Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, with

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the

Akershus Fortress Akershus Fortress ( no, Akershus Festning, ) or Akershus Castle ( no, Akershus slott ) is a medieval castle in the Norwegian capital Oslo that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. Since the Middle Ages the fortress ...

in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

and main

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

that included most of

Eastern Norway Eastern Norway ( nb, Østlandet, nn, Austlandet) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Vestfold og Telemark, Viken, Oslo and Innlandet. Eastern Norway is by far the most populous region ...

, and from the 17th century until 2020, Akershus also had a more narrow meaning as a (sub) county that included most of the

Greater Oslo Region Greater Oslo Region ("Stor-Oslo-regionen" in Norwegian) is a statistical metropolitan region surrounding the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The region includes the city of Oslo (population: 658,390), the entire county of Akershus (population: 573,326) ...

. After 2020 the former county of Akershus was merged into

Viken Viken may refer to: *Viken, Scandinavia, a historical region *Viken (county), a Norwegian county established in 2020 *Viken, Sweden, a bimunicipal locality in Skåne County, Sweden *Viken (lake), a lake in Sweden, part of the part of the Göta cana ...

along with the former counties of

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other side ...

and

Buskerud Buskerud () is a former county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Ha ...

. In 2022 the Storting voted to dissolve Viken and reestablish Akershus county. Originally Akershus was one of four main fiefs in Norway and included almost all of

. The original Akershus became a main county (''Stiftamt'' or ''Stift'') in 1662 and was sometimes also known as ''Christiania Stift''. It included several subcounties (''Amt'' or ''Underamt''); in 1682 its most central areas, consisting of modern

and Akershus, became the subcounty of Akershus within the larger main county of the same name. In 1842 the capital city of Christiania, which at the time consisted of a tiny part of modern Oslo, became a separate subcounty within Akershus main county. The main county of Akershus was disestablished in 1919, and the subcounty continued as Akershus county (''fylke''). During its history Akershus (sub) county ceded territory to Oslo several times; Akershus' most central and important municipality, Aker, was transferred to Oslo in 1948. The remaining county of Akershus after 1948 borders

Hedmark Hedmark () was a county in Norway before 1 January 2020, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar. Hedmark and Oppland counties were merged int ...

Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The c ...

, and

; it also has a short border with Sweden (

Värmland Värmland () also known as Wermeland, is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are '' ...

). Akershus, with a little over 614,000 inhabitants, is the second most populated county by population after Oslo. The county administration is in central Oslo, which is not part of the modern county ''per se''.

Geography

As a geographical term the meaning of Akershus has changed over time. Akershus originally primarily referred to Akershus main county, which included most of

, with the exception of

Upper Telemark Upper Telemark ( no, Øvre Telemark) is a Norwegian region comprising the inland of the traditional district Telemark in Vestfold og Telemark county. More than two thirds of the total area of Telemark, or above 10,000 square kilometres, belong t ...

and Båhuslen (now mainly part of Sweden). The modern Akershus county is a direct continuation of the subcounty of Akershus, created in 1682, and included all of modern Oslo and Akershus. 1842 the capital city of Christiania, which at the time consisted of a tiny part of modern Oslo, became a separate subcounty within Akershus main county. Akershus main county ceased to exist in 1919, after which Akershus in everyday usage became synonymous with the modern county that excluded Christiania. Akershus' most central and important municipality, Aker, was transferred to and merged with Oslo in 1948. After 1948, the remaining Akershus county is conventionally divided into

Asker Asker ( no, Asker), properly called Askerbygda in Norwegian, 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) in Viken county, ...

and

Bærum Bærum () is a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Norway that forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of 128,760 (2021). It is part of the electoral ...

to the west of Oslo, Follo and

Romerike Romerike is a traditional district located north-east of Oslo, in what is today south-eastern Norway. It consists of the Viken municipalities Lillestrøm, Lørenskog, Nittedal, Rælingen and Aurskog-Høland in the southern end (Nedre Romerike) ...

. Embracing numerous suburbs and urban areas of Oslo, notably Bærum and historically Aker, Akershus is one of the most densely populated areas in the country. The main national railway lines into Oslo run through Akershus with many junctions and stations such as Asker,

Sandvika Sandvika () is the administrative centre of the municipality of Bærum in Norway. It was declared a city by the municipal council in Bærum on 4 June 2003. Sandvika is situated approximately west of Oslo. It is the main transportation hub for W ...

, Ski, and

Lillestrøm Lillestrøm is a municipality in Viken county. It is located in the traditional district of Romerike. With a population of 85,757 inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated municipality in Viken. It was founded on 1 January 2020 as a merger be ...

. Akershus includes some of the lake Mjøsa and some of the river

Glomma The Glomma, or Glåma, is Norway's longest and most voluminous river. With a total length of , it has a drainage basin that covers fully 13% of Norway's surface area, all in the southern part of the country. Geography At its fullest length, the ...

. The county also includes the historical place Eidsvoll, 48 km north of Oslo, in which the national assembly ratified the Norwegian constitution in 1814. South of Eidsvoll is the international airport, Oslo Airport at Gardermoen. Oslo's previous international airport, Fornebu, is also located in Akershus. The estate of the crown prince is located in Asker (the royal palace is in Oslo).

Infrastructure

The county has two major hospitals,

Akershus University Hospital Akershus University Hospital ( no, Akershus universitetssykehus, abbreviated Ahus) is a Norwegian public university hospital in the Greater Oslo Region. It is located in the Lørenskog municipality in the region of Viken, northeast of the Norwegian ...

and Sykehuset Asker og Bærum. The main road from continental Europe, E6, enters Akershus in the south, and runs through eastern Oslo, further to Gardermoen, and into Hedmark County on the eastern shores of lake Mjøsa. E18 enters Akershus in the south-east, merges for a short stretch with E6 at Vinterbro in Ås, before running under central Oslo. E18 then turns south-west through Bærum and Asker before entering Buskerud, Buskerud County north of Drammen. European route E16, E16 runs from the intersection with E18 in Sandvika into Buskerud County west of Sollihøgda. All main railways out of Oslo run through Akershus: * Southwest: the Drammen Line * Southeast: the Østfold Line as two separate railways * North: the Gjøvik Line * Northeast: the Trunk Line, Gardermoen Line, and Dovre Line * East: the Kongsvinger Line

History

Akershus became a fief in the 16th century, and then also included the current counties of

, and

, as well as the municipalities of Askim, Eidsberg, and Trøgstad in the county of

. In 1662, Akershus became an Amt (administrative division), ''Amt'', and in 1685, Buskerud was separated from Akershus and became an ''Amt'' of its own. In 1768, Hedmark and Oppland were also separated from Akershus to become ''Oplandenes Amt'' (and Askim, Eidsberg, and Trøgstad were transferred to Østfold). In 1842, the city of Christiania (Oslo) was made a separate ''Amt'', as well. In 1919, the term ''Amt'' was changed to ''Fylke''. In 1948, Aker, the greatest and the most populous municipality of Akershus, was transferred to the county of Oslo.

Name

The county is named after

. The fortress was built in 1299, and the meaning of the name is "the (fortified) house of (the district) Aker". The name is somewhat misleading now, since the fortress is now outside Akershus (it is in Oslo County since 1842). In fact, the administration of Akershus sits outside the county, as well, in the centre of Oslo.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1987). It shows a gable from Akershus Fortress.

Municipalities

Akershus has a total of 22 municipalities: #

#Aurskog-Høland #

#Eidsvoll #Enebakk #Fet #Frogn #Gjerdrum #Hurdal #Lørenskog #Nannestad #

Nes, Akershus, Nes #Nesodden #Nittedal #Oppegård #Rælingen #Skedsmo #Ski, Norway, Ski #Sørum #Ullensaker #Vestby # Ås

Districts

* :nb:Asker og Bærum, Asker og Bærum (Norwegian) * Follo * Fornebu * Gjelleråsen *

* Haslum * Heggedal * Hosle * Jar, Norway * Kolbotn * Nedre Romerike * Øvre Romerike *

* Skui, Norway, Skui * Slependen * Snarøya

Cities

* Drøbak * Jessheim *

* Ski, Norway, Ski

Parishes

* Asker * Aurskog * Bjørke * Blaker * Tanum Church (Bærum), Bærum * Drøbak * Eidsvoll Church, Eidsvoll * Enebakk Church, Enebakk * Feiring * Fenstad * Fet * Frogn * Frogner * Garder * Gjerdrum * Hakadal * Hemnes * Heni * Holter * Hovin * Hurdal * Hvitsten * Høland * Høvik Church, Høvik * Kroer Church, Kroer * Kråkstad * Langset * Lillestrøm * Løken, see Høland * Lørenskog * Maria kirke * Nannestad * Nes * Nesodden * Nittedal * Nordby * Oppegård * Rælingen * Setskog (Sitskogen) * Skedsmo * Ski * Stensgård Church, Stensgård * Søndre Høland * Sørum * Såner * Udenes * Ullensaker Church, Ullensaker * Vestby * Vestre Bærum * Østre Bærum * Ås

Villages

* Algarheim * Alværn * Ask, Akershus, Ask * Askkroken * Aulifeltet * Aursmoen * Bekkeberga * Bekkestua * Berger, Akershus, Berger * Billingstad * Bjerkås * Bjørkelangen * Bjørnemyr * Blaker * Blakstad, Akershus, Blakstad * Blommenholm * Blylaget * Blystadlia * Bodung * Bomannsvik * Borgen, Akershus, Borgen, Asker * Borgen, Ullensaker * Brevik, Akershus, Brevik * Bråtesletta * Brudalen * Brårud * Burås * Bærums Verk * Bærumsmarka * Bøn * Dal, Norway, Dal * Dalsroa * Danskerud * Dikemark Hospital, Dikemark * Drengsrud * Drøbak * Dønski * Eidsvoll Verk * Eiksmarka * Eltonåsen * Enebakkneset * Fagerstrand * Feiring, Norway, Feiring * Fenstad * Finnbråten * Finstadbru * Finstadjordet * Fjellfoten * Fjellhamar * Fjellsrud * Fjellstad * Fjellstrand, Norway, Fjellstrand * Fjerdingby * Flaskebekk * Flateby * Fosser * Frogner, Akershus, Frogner * Gan, Norway, Gan * Garder * Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, Gardermoen * Grav, Norway, Grav * Greverud * Grinitajet * Grønlundfjellet * Grønvoll * Gullhella * Gullverket * Haga, Nes, Haga * Hakadal * Hammerstad * Hauerseter * Hanaborg * Heer, Norway, Heer * Hellerud, Akershus, Hellerud * Hellvik, Akershus * Hemnes, Akershus, Hemnes * Hogsetfeltet * Hurdal * Hurdal Verk * Hvam, Nes, Hvam * Hvitsten * Hølen * Høvik * Håkavik * Ingeborgrud * Jessheim * Jong, Norway, Jong * Kampå * Kirkebygda * Kirkerud * Kjeller * Kjenn * Kjul * Kjøvangen * Kjøya * Kløfta * Kolbotn * Konglungen * Kringler * Kråkstad * Kurland, Norway, Kurland * Langhus * Langset * Leirsund * Lierfoss * Lindeberg, Akershus, Lindeberg * Lommedalen * Lundermoen * Lysaker * Løkeberg * Løken * Løkenfeltet * Lørenfallet * Løstad * Løvenstad * Maura, Norway, Maura * Minnesund * Mogreina * Momoen * Nerdrum, Sørum, Nerdrum * Nesbru * Neskollen * Nesoddtangen * Nesset, Akershus, Nesset * Nesøya, Akershus, Nesøya * Nordbyhagen * Nordkisa * Oksval * Onsrud * Oppegård * Oppåkermoen * Pepperstad skog * Rasta, Akershus, Rasta * Rotnes * Rud * Rustadbruk * Rustadmoen * Rykkinn * Rælingen * Røykås * Råholt * Rånåsfoss * Sand, Akershus, Sand * Sem, Akershus, Sem * Sessvollmoen * Seterstøa * Setskog * Siggerud * Sjøstrand, Asker, Sjøstrand * Skaugum * Skedsmokorset * Skiphelle * Skjetten * Skotbu * Skrukkelia * Skulerud * Skytta * Skårer * Slattum * Slattumhagen * Smestad, Akershus, Smestad * Sofiemyr * Solberg, Akershus, Solberg * Solemskogen * Son, Norway, Son * Store Brevik * Strømmen, Akershus, Strømmen * Styrigrenda * Sundbyhagen * Svarterud * Svartskog * Svestad * Sværsvann * Sørumsand * Såner * Tanum, Norway, Tanum * Teigebyen * Togrenda * Torget, Hurdal * Torget, Nesodden * Trandum leir, Trandum * Trollåsen * Tårnåsen * Ursvik * Vardeåsen * Vestby * Vettre, Norway, Vettre * Vevelstad, Akershus, Vevelstad * Vinterbro * Visperud * Voll, Akershus, Voll * Vollen, Akershus, Vollen * Vormsund * Vøyenenga * Ytre Enebakk * Østerås * Åkrene * Åneby * Årnes * Ås * Åsgreina * Åsgreina, Åsgrenda * Sundet

Former Municipalities

* Aker * Aurskog * Blaker * Drøbak * Feiring, Norway, Feiring * Hvitsten * Høland * Hølen * Kråkstad *

* Nordre Høland * Setskog * Son, Norway, Son * Søndre Høland

Notable residents

:People from Akershus, People from Akershus *Kristoffer Ajer (1998-), football player (Celtic FC), national team. *Harriet Backer (1845-1932), artist, painter educated in Oslo, Berlin, Munich and Paris. *Jo Benkow (1924-2013), WWII pilot and politician, President of Stortinget 1985-1993. *John Carew (1979-), former football player (Lørenskog, Vålerenga, Valencia, Lyon, Aston Villa), with 24 goals for Norway. *Bjørn Dæhlie (1967), cross-country skier and most-winning skier globally, with 8 gold medals from Winter Olympics. *Kai Eide, diplomat, writer and politician. Special UN envoy to Kosovo in 2005, Head of UN Mission to Afghanistan 2008-2010. *Åslaug Haga (1959-), politician, member of parliament and government, President of Global Crop Diversity Trust 2013-2020. *Morten Harket (1959-), musician and singer, vocal of pop group A-ha. *Trygve Haavelmo (1911-1999), economist and Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Nobel Prize laureate. *Anniken Huitfeldt, politician, Chair of Stortinget Committee on Foreign Relations and Defence. *Carl Otto Løvenskiold (1839-1916), politician, and briefly Prime Minister in Stockholm in 1884. *Rolf Presthus (1936-1988), politician, former Chairman of Conservative Party and Minister of Finance. *Jan Tore Sanner (1966-), politician, Minister of Finance in Norway since 2020. *Reiulf Steen (1933-2014), politician, Chairman of the Norwegian Labour Party 1965-1975 *Johan Herman Wessel (1742-1785), poet and early satiric author.

References

External links

Akershus county website
* * {{Authority control Akershus, Former counties of Norway 2020 disestablishments in Norway States and territories disestablished in 2020