- Drammen
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Drammen kommune — Municipality —
Coat of arms
Buskerud within
NorwayDrammen within Buskerud Coordinates: 59°44′16″N 10°12′18″E / 59.73778°N 10.205°ECoordinates: 59°44′16″N 10°12′18″E / 59.73778°N 10.205°E Country Norway County Buskerud Administrative centre Drammen Government - Mayor (2003) Tore Opdal Hansen (H) Area - Total 137 km2 (52.9 sq mi) - Land 135 km2 (52.1 sq mi) Area rank 366 in Norway Population (2008) - Total 62,566 - Rank 9 in Norway - Density 421/km2 (1,090.4/sq mi) - Change (10 years) 8.2 % Demonym Drammenser
Drammensar[1]Time zone CET (UTC+1) - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2) ISO 3166 code NO-0602 Official language form Neutral Website drammen.kommune.no Data from Statistics Norway Drammen is a city in Buskerud County, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the eastern and most populated part of Norway.
Contents
Location
There are more than 63 000 inhabitants in the municipality, but the city is the regional capital of an area with more than 150,000 inhabitants. Drammen and the surrounding communities are growing more than ever before. The city makes good use of the river and inland waterway called Drammensfjord, both for recreation, activities and housing. No city in the country has received as many awards for environmental and urban development as Drammen: 6 national and 2 international prizes since 2003.[2][3]
Name and Coat of arms
The Old Norse form of the city's name was Drafn, and this was originally the name of the inner part of Drammensfjord. The fjord is, however, probably named after the river Drammenselva (Norse Drǫfn), and this again is derived from drǫfn f 'wave'.[4] The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 17 November 1960. The arms are blue with a gray/silver column on top of a foundation of rocks. A key and a sword are crossed in the middle forming an x. It is based upon the old seal dating from 1723 for Bragernes, one of the central parts of Drammen. The motto for Bragernes (in Latin) was In Fide Et Justitia Fortitudo (English: in faith and justice is strength), and the items in the seal are referring to this: key = faith, sword = justice, column on rocks = strength.[5]
Governance
The municipality of Drammen was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The rural municipality of Skoger was merged with the municipality of Drammen on 1 January 1964 and was transferred from Vestfold county to Buskerud county at the same time. The city itself has 63 000 inhabitants, making it Norway's seventh largest.[citation needed]
Districts
Drammen is currently divided into eight districts.[6]
History
rock carvings at Åskollen and Austad are 6000 to 7000 years old, and are the first signs of human activity in the area. The largest rock carving at Åskollen depicts a moose.
Drammen originally consisted of three small seaports: Bragernes (on the northern side of the Drammenselva river) and Strømsø and Tangen (both on the southern side of the river). For trade purposes, small seaports were placed under market towns. Despite their geographical proximity, Bragernes was placed under Christiania and Strømsø under Tønsberg. For this reason, cooperation between the adjacent seaport towns was almost impossible.
In 1662, a merger was proposed to unite Strømsø and Bragernes to form a market town with the name Frederiksstrøm. The proposal was rejected by Frederick III of Denmark. Bragernes received limited market town rights in 1715, and merged with Strømsø to gain status as a single city on 19 June 1811.[7]
2011 is a special year for Drammen as the city celebrates her 200 years with many city jubilee celebrations.[8]
Its unique geographical location made the city a centre for seafaring, shipbuilding, log driving, timber trade, and (since the 19th century) paper and pulp industries. During the 1960s most of the pulp and paper factories along the Drammenselva were closed down.[citation needed]
Large parts of the city were ruined in the great fire of 12–13 July 1866, which led to the reconstruction of the city centre, including the characteristic town square and Bragernes church.[9]
In 1909, Drammen got the first trolleybus system in Scandinavia, the Drammen trolleybus. The lines ran until 1967. For many years the centre of Drammen suffered from heavy traffic, but in 1970 the European route E18 bridge helped somewhat, and in 1999 the opening of the Bragernes tunnel diverted much of the traffic away from the centre of the city.[citation needed] In recent years, the city centre has seen significant regeneration[citation needed], with the introduction of new housing, shopping facilities, restaurants, cafes and bars, as well as a public pathway along the Drammenselva river.[10][11]
Geography
Drammen is one of the larger cities in Norway, and lies about 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the capital of Norway, Oslo. The city centre lies at the end of a valley, on both sides of the Drammenselva river, and where the river meets the Drammensfjord. Drammen is also the main harbor for car and fruit import in Norway.
As of 1 January 2007, the population of the urban area of Drammen is 93,006. Drammen is the sixth largest urban area of Norway and occupies territory in five municipalities: Drammen (with about 61% of the population), Nedre Eiker (23%), Øvre Eiker (8%), Lier (5%), and Røyken (3%).[12]
The Øvre Sund area, situated along Drammenselva, will be regulated by the municipality in order to restore this area's character. The buildings there are from the 18th and 19th century, and contribute, as well as the river and the brewery, to give the city a special identity.[13] In 2008 Drammen won the prestigious prize for the best city development in Europe.[citation needed]
Attractions
Aass Brewery
Main article: Aass BreweryAass Brewery is the oldest surviving brewery in Norway, and has won acclaim for both its beer and its conservative building. Founded in 1834, the brewery's primary products are soft drinks, beer and aquavit.[14]
Bridges
- Drammen City Bridge (Drammensbrua bybro) - concrete bridge which connects the two centers of the town, built 1936[citation needed]
- Drammen Bridge (Drammensbrua) - motorway box girder bridge that crosses Drammenselva, built 1971
- Ypsilon bridge (Ypsilon bru) - cable-stayed bridge over Drammenselva, built 2007
Drammen Museum
Main article: Drammen Museum of Art and Cultural HistoryThe Drammen Museum of Art and Cultural History includes the Marienlyst farm, a manor house from approx. 1770, museum building from 1930 with the museum's administration, permanent exhibitions and collections, and Lyche pavilion from 1990 with the gallery, temporary exhibitions and museum café, Halling yard, with 5 old buildings, the oldest from 1760's. The museum also includes the two largest preserved like farms in Drammen, Gulskogen Manor and Austad farm.[15]
Drammen Theater
Drammen Theater in Bragernes was built in 1869 and was designed by architect Emil Victor Langlet. The theater was the first modern theater in the country. It was designed in a complex Renaissance style with symmetrical facades and round arched windows. After Drammen Theater suffered total destruction by fire in December 1993, a new theater was rebuilt on the model of the original house. It was finished during February 1997.[16]
Sport clubs
- Drammen FK. Founded 23 August 2008.
- Drammen golfklubb. Founded in 1988. Golf club with 18-hole course situated in the southern part of Drammen, on the border to Sande in Vestfold.
- Drammen HK Handball club competing in Men's European Champions League (07/08)
- IF Hellas
- IF Sturla
- Konnerud IL Sport club most famous for its cross-country skiing facilities.
- SBK Drafn Founded Sept. 15, 1910, 21 Norwegian Championships in bandy, 1 lost cup final in football (1927). One World Champion ski jumper, Hans Bjørnstad 1950. Ole Olympic Gold medallist, Thorleif Haug 1924 (three gold, one bronze).
- SBK Skiold
- Strømsgodset IF. Founded 10 February 1907. Five Norwegian championships in football (1969, 1970, 1973, 1991, 2010). Winner of the Norwegian football league in 1970. Won 6 Norwegian championships in bandy.
- Drammen Bandy plays in the highest division.
Notable residents
Main category: People from DrammenInternational relations
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in NorwayTwin towns — Sister cities
The following cities are twinned with Drammen:[17]
- - Kolding, Region of Southern Denmark, Denmark
- - Lappeenranta, Etelä-Suomen lääni, Finland
- - Burgas, Bulgaria
- - Stykkishólmur, Iceland
- - Örebro, Örebro County, Sweden
Gallery
Churches
Tunnels
References
- ^ "Personnemningar til stadnamn i Noreg" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. http://www.sprakrad.no/nb-no/Sprakhjelp/Rettskrivning_Ordboeker/Innbyggjarnamn/.
- ^ Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
- ^ Statistics on Drammen
- ^ Unger, Carl Rikard (1896). Sproglig-historiske studier. Kristiania, Norge: H. Aschehoug & Co.. p. 37. http://books.google.com/?id=5sQYYO_JIXMC. Retrieved 2009-01-06. (Norwegian)
- ^ "Kommunevåpen". Flags of the World. 5 July 2006. http://fotw.us/flags/no-06-02.html. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
- ^ Søbstad, Per Ivar. "Bydeler i Drammen". History of Drammen. Archived from the original on 11 October 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061011105023/http://drammenshistorie.com/bydeler.shtml. Retrieved 2006-12-07. (Norwegian)
- ^ Søbstad, Per Ivar. "Kort oversikt over Drammens historie". History of Drammen. Archived from the original on 22 August 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060822101932/http://drammenshistorie.com/kort.shtml. Retrieved 2006-12-07. (Norwegian)
- ^ "Drammen’s 2011 bicentennial celebrations". http://www.drammen.no/city_anniversary/cms/1613/. Retrieved 2011-05-09.
- ^ Søbstad, Per Ivar. "Bybranner". History of Drammen. Archived from the original on 10 November 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061110005457/http://drammenshistorie.com/bybranner.shtml. Retrieved 2006-12-07. (Norwegian)
- ^ Local History of Drammen
- ^ History of Drammen (Norwegian)
- ^ Statistics Norway (1 January 2006). Urban settlements. Population and area, by municipality. http://www.ssb.no/english/subjects/02/01/10/beftett_en/tab-2007-06-07-01-en.html.
- ^ "About the preservation of the Øvre Sund area". http://www.ovresund.no/.
- ^ About Us (Aass Brewery)
- ^ Drammen Museum
- ^ Drammen Theater
- ^ "City of Drammen". OsloRegion.org. http://www.osloregion.org/english/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=47. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
External links
- Buskerud travel guide from Wikitravel
- Tourist Information
- Elvebyen Drammen (Norwegian)
- River City of Drammen
- Visit Drammen
- Drammen kommune
Municipalities of Buskerud Ål · Drammen · Flå · Flesberg · Gol · Hemsedal · Hol · Hole · Hurum · Kongsberg · Krødsherad · Lier · Modum · Nedre Eiker · Nes · Nore og Uvdal · Øvre Eiker · Ringerike · Rollag · Røyken · Sigdal40 most populous urban settlements (cities) of Norway as of 2009, according to Statistics Norway [1]37. Nesoddtangen 11,600 38. Steinkjer 11,500 39. Leirvik 11,400 40. Vennesla 11,400 41. Kongsvinger 11,400 42. Stjørdalshalsen 10,800 1 Sarpsborg.Categories:- Municipalities of Buskerud
- Cities and towns in Norway
- Populated coastal places in Norway
- Drammen
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