Modum is a
municipality|Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...
in
Buskerudis a county in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark, and Vestfold. The county administration is located in Drammen.
- Geography :...
county||-|Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 431 municipalities...
,
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
. It is part of the
traditional regionNorway is divided into a number of districts. Many districts have deep historical roots, and only partially coincide with today's administrative units of counties and municipalities. The districts are defined by geographical features, often valleys, mountain ranges, fjords, plains, or coastlines,...
of
HallingdalHallingdal is a valley and traditional district in Buskerud county in Norway. It consists of the municipalities of Flå, Nes, Gol, Hemsedal, Ål and Hol. The inhabitants are often called Hallings ....
. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of
VikersundVikersund is a town of 2,448 inhabitants, is the municipality capital of Modum, Buskerud, Norway. This center is located in the southern end of Tyrifjorden.Vikersund is known for its ski jump hill, Vikersundbakken....
. The municipality of Modum was established on 1 January 1838 (see
formannskapsdistriktFormannskapsdistrikt was the name for a Norwegian local self-government districts put into force in 1838. This system of municipality was created in a bill approved by the Storting and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January 1837...
).
The area has a long tradition of
skiingSkiing is a group of sports using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
with several famous skiers. Modum is home to one of the largest ski jumping hills in the world,
VikersundbakkenVikersundbakken is the only ski flying hill in the nordic countries. With a hill record at 219 meters, Vikersundbakken is the world's third largest ski jumping hill....
. The hill record, established in 2004 is an amazing jump of .
The municipality (originally the
parishA parish is a territorial unit that was usually historically served by a local church. This administrative unit is typically found in Roman Catholic, Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Church of Sweden, United Methodist, and Presbyterian churches...
) is named after the old
Modum farm (
Old NorseOld Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
:
Móðheimr), since the first church was built here.
Modum is a
municipality|Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...
in
Buskerudis a county in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark, and Vestfold. The county administration is located in Drammen.
- Geography :...
county||-|Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 431 municipalities...
,
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
. It is part of the
traditional regionNorway is divided into a number of districts. Many districts have deep historical roots, and only partially coincide with today's administrative units of counties and municipalities. The districts are defined by geographical features, often valleys, mountain ranges, fjords, plains, or coastlines,...
of
HallingdalHallingdal is a valley and traditional district in Buskerud county in Norway. It consists of the municipalities of Flå, Nes, Gol, Hemsedal, Ål and Hol. The inhabitants are often called Hallings ....
. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of
VikersundVikersund is a town of 2,448 inhabitants, is the municipality capital of Modum, Buskerud, Norway. This center is located in the southern end of Tyrifjorden.Vikersund is known for its ski jump hill, Vikersundbakken....
. The municipality of Modum was established on 1 January 1838 (see
formannskapsdistriktFormannskapsdistrikt was the name for a Norwegian local self-government districts put into force in 1838. This system of municipality was created in a bill approved by the Storting and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January 1837...
).
The area has a long tradition of
skiingSkiing is a group of sports using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
with several famous skiers. Modum is home to one of the largest ski jumping hills in the world,
VikersundbakkenVikersundbakken is the only ski flying hill in the nordic countries. With a hill record at 219 meters, Vikersundbakken is the world's third largest ski jumping hill....
. The hill record, established in 2004 is an amazing jump of .
Name
The municipality (originally the
parishA parish is a territorial unit that was usually historically served by a local church. This administrative unit is typically found in Roman Catholic, Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Church of Sweden, United Methodist, and Presbyterian churches...
) is named after the old
Modum farm (
Old NorseOld Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
:
Móðheimr), since the first church was built here. The first element is
móða which means "
riverA river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, a sea or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water...
" (here the Dramselva river) and the last element is
heimHeim is the German equivalent of the English word home. It is a common German and Norwegian suffix in place names , and may refer to:* Heim, Norway, a village and former municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county...
r which means "
homeA home is a place of residence or refuge and comfort. It is usually a place in which an individual or a family can rest and be able to store personal property. Most modern-day households contain sanitary facilities and a means of preparing food. Animals have their own homes as well, either living...
", "
homestead-Property-related:*Homestead , a smallholding farm with a farmer's residence*Homestead , an area measure of 160 acres also called a quarter-section...
", or "
farmA farm is an area of land, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibers and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single individual, family, community, corporation...
". Interestingly, the name of the farm was later changed to "
Buskerudis a county in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark, and Vestfold. The county administration is located in Drammen.
- Geography :...
".
Coat-of-arms
The
coat-of-armsA coat of arms, more properly called an armorial achievement, armorial bearings or often just arms for short, in European tradition, is a design belonging to a particular person and used by them in a wide variety of ways. Historically, they were used by knights to identify them apart from enemy...
is from modern times. They were granted on 15 March 1985. The arms show three wavy silver lines "
party per bend sinisterDivision of the field is a heraldic term referring to the way the coat of arms on a shield may be divided. The field of a shield in heraldry can be divided into more than one area of different tinctures, usually following the lines of one of the ordinaries and carrying its name...
" on a blue background. They represent the three main rivers in the municipality:
DrammenselvaDrammenselva is a river in Buskerud county, southeastern Norway. It is one of the largest rivers in Norway, with a drainage basin of about 17,000 square kilometers and a flow rate of 300 cubic meters per second...
, Snarumselva, and
SimoaSimoa is a river in Buskerud, Norway. The river runs through the municipality of Sigdal, flowing in a south-easterly course until it flows into Drammenselva at Åmot in Modum. The drainage basin of the Simoa covers 889 km2...
and the colour
blueBlue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
represents
BlaafarveværketBlaafarveværket in Modum, Norway, founded by King Christian VII of Denmark-Norway in the 1770s, became the largest industrial company of the country in the mid-19th century, employing more than 2,000 workers. The works mined and manufactured cobalt blue, and in its heyday covered 80 percent of the...
.
Geography
The municipality is bordered in the north by
KrødsheradKrødsherad is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Noresund. The municipality of Krødsherad was established when it was separated from the municipality of Sigdal on 1 January 1901.-Name:...
and
RingerikeRingerike is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Ringerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hønefoss....
, in the east by
HoleHole is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Ringerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vik....
and
LierLier may refer to:* Lier, Belgium* Lier, Norway* De Lier, a town in the Netherlands* Li Er, also known as Laozi, a Chinese philosopher- See also :* Liar...
, in the south by
Øvre EikerØvre 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 and Nedre Eiker on 1 July 1885.-Name:The Old Norse form of...
, and in the west by
SigdalSigdal is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Prestfoss. The municipality of Sigdal was established on 1 January 1838...
.
The municipality has three main villages:
ÅmotÅmot is a village in Modum municipality, Norway. Located just south of Geithus, the two villages have grown closer to each other. They have a combined population of 5.694 .-References:...
,
GeithusGeithus is a village in Modum municipality, Norway....
, and the municipality administrative center of
VikersundVikersund is a town of 2,448 inhabitants, is the municipality capital of Modum, Buskerud, Norway. This center is located in the southern end of Tyrifjorden.Vikersund is known for its ski jump hill, Vikersundbakken....
. Åmot is the starting point for the Kunstnerdal. Here is where the
BlaafarveværketBlaafarveværket in Modum, Norway, founded by King Christian VII of Denmark-Norway in the 1770s, became the largest industrial company of the country in the mid-19th century, employing more than 2,000 workers. The works mined and manufactured cobalt blue, and in its heyday covered 80 percent of the...
is located. That includes a
cobaltCobalt is a hard, lustrous, gray metal, a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. Although cobalt-based colors and pigments have been used since ancient times for making jewelry and paints, and miners have long used the name kobold ore for some minerals, the free metallic cobalt was...
museum, art institutions, and a children’s barn yard.
Notable residents
- Ole Einar Bjørndalen
Ole Einar Bjørndalen Ole Einar Bjørndalen Ole Einar Bjørndalen (born 27 January 1974; from Simostranda in Modum, (southeastern Norway) is a career biathlete. Bjørndalen has won five Olympic Gold medals (more than anyone in biathlon), and fourteen World Championship gold medals...
, skiA ski is a long, flat device worn on the feet designed to help the wearer slide smoothly over snow. Originally intended as an aid to travel in snowy regions, they are now primarily used for recreational and sporting purposes...
biathleteBiathlon is a term used to describe any sporting event made up of two disciplines. However, biathlon usually refers specifically to the winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting...
- Ole Gunnar Fidjestøl
Ole Gunnar Fidjestøl is a former ski jumper from Norway who competed from 1983 to 1992 representing Vikersund IF...
, ski jumperSki jumping is a sport in which skiers go down an "inrun" with a take-off ramp , attempting to fly as far as possible. In addition to the length that skiers jump, judges give points for style. The skis used for ski jumping are wide and long...
- Hans Andersen Foss
Hans Andersen Foss was an American author, newspaper editor and temperance leader. Born the son of a small tenant farmer in 1851 in Modum, Buskerud county, Norway, Foss immigrated to the United States in 1887.-Biography:...
(1851-1929) Norwegian-American author and newspaper editor
- Maurits Hansen
Maurits Christopher Hansen was a Norwegian writer recognized for his contribution to a diversity of genres and the introduction of the novel in Norway. He was a major contributor to the Norwegian Romantic Movement...
(1774-1843), authorAn author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created...
- Nils P. Haugen
Nils Pederson Haugen was a U.S. Representative from Wisconsin. He was a leading member of the Progressive Movement and a national expert on tax reform....
, member of the United States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from WisconsinWisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. states. Located in the north-central United States, Wisconsin is considered part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the...
- Christopher Hornsrud
Christopher Andersen Hornsrud served as Prime Minister of Norway from January to February 1928. He combined the post of prime minister with that of minister of finance. Although his tenure as Prime Minister was brief, his list of political accomplishments is not...
(1859-1960), Norwegian Prime Minister from January to February 1928
- Thure Erik Lund
Thure Erik Lund is a Norwegian author and cabinet maker. He debuted in 1992 with the novel Tanger, for which he won the Tarjei Vesaas' debutantpris.- Bibliography :*Tanger – novel...
, author
Sister cities
The following cities are
twinnedSister cities, also known as town twinning, is an agreement between towns, cities and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties...
with Modum:
LaukaaLaukaa is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Western Finland, next to Jyväskylä and is part of the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water. The population density is...
,
Western FinlandThe Province of Western Finland is a province of Finland. It borders the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also borders the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland.- Former provinces :...
,
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
Stevns,
Region SjællandRegion Zealand is an administrative region of Denmark established on January 1, 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which replaced the traditional counties with five larger regions. At the same time, smaller municipalities were merged into larger units, cutting the number of...
,
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
Östra GöingeÖstra Göinge Municipality is a municipality in Skåne County in southern Sweden. Its seat is located in the town Broby....
,
Skåne CountySkåne County is the southernmost county or län, of Sweden, basically corresponding to the historical province Scania. It borders the counties of Halland, Kronoberg and Blekinge. The seat of residence for the Skåne Governor is the town of Malmö...
,
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
External links
- Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
Statistics Norway is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876.Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway releases more than 800 Norwegian statistical publications every year on its web site...
- Blaafarveværket Cobalt
Cobalt is a hard, lustrous, gray metal, a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. Although cobalt-based colors and pigments have been used since ancient times for making jewelry and paints, and miners have long used the name kobold ore for some minerals, the free metallic cobalt was...
mines
- Culture in Modum on the map from Kulturnett.no
Kulturnett.no - Kultur i Norge på Nett - Culture in Norway on net.State-owned subsidiary under The Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs for cultural related information, run by ABM-utvikling. Its a common webhotel and service provider for archive, library and museum.Links to the mapping...