Asker

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about geographical Asker and the former municipality in Akershus. For the four times larger administrative municipality in Viken established in 2020, see Asker (municipality).

Asker kommune
Municipality
SNC10692 (cropped).JPG
Coat of arms of Asker kommune
Coat of arms
Asker within Akershus
Asker within Akershus
Coordinates: 59°50′7″N 10°26′6″E / 59.83528°N 10.43500°E / 59.83528; 10.43500Coordinates: 59°50′7″N 10°26′6″E / 59.83528°N 10.43500°E / 59.83528; 10.43500
CountryNorway
CountyAkershus
DistrictViken, Norway
Administrative centreAsker
Government
 • Mayor (2007)Lene Conradi (H)
Area
 • Total101 km2 (39 sq mi)
 • Land97 km2 (37 sq mi)
Area rank385 in Norway
Population
 (30 September 2019)
 • Total61,906 Increase
 • Rank11 in Norway
 • Density585/km2 (1,520/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
15.7%
Demonym(s)Askerbøring[1]
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-0220
Official language formBokmål[2]
Websitewww.asker.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway
Historical population
YearPop.±%
195113,625—    
196117,755+30.3%
197131,702+78.6%
198135,977+13.5%
199141,903+16.5%
200149,661+18.5%
201155,284+11.3%
201459,037+6.8%
2021?63,381+7.4%
2031?69,296+9.3%
Source: Statistics Norway.[3]

Asker (Norwegian: Asker), also called Asker proper (Askerbygda), is a district and former municipality in Akershus, Norway. From 2020 it is part of the larger administrative municipality Asker, Viken (also known as Greater Asker[4]) in Viken county together with the traditional Buskerud districts Røyken and Hurum; Asker proper constitutes the northern fourth of the municipality. Asker is part of the Greater Oslo Region. The administrative centre of the municipality was the town of Asker, which remains the administrative centre of the new larger municipality. The municipality was established as a parish in the middle ages and as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt).

History[]

Since the middle ages Asker parish consisted of the later municipalities Asker and Bærum. In the 19th century Bærum became Vestre Bærum and Østre Bærum parish, and Asker and Bærum were also established as separate municipalities.

In 2020 Asker municipality merged with Røyken and Hurum to form Asker, Viken, a larger administrative region than traditional/geographical Asker.

Introduction[]

Name[]

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Asker farm, since the first church was built here. The name (Old Norse: Askar) is the plural form of ask which means "ash tree".

Coat-of-arms[]

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 7 October 1975. The arms show a green background with three silver-colored tree trunks (Norwegian: askekaller) and are thus canting arms. The trees are ashes, which were cropped every year to provide food for the animals. The trees thus developed after many years a very typical shape, which was characteristic for the area.[5][6]

Place of the Millennium[]

In 1998, just before the millennium, the 'Askerbøringer' (the inhabitants of Asker) elected the beautiful area of Semsvannet including the mountain ridge Skaugumsåsen – to be their Place of the Millennium.

Geography[]

Its main parts are Asker, Gullhella, Vollen, Vettre, Blakstad, Bleiker, Borgen, Drengsrud, Dikemark, Vardåsen, Engelsrud, Holmen, , Hvalstad, Billingstad, Nesøya, Nesbru, and Heggedal. Asker is a coastal place with many beaches, but also contains hills and woods. The district is known for many important businesses. It is also known for gardening. The Skaugum estate, where Crown Prince Haakon of Norway lives with his family, is situated here. The first IKEA store outside of Sweden opened at Slependen in Asker in 1963. There are many hiking/ sightseeing spots around Asker; such as Semsvannet lake[7] and Drengsrud cultural path[8] around the area.

Municipality reform[]

As part of the municipality reform process instigated by Minister of Local Government Jan Tore Sanner the municipalities of Asker, Hurum and Røyken evaluated if they should merge into a new common municipality during the first half of 2016. A tentative agreement was reached and on 16 June 2016 the Municipal Council of Røyken approved the merger with Asker and Hurum with 24 votes for and 3 against.[9] On 14 June 2016 the Municipal Council of Asker also approved the merger with 42 votes for and 5 against.[10] A few days later the Municipal Council of Hurum followed suit and approved the merger. The proposed merger date was 1 January 2020 and the new name will be Asker.[9] Asker was merged with the municipalities of Røyken and Hurum as of 1 January 2020.

Ethnic and foreign minority[]

Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Asker by country of origin in 2017[11]
Ancestry Number
 Poland 1,870
 Sweden 846
 Somalia 562
 India 506
 Pakistan 486
 Lithuania 461
 Iran 451
 Denmark 435
 United Kingdom 348
 Philippines 346
 Germany 343
 Iraq 307
 Afghanistan 287
 Russia 267
 Eritrea 230

Culture[]

Although Asker is principally a rural municipality, the expansion of Oslo has resulted in its becoming an affluent suburb. Thus numerous celebrities now reside in the area. According to SSB (Statistics Norway), Asker ranks as the 2nd wealthiest municipality in Norway based on median household income.

Sport[]

Asker is also the home of sports club IF Frisk Asker; the club won the Norwegian Hockey championship in 1975, 1979, 2002 and 2019. Asker Skiklubb is the largest sports club in Norway. It has a long history dating back to 1889. Many of Asker's famous people have been successful individuals associated with the sports club.

The city is the home of Asker svømmeklubb. Asker women's football club has been home to many international players including four who played in the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in China.

Politics[]

Asker is politically dominated by the conservatives, and the mayor is Lene Conradi who is a member of the Conservative Party of Norway (Høyre).

Asker Church[]

Asker Church

Asker Church (Asker Kirke) is located not far from Skaugum in Asker. The neo-Gothic red brick church was built during 1879 based upon designs by architect Jacob Wilhelm Nordan. The church renovation in 1930 was led by the architects Gudolf Blakstad and Herman Munthe-Kaas. Architect Arnstein Arneberg was in charge of the renovation in the 1950s. The church was the sight of the wedding of Princess Ragnhild and Erling Lorentzen in 1953. The statue of Crown Princess Märtha in front of the church was designed by sculptor Dyre Vaa in 1957.[12]

The Maud[]

Maud at Vollen on 18 August 2018
Main article: Maud (ship)

In 1916 (or 1917) the Arctic expedition ship Maud was built in nearby Vollen and launched into Oslofjord. The ship was designed and built especially for Roald Amundsen and sailed through the Northeast Passage between 1918 and 1924. Sold to the Hudson's Bay Company as the supply vessel Baymaud she sank at Cambridge Bay, Northwest Territories (now Nunavut), Canada in 1930. In 1990, the ship was sold by the Hudson's Bay Company to Asker town with the expectation that she would be returned there; however the export permit expired due to the 230 million kroner () cost to repair and move the ship.[13][14][15] In 2011 a new project was commenced to salvage Maud and transport her to a new museum to be built at Vollen.[16]

On 31 July 2016 it was reported that the hull of Maud had been raised to the surface and placed on a barge in preparation for shipment to Norway.[17] In August 2017 Maud began the journey back to Norway; she was towed through the Northwest Passage. In September 2017 she arrived in Greenland to stay for the winter.[18][19] Maud arrived in Bergen on 6 August 2018, finally returning to Norway nearly a century after her departure with Amundsen. She was then towed along the Norwegian coast, and arrived at Vollen on 18 August.[20]

Notable residents – 'Askerbøringer'[]

Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, 2012

Royalty[]

Public Service[]

Berit Ås, 2004
  • Einar Gerhardsen (1897 in Asker – 1987) Prime Minister of Norway 1940's to 1960's
  • Dagny Berger (1903 in Asker – 1950) Norway's first woman aviator
  • Anders Lange (1904 in Nordstrand – 1974), politician, founded the Progress Party (Norway)
  • Arne Skaare (1907-1981) politician, Mayor of Asker municipality from 1956 to 1967
  • Jens Evensen (1917–2004 in Asker), Norwegian lawyer, judge, politician, member of the International Law Commission and judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague
  • Hans Christen Mamen (1919 in Asker – 2009) a resistance member, local historian and priest
  • Sverre Bergh (1920 in Asker – 2006) an engineer and spy in Nazi Germany during WWII
  • Erik Gjems-Onstad, MBE (1922–2011) resistance member and lawyer; lived in Hvalstad
  • Jon Fossum (1923 in Hvalstad – 2007) orienteer and Mayor of Asker municipality 1968/80
  • Berit Ås (born 1928) former Asker councillor, psychologist and feminist
  • Jan Martin Larsen (born 1938) cartographer, orienteer and Asker councillor 1995 to 2007
  • Eyvind W. Wang (born 1942) politician, Mayor of Asker 1980 to 1995 and car mechanic
  • Morten Strand (born 1947) politician, Mayor of Asker 1995 to 2007 and footballer
  • Valgerd Svarstad Haugland (born 1956) politician, county Governor of Oslo and Akershus 2011/18
  • Beate Gangås (born 1963 in Asker) LGBT Oslo Chief of Police

The Arts[]

Nini Roll Anker, 1892
Kåre Conradi, 2018

Sport[]

Halvard Hanevold, 2009

Twin towns – sister cities[]

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Norway

Asker is twinned with:[27]

References[]

  1. ^ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
  2. ^ "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  3. ^ Projected population – Statistics Norway
  4. ^ Johnsen, Morten Gisle (25 May 2016). "Nå er alt klart for "Stor-Asker" – også Ap vil sammen med Røyken og Hurum". www.budstikka.no.
  5. ^ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". Retrieved 17 December 2008.
  6. ^ "Askers kommunevåpen" (in Norwegian). Asker kommune. Archived from the original on 25 January 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2008.
  7. ^ "Semsvannet lake – walk". akershus.com. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  8. ^ "Drengsrud cultural path – walk". akershus.com. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "Røyken sier ja til sammenslåing" (in Norwegian). Røyken kommune. 16 June 2016. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  10. ^ "Kommunestyret vedtok sammenslåing" (in Norwegian). Asker kommune. 14 June 2016. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  11. ^ "Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents, by immigration category, country background and percentages of the population". ssb.no. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  12. ^ "Asker kirke". Kulturminnesøk. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  13. ^ "Underwater Treasure of Cambridge Bay". Archived from the original on 8 January 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2008.
  14. ^ "Saving the Maud". Nunavut News/North Monday. 20 August 2007.
  15. ^ "Cambridge Bay at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre". Archived from the original on 9 August 2007.
  16. ^ Norway wants Amundsen’s Maud back from Nunavut
  17. ^ CBC News: The Maud floats again: Norwegians bring long-sunken ship to surface
  18. ^ Ship that sank in Cambridge Bay 87 years ago finally on journey home to Norway
  19. ^ Cambridge Bay prepares to bid adieu to the Maud as Norwegian mayor visits community
  20. ^ "Maud Returns to Norway". The Maritime Executive. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  21. ^ IMDb Database retrieved 27 February 2021
  22. ^ IMDb Database retrieved 27 February 2021
  23. ^ IMDb Database retrieved 25 February 2021
  24. ^ IMDb Database retrieved 26 February 2021
  25. ^ IMDb Database retrieved 26 February 2021
  26. ^ IMDb Database retrieved 27 February 2021
  27. ^ "Vennskapskommuner" (in Norwegian). Asker kommune. Archived from the original on 8 August 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2008.
  28. ^ "Sister cities of Jakobstad". jakobstad.fi. Archived from the original on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2014.

External links[]


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