Bærum edit
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Bærum kommune
—  Municipality  —
Coat of arms of Bærum kommune
Coat of arms		 Official logo of Bærum kommune
Akershus within
Norway
Bærum within Akershus
Bærum within Akershus
Coordinates: 59°56′18″N 10°30′24″E / 59.93833, 10.50667
Country Norway
County Akershus
Municipality ID NO-0219
Administrative centre Sandvika
Government
 - Mayor (2005) Odd Reinsfelt (H)
Area (Nr. 334 in Norway)
 - Total 192 km2 (74.1 sq mi)
 - Land 189 km2 (73 sq mi)
Population (1.1.2007)
 - Total 108 582
 - Density 547/km2 (1,416.7/sq mi)
 - Change (10 years) 9.8 %
 - Rank in Norway 5
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Official language form Bokmål
Demonym Bæring 1
Data from Statistics Norway
Website: www.baerum.kommune.no

Baerum.ogg Bærum (help·info) is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sandvika. Bærum was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). A suburb of Oslo, Bærum is located on the coast west of the city. Bærum is noted for being the most affluent and expensive of Norwegian municipalities, the suburb west of Oslo has a very posh image, and residents are often stereotyped as upper class.

Contents

General information

Name

The name (Old Norse: Bergheimr) is composed of berg which means "mountain" and heimr which means "homestead" or "farm". It has probably originally belonged to a farm located at the base of the prominent mountain of Kolsås. In Old Norse times, the municipality was often called Bergheimsherað meaning "the herað (parish/ district) of Bergheimr".

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 9 January 1976. The arms show an old silver-colored lime kiln on a green background. This was an important aspect of the local economy from the Middle Ages until around 1800. There are still some original ovens visible in the municipality.2

History

The area known today as Bærum was a fertile agricultural area as far back as the Bronze Age, and several archeological finds stem from the Iron Age. The first mention of the name is from the saga of Sverre of Norway, from about 1200. There are ruins of stone churches from the 1100s at Haslum and Tanum.

View of most of Bærum from Holmenkollen in Oslo

The pilgrim road to Trondheim that was established after 1030 went through Bærum, and there is evidence that lime kilns were in use in the area in 850. There were shipping ports for the quicklime at Slependen and Sandvika. The lime kiln is the main motif for the municipality's coat of arms.

In the 1600s, iron ore was discovered in Bærum and the ironworks at Bærums Verk were founded. Industries such as paper mills, nail factories, sawmills, glassworks, and brickworks were established along the rivers Lysakerelven and Sandvikselva in the following centuries. There were orchards and other agricultural concerns throughout the area, remnants of which still exist today.

A number of artists established themselves in Bærum, particularly around the art school run by Johan Fredrik Eckersberg. Among the artists who did much of their work in Bærum are Frits Thaulow, Christian Skredsvig, Harriet Backer, Kitty Lange Kielland, Otto Sinding, Eilif Pettersen, Gerhardt Munthe, and Erik Werenskiold.

Starting in the mid-20th century, Bærum's agricultural base gradually gave way to residential construction. Still, only a third of the area, 64 square kilometres (24.7 sq mi), is built up for residential use; over half is productive forestry; and nearly 17 square kilometres (6.6 sq mi) is still agricultural.

Geography

The physical geography of Bærum is dominated by a craggy coastline along the Oslofjord and inland, hilly areas rising to the north and east, where there are large forested areas. The mountain of Kolsås forms a natural center, but the municipality also includes the secluded valley of Lommedalen. Four major rivers flow through the municipality: Lysakerelven, Sandvikselva, Lomma, and Øverlandselva, and there are numerous lakes, both in residential and forested areas. The official municipality flower is Anemone ranunculoides.

The geology of Bærum also offers some of the best examples of the distinct diversity of the Oslo region's rocks, formations, and fossil finds.

Bærum's forested surroundings offer great opportunities for outdoor activities, such as skiing, hiking, and fishing. Inhabitants are generally eager to use "Marka", a popular name for the forest belt which starts at Vestmarka, continues through Kroksskogen, Bærumsmarka, Nordmarka, and Lillomarka and ends up at Østmarka. Lillomarka, Østmarka and parts of Nordmarka belongs to Oslo. Marka is an area where cars and motorized vehicles are not allowed. The gravel roads through Marka is closed with gates, but there are large car parking areas outside the gates. These car parks are often very full during the weekends.

Economy

Bærum's industrial base has since the 1950s given way to service industries, including retailing, engineering, public services, etc. It derives much of its tax base by being a bedroom community to Oslo. It is one of the most affluent areas in Norway.

Two of Norway's busiest highways (E18 and E16) and one railroad traverse the municipality. There has been considerable development of office parks along E18, especially around Lysaker in the last 20-30 years, reducing some of the pressure on downtown areas of Oslo.

Demographics

Bærum is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Norway. Along the E18 highway, the residential area is continuous with Oslo and continues with some interruption through to the neighboring municipality of Asker.

Bærum is also the most affluent of Norwegian municipalities, with average per capita income (2002 figures) of NOK 370,800; compared with the national average of NOK 262,800. It also has the highest level of education nationwide.

Administratively, Bærum is divided into 22 sections. The population for each section on 1 January 2005 was:

 

Notable residents

Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Bærum:3

References

  1. ^ "Personnemningar til stadnamn i Noreg". Språkrådet. (Norwegian)
  2. ^ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". Retrieved on 2008-12-18.
  3. ^ "Vennskapskommuner". Bærum kommune. Retrieved on 2008-12-18. (Norwegian)
Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bærum
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External links

Sections of Bærum Coat of Arms for Bærum

Blommenholm · Bryn/Hammerbakken · Bærums Verk · Eikeli · Eiksmarka · Eiksmarka/Grav · Emma Hjort/Skui · Evje · Fornebu · Grav · Gullhaug · Haslum · Hosle · Høvik · Høvik Verk · Jar · Jong · Lesterud · Levre · Lommedalen · Lysaker · Løkeberg · Rykkinn · Snarøya · Stabekk · Tanum ·
v • d • e
Municipalities of Akershus
Ås · Asker · Aurskog-Høland · Bærum · Eidsvoll · Enebakk · Fet · Frogn · Gjerdrum · Hurdal · Lørenskog · Nannestad · Nes · Nesodden · Nittedal · Oppegård · Rælingen · Skedsmo · Ski · Sørum · Ullensaker · Vestby
 Akershus coat of arms
v • d • e
25 most populous municipalities of Norway
according to Statistics Norway
1. Oslo 560,484
2. Bergen 247,746
3. Trondheim 165,191
4. Stavanger 119,586
5. Bærum 108,144
6. Kristiansand 78,919
7. Fredrikstad 71,976
8. Tromsø 65,286
9. Sandnes 62,037
10. Drammen 60,145
11. Asker 52,922
12. Sarpsborg 51,053
13. Skien 50,864
14. Skedsmo 46,146
15. Bodø 46,049
16. Sandefjord 42,433
17. Ålesund 41,833
18. Larvik 41,723
19. Arendal 40,701
20. Karmøy 38,926
21. Tønsberg 38,393
22. Porsgrunn 34,186
23. Haugesund 32,956
24. Ringsaker 32,144
25. Lørenskog 31,853