Askim () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and a former

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' ...

in (from January 1, 2020)

Indre Østfold Indre Østfold is a mostly rural countryside region north in the former county of Østfold county in Norway, noted for its mostly unspoilt nature and for its agriculture. At January 1. 2020 five of the municipalities of Indre Østfold merged into ...

municipality in the

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 ...

Østfold Østfold () is a county in Eastern Norway, which from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2023 was part of Viken. Østfold borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other ...

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 ...

. The administrative centre of the Askim municipality was the town of Askim. Askim was established as a municipality 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 ...

). Askim is the largest population centre in the

region, with 15,315 inhabitants as of 2012, and serves as a regional center for nine municipalities in the

region. It lies next to the longest river in Norway,

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 13% of Norway's surface area, all in the southern part of the country. Geography At its fullest length, the river r ...

, which forms the border with the former

Spydeberg Spydeberg was a municipality in former Østfold county, Norway, until December 31. 2019. At January 1. 2020 it became a part of the new and greater municipality named Indre Østfold Kommune after the region, together with Askim and Trøgstad and ...

municipality to the north and west, and

Skiptvet Skiptvet is a municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Meieribyen. Skiptvet was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see ''formannskapsdistrikt''). General information ...

municipality to the south. Askim also borders to the former

Trøgstad Trøgstad was a municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Skjønhaug. The municipality included the parishes of Skjønhaug, Havnås and Båstad. The parish of ''Trygstad'' was estab ...

municipality to the northeast and the former

Eidsberg Eidsberg was a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality was the List of cities in Norway, town of Mysen. In 2020, Eidsberg was absorbed into the Indre Øst ...

municipality to the southeast. Askim produces large amounts of

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

at three

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

s /

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

s in the river

. From upstream to downstream:

Solbergfoss Solbergfoss is a small village in Askim municipality, Norway. Located a few miles north of the town Askim on the east bank of the Glomma river, Solbergfoss has a power plant which was built in 1924. In 1918 a railway line, Askim–Solbergfosslinjen ...

, Kykkelsrud, then Vamma. There was

nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

at Kykkelsrud at the turn of the 20th century. These mines are also one of the few places where "

Spheroidal Norite A spheroid, also known as an ellipsoid of revolution or rotational ellipsoid, is a quadric surface obtained by rotating an ellipse about one of its principal axes; in other words, an ellipsoid with two equal semi-diameters. A spheroid has circul ...

" ("Potato Stone") is found. Askim has been an industrial city for most of the 20th century. The main employer,

Viking Gummi Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

(producing rubber products like boots and tyres etc.), shut down their

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

product production in 1991 after being taken over by the

Continental Tyres Continental AG, commonly known as Continental and colloquially as Conti, is a German multinational Automotive industry, automotive parts manufacturing company. Headquartered in Hanover, Lower Saxony, it is the world's third-List of the largest ...

owned Swedish

Gislaved Gislaved () is the seat and most populous locality of Gislaved Municipality. With a population of 10,269 at the 2020 census, it is the 7th largest locality in Jönköping County. Sports The following sports clubs are located in Gislaved: * Gis ...

Tyres.

Glava Glava AS is a Norwegian industrial company with headquarters in Askim. The name is a portmanteau of the Norwegian word ''glassvatt'', meaning glass wool. Glass wool used as insulation material is the company's main product. Production takes plac ...

was the main employer by the 2010s, making

glass cotton Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...

insulation etc.

History

Askim has always been a strategic point in wars due to its relative easy crossing of the river. The last battle between Norway and

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 ...

was fought at the crossing over Glomma on 9 August 1814. There is a yearly historical reenactment, as well as a stone monument at Langnes to commemorate this event. During the Norwegian Campaign of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, a battle occurred at Fossum Bridge when the

Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army () is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway in 1628. The ...

defended the crossing against invading

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

in April 1940.

Name

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 ''Askim'' 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 ...

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

ash tree ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae, and comprises 45–65 species of usually medium-to-large trees, most of which are deciduous trees, although some subtropical species are evergr ...

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

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

", "

homestead Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (building), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses * Nguni homestead, a cluster of houses inhabited by a single extended family, typically with a kraal ...

", or "

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

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 1 November 1963. The arms symbolize the three large

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

s in the municipality, the Solbergfoss, Kykkelsrudfoss, and Vammafoss. The

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

s and waterfalls are also partially harnessed for hydroelectric power.

Transportation

European route E18 European route E18 runs between Craigavon, County Armagh, Craigavon in Northern Ireland and Saint Petersburg in Russia, passing through Scotland, England, Norway, Sweden and Finland. It is about in length. Although the designation implies the ...

used to go through the city centre, however, since the upgrade to four-lane

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

in 2005, its route now runs outside the centre. Vy's

Eastern Østfold Line The Eastern Østfold Line () is a railway line which runs between Ski, Norway, Ski and Sarpsborg. It follows a more eastern route than the Østfold Line, with which it adjoins at both Ski Station and Sarpsborg Station, serving the Indre Østfold ...

serves the municipality with stops at Langnes Station and Næringsparken and Askim Station in between.

Government

The municipal council runs the government of Askim. The 2007 election results are as follows:

Attractions

Østfoldbadet
* Askim videregående skole
Askimtorget
* Askim Golf Course

Twin towns — sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Askim: * -

Huddinge Huddinge Municipality () is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Stockholm County, east central Sweden. Its seat is located in Huddinge (), which is a part of Stockholm urban area. The municipality is, with its approximately 110,000 inhabit ...

, Stockholm County,

* - Lyngby-Taarbæk Kommune,

Region Hovedstaden The Capital Region of Denmark (, ) is the easternmost administrative region of Denmark, and contains Copenhagen, the national capital. The Capital Region has 29 municipalities and a regional council consisting of 41 elected members. As of 1 ...

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 ...

* -

Nuuk Nuuk (; , formerly ) is the capital and most populous city of Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the territory's largest cultural and economic center. It is also the seat of gove ...

Nuuk Municipality Nuuk Municipality was one of the municipalities of Greenland until 31 December 2008. On 1 January 2009, it was merged with four other former municipalities into the new Sermersooq municipality. The central town was Nuuk. Other settlements within ...

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

* -

Rapla Rapla ( (the name ''Rappel'' was also used in other languages in the past) is a Populated places in Estonia, town in north-central Estonia'','' the capital of Rapla County and the centre of Rapla Parish. History The oldest records date back ...

Rapla County Rapla County ( or ''Raplamaa'') is one of the fifteen counties of Estonia. It is situated in the north-western part of the country and borders Järva County to the east, Pärnu County to the south, Lääne County to the west, and Harju County to ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

* -

Seyðisfjörður Seyðisfjörður () is a town in the Eastern Region (Iceland), Eastern Region of Iceland at the innermost point of the fjord of the same name. The town is located in the Municipalities of Iceland, municipality of Múlaþing. A road over Fjarðarhe ...

, Seyðisfjarðarkaupstaður,

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

* -

Vantaa Vantaa (; , ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the north of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population of Vantaa is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland. Vantaa is part of the Helsinki Metropoli ...

Uusimaa Uusimaa (; , ; both lit. 'new land') is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme), and Kymenlaakso. Finland's capital and largest city, Helsinki, alo ...

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, ...

Notable people

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 ...

Municipal website
{{Authority control Indre Østfold Cities and towns in Norway Populated places in Østfold Populated places on the Glomma River