- Modum
-
Modum kommune — Municipality — 
Coat of arms
Buskerud within
NorwayModum within Buskerud
Coordinates: 59°57′27″N 9°58′58″E / 59.9575°N 9.98278°ECoordinates: 59°57′27″N 9°58′58″E / 59.9575°N 9.98278°E Country Norway County Buskerud Administrative centre Vikersund Government - Mayor (2007) Terje Bråthen (Ap) Area - Total 515 km2 (198.8 sq mi) - Land 463 km2 (178.8 sq mi) Area rank 204 in Norway Population (2004) - Total 12,594 - Rank 87 in Norway - Density 27/km2 (69.9/sq mi) - Change (10 years) 3.2 % Demonym Moding[1] Time zone CET (UTC+1) - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2) ISO 3166 code NO-0623 Official language form Bokmål Website modum.kommune.no Data from Statistics Norway Modum is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hallingdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Vikersund. The municipality of Modum was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt).
The area has a long tradition of skiing with several famous skiers. Modum is home to one of the largest ski jumping hills in the world, Vikersundbakken. The hill record, established in 2004 is an amazing jump of 219 metres (719 ft).
Contents
General information
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Modum farm (Old Norse: Móðheimr), since the first church was built here. The first element is móða which means "river" (here the Drammenselva river) and the last element is heimr which means "home", "homestead", or "farm". The name of the farm was later changed to Buskerud.
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 15 March 1985. The arms show three wavy silver lines “party per bend sinister” on a blue background. They represent the three main rivers in the municipality: Drammenselva, Snarumselva, and Simoa and the colour blue represents Blaafarveværket.[2]
Geography
The municipality is bordered in the north by Krødsherad and Ringerike, in the east by Hole and Lier, in the south by Øvre Eiker, and in the west by Sigdal.
The municipality has three main villages: Åmot, Geithus, and the municipality administrative center of Vikersund. Åmot is the starting point for the Kunstnerdal. Here is where the Blaafarveværket is located. That includes a cobalt museum, art institutions, and a children’s barn yard.
Notable residents
- Ole Einar Bjørndalen, ski biathlete
- Ole Gunnar Fidjestøl, ski jumper
- Hans Andersen Foss (1851-1929) Norwegian-American author and newspaper editor
- Maurits Hansen (1774-1843), author
- Nils P. Haugen, member of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin
- Christopher Hornsrud (1859-1960), Norwegian Prime Minister from January to February 1928
- Thure Erik Lund, author
Sister cities
The following cities are twinned with Modum:[3]
Laukaa, Western Finland, Finland
Stevns, Region Sjælland, Denmark
Östra Göinge, Skåne County, Sweden
References
- ^ "Personnemningar til stadnamn i Noreg" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. http://www.sprakrad.no/nb-no/Sprakhjelp/Rettskrivning_Ordboeker/Innbyggjarnamn/.
- ^ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". http://www.ngw.nl/int/nor/m/modum.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
- ^ "Nordiske vennskapskommuner". Modum kommune. http://www.modum.kommune.no/nordiske-vennskapskommuner.106516.no.html. Retrieved 2009-01-10. (Norwegian)
External links
- Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
- Buskerud travel guide from Wikitravel
- Blaafarveværket Cobalt mines
- Culture in Modum on the map from Kulturnett.no
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 · Sigdal
Categories:- Municipalities of Buskerud
- Modum
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
