Flesberg is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Buskerud Buskerud () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Innlandet, Vestland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardanger ...

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It is part of the

traditional region A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

Numedal Numedal () is a valley and a traditional district in Eastern Norway located within the county of Buskerud. It traditionally includes the municipalities Flesberg, Nore og Uvdal and Rollag. Administratively, it now also includes Kongsberg. ...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of

Lampeland Lampeland is a village located in Buskerud, Norway. It is the administrative centre of Flesberg municipality. The population of the village as of 2013 was 521 residents. Lampeland is situated in the traditional region of Numedal. It is located ...

. The economy of Flesberg is dominated by

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

and

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, as well as the cluster of high-tech industries in neighbouring

Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms production and fo ...

General information

Etymology

The municipality (originally the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

) is named after the old ''Flesberg'' farm (

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

: ''Flesberg''), since the first church was built here. The first element is ''fles'' which means "

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

" and the last element is ''berg'' which means "

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

Coat-of-arms

The

coat-of-arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achiev ...

is from modern times. They were granted on 10 March 1989. The arms show two ''tømmerklaver'' to represent

– and also the letter F.

History

Flesberg Stave Church Flesberg Stave Church () is a stave church located at Flesberg in Buskerud, Buskerud county, Norway. History Written sources mention the church the first time in 1359, but it was probably built in the latter half of the 1100s or the first ...

was built around the year 1250. After reconstruction in 1735, the church conformed with cruciform plan. The municipality of Flesberg was established on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863. The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...

). The area of Jondalen was transferred from Flesberg to the neighboring municipality of

on 1 January 1964.

Geography

The municipality is divided into the parishes Flesberg, Lyngdal, and

Svene Svene is a village in the municipality of Flesberg in Buskerud, Norway. It is located in Numedal, 10 kilometres from Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The city is located on the rive ...

. Most of the population lives in the four villages of Svene,

, Flesberg, and Lyngdal. The municipal area is . In the western part of Flesberg, the landscape rises steeply to the mountain area of

Blefjell Blefjell is a small mountain range located along the border between Buskerud and Telemark in Norway. It encompasses parts of the five municipalities of Rollag, Flesberg, Kongsberg, Notodden and Tinn. The highest point is Bletoppen at above sea l ...

, a popular

tourist destination A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beau ...

Demographics

Notable people

Finn Qvale Finn Qvale (18 April 1873 – 20 January 1955) was a Norwegian military officer, cartographer, and sports official. He was born in Flesberg, finished his secondary education in 1891, and graduated as an officer in 1894. He attended the Norwegian ...

(1873–1955) a military officer, cartographer and sports official *

Jul Låg Jul Låg (13 November 1915 - 2 February 2000) was a Norwegian scientist and soil researcher. Biography He was born in Flesberg in Buskerud, Norway. He grew up on the farm in Flesberg. After elementary school he was a farm laborer for several yea ...

(1915-2000) a scientist and soil researcher *

Hallvard Bakke Hallvard Bakke (4 February 1943 – 30 June 2024) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He was Minister of Trade and Shipping 1976–1979, and Minister of Culture 1986–1989. From 2006 to 2010, he was the chairman of the Norwegian B ...

(born 1943) a Norwegian politician

Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Flesberg: * -

Falkenberg Falkenberg is a locality and the seat of Falkenberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 27,813 inhabitants in 2019 (out of a municipal total of about 45,000). It is located at the mouth of river Ätran. The name consists of the Swedish ...

Halland County Halland County (, ) is a county ('' län'') on the western coast of Sweden. It corresponds roughly to the cultural and historical province of Halland. The capital is Halmstad. Prince Julian, the son of Prince Carl Philip, is Duke of Halland. ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

* - Fosston,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

* -

Lejre Lejre is a railway town in the northwestern part of the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand in eastern Denmark. It has a population of 3,165 (1 January 2024) inhabitants.

Region Sjælland Region Zealand () is an administrative region of Denmark. It is one of the five classified NUTS-2 statistical regions of Denmark. It was established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which abolished the traditional ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

* -

Savitaipale Savitaipale (; literally translated the "clay passage") is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Karelia regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of whi ...

, Etelä-Suomi,

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every year on its web site. All rele ...

* {{Buskerud Municipalities of Buskerud