Eikeren or Eikern is a long, deep
lake
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
in eastern
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 lake is located on the border of
Øvre Eiker Municipality in
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 and
Holmestrand Municipality
is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Jarlsberg. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Holmestrand (town), town of Ho ...
in
Vestfold
Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...
county (the majority of the lake is in Buskerud). It is the largest lake in all of Vestfold county, measuring about long and wide, and reaching a depth of .
The village of
Eidsfoss
Eidsfoss is a village in Holmestrand Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The village is located at the southern end of the lake Eikeren, about north of the village of Hof and about southeast of the village of Vestfossen (in Øvre Eiker ...
lies at the southeastern end of the lake. At Eidsfoss, water flows into the lake from the nearby lakes Bergsvann, Vikevann, Haugestadvann and Hillestadvann. Eikeren lake also receives water flowing into it from the rivers
Hakavikelva and
Steinbruelva. The lake flows out through a narrow strait (''Sundet'') on the north end of the lake. The strait flows into a smaller lake Fiskumvannet. Through this strait, water flows at an average rate of . From Fiskumvannet, water runs out into the river
Vestfosselva to the village of
Vestfossen. The river then goes on to the town of
Hokksund
Hokksund is a town in the counties of Norway, county of Buskerud in Eastern Norway. It is the largest population center and administrative center of the municipalities of Norway, municipality of Øvre Eiker.
The town is located upstream of the ...
, where it splits into two rivers that both flow in the large river
Drammenselva
Drammenselva () is a river in Buskerud Counties of Norway, county, southeastern Norway.
Location
Drammenselva is one of the largest rivers in Norway, with a drainage basin of about and a Discharge (hydrology), discharge of per second. Drammen R ...
.
Reservoir
In 2005, Eikeren was developed by the Vestfold Inter-Municipal Waterworks, (), in order to provide extra drinking water for Vestfold county. The other reservoir for the county is the lake
Farris
Farris is a lake on the border of Telemark and Vestfold counties in Norway. The long freshwater moraine-dammed lake is located mostly in Larvik Municipality in Vestfold, but the northwestern part of the lake is located in Siljan Municipality an ...
in
Larvik Municipality
Larvik () is a municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. Other main population centres in the municipality include the ...
. Vestfold Inter-Municipal Waterworks Authority is a company owned by all the municipalities in Vestfold county and it is responsible for water supply, water treatment, emergency power supply, and water distribution to the people of the county.
Tourism
During the summer season, Eikeren is served by tourist boat ''M/S Eikern'' which runs between the villages of
Eidsfoss
Eidsfoss is a village in Holmestrand Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The village is located at the southern end of the lake Eikeren, about north of the village of Hof and about southeast of the village of Vestfossen (in Øvre Eiker ...
and
Vestfossen. The original ''M/S Eikern'' steamer was commissioned in 1861. The steam vessel ''Cappelen'' was built in 1880 and was used for timber and passenger traffic. In 1903, the steamship ''Stadshauptmand Schwartz'' carried regular traffic and provided a link between the Kongsberg Railway (''Kongsbergbanen'') and the
Tønsberg–Eidsfoss Line
The Tønsberg–Eidsfoss Line () or TEB is an abandoned railway between Eidsfoss and Tønsberg
Tønsberg (), historically Tunsberg, is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is lo ...
. The current vessel ''M/S Eikern'' has carried traffic on Eikern since 1997.
See also
*
List of lakes in Norway
This is a list of lakes and reservoirs in Norway, sorted by Counties of Norway, county.
For the geography and history of lakes in that country, see Lakes in Norway, including:
*Lakes in Norway#Largest lakes, List of largest lakes in Norway
*L ...
References
External links
More about EikerenMap of EikerenVestfold Intermunicipal Water WorksPictures of EikerenM/S Eikern website
Lakes of Vestfold
Lakes of Buskerud
{{Norway-lake-stub