101
 Iceland96
 Denmark87
 Thailand84
 Eritrea75
 Iraq70
 Turkey67

Geography

The municipality is located in the southern part of Buskerud county and is bordered by the municipalities of Kongsberg, Flesberg, Sigdal, Modum, Lier, Nedre Eiker, and Hof.

The administrative center of Hokksund is the largest town in this municipality, with about 8,000 inhabitants. The remaining 7,000 inhabitants live in the villages of Vestfossen, Skotselv, Ormåsen, and Darbu.

Energy

Hakavik Power Station, startpoint of 55 kV single phase AC grid for traction current.

Notable residents

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Øvre Eiker:

References

  1. ↑ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  2. ↑ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". Retrieved 2009-01-10.
  3. ↑ "Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents". ssb.no. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  4. ↑ "Venskabsbyer" (in Danish). Kerteminde kommune. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
  5. ↑ "Ystävyyskunnat" (in Finnish). Lempäälä. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
  6. ↑ "Föreningen Norden" (in Swedish). Ulricehamn kommun. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
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