Gullverket is a village in

Eidsvoll Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the munic ...

municipality,

Akershus Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...

county,

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 village is situated just east of

Minnesund Minnesund is a village in the municipality of Eidsvoll, Norway. It is located at the southern end of lake Mjøsa Mjøsa is the largest lake in Norway and the fourth deepest in Norway and Europe. It is located in the southern part of Norway, abo ...

, near the border with

Hedmark Hedmark () was a Counties of Norway, county in Norway from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar. Hedmar ...

. The name of the hamlet resulted from the operation of gold mines here from 1758 and until 1907 with several interruptions in between. Dating from 1721, copper mines had operated in Eidsvoll. About 1749, Ole Wiborg found a small gold nugget in the copper mine. By 1759, the Brustad Mines Ltd were in operation and a smelter was constructed. However, the ore consisted more of copper than gold. In 1792,

Bernt Anker Bernt Anker (22 November 1746 – 21 April 1805) was a Norwegian merchant, chamberlain and playwright who became the wealthiest person in Norway during his lifetime. Born in Christiania (later Oslo), he amassed his fortune primarily throu ...

became sole owner and managed the operation until his death in 1805. Lyssjø Copper Mining remained in operation until 1807. In 1897, an English-based company, Golden Mint Mines Ltd., resumed operations. The Brustad Mine was reopened employing up to 120 workers. A smaller mine, Santander Mine, west of administration facility was also opened. The ore was processed by a large crusher at Gullverket. Homes were constructed for managers and workers. But the operation was far from profitable. The best year of 1902 only 50 kg gold were recovered, which did not cover expenses. By 1907 the operation was bankrupt. Today, local shops, schools and virtually all workplaces are closed. The buildings are a mix of small farms, newer houses and vacation properties in a hilly, forested landscape.

References

Villages in Akershus Eidsvoll {{akershus-geo-stub