__NOTOC__ Hønefoss 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 the administrative center of the

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' ...

of Ringerike 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,

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 ...

. Hønefoss is an industrial center of inner

Østlandet Eastern Norway (, ) is the geographical Regions of Norway, region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Oslo, Akershus, Vestfold, Østfold, Buskerud, Telemark, and Innlandet. Eastern Norway is by far the most populo ...

, containing several factories and other industry. As of 1 January 2022, Hønefoss had 16,547 inhabitants. Between 1852 and 1964, the town was an independent municipality. Hønefoss received town status and was separated from

Norderhov Norderhov is a former municipality located within Ringerike (municipality), Ringerike in Buskerud county, Norway. Municipality Norderhov municipality was established on January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). According to the 1835 census the ...

into its own municipality in 1852. The town was built around the Hønefossen waterfall, from which the city derives its name. In 1964, Hønefoss ceased being a separate municipality and became part of Ringerike, where the town became its administrative center. Hønefoss is a natural trading center for the populations of Ringerike,

Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid Body (physics), body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in m ...

, and Jevnaker. It is an inland town and a central hub in eastern Norway.

Etymology

The town is named after Hønefossen, a waterfall on the Begna River. The first element is the name of the old farm ''Hønen'' (

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 ...

''*Hœnvin''), the last element is ''foss'' (waterfall). The name of the farm is a compound of a word ''*hœn-'' (with an unknown meaning) and ''vin'' (

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...

Location

Hønefoss is located 63 kilometres northwest by road from the Norwegian capital of

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

. Hønefoss is situated north of Lake Tyrifjorden. At Hønefoss, the Begna flows together with the Randselva river just below Hønefossen forming the Storelva river which flows into Nordfjord, the upper west branch of Lake Tyrifjord.

Transportation

European route E16 European route E16 is the designation of a main west–east road through Northern Ireland, Scotland, Norway and Sweden, from Derry to Gävle, via Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh, previously by ferry to Bergen, Voss, through the Gudvanga Tunnel and ...

runs near Hønefoss on its way from Oslo to Bergen. Hønefoss is connected to Norwegian national road 35 (Rv 35) which passes within town limits.

Norwegian National Road 7 Norwegian National Road 7 (, ) is a national road in Norway which runs from the town of Hønefoss in Buskerud county to the village of Granvin in Vestland county. The route is long and runs east–west through Viken and Vestland counties ove ...

from Granvin in

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Munici ...

ends at Hønefoss. Hønefoss Station is located at the intersection between the

Bergen Line The Bergen Line, or the Bergen Railway ( or ), is a long scenic overlook, scenic standard gauge railway line between Bergen and Hønefoss, Norway. The name is often applied to the entire route from Bergen to Oslo, including the Randsfjord Line ...

('' Bergensbanen''), the Randsfjord Line and the Roa–Hønefoss Line. The rail station was opened in 1868 when the Randsfjord Line was extended from Tyristand to Randsfjord. The current station building was put into operation in 1909, in connection with the opening of the Bergen Line between

and

Geilo Geilo () is a centre in the municipality of Hol, Norway, Hol in Buskerud, Buskerud county, Norway. Geilo is primarily a ski resort town, with around 2,500 inhabitants. It is situated in the valley of Hallingdal, 250 km from Oslo and 260 ...

Economy

Hønefoss is home to several factories and other industry, with Norske Skog Follum maintaining its headquarters in the city. Dating from 1873, Norske Skog Follum was one of the largest producers of

newsprint Newsprint is a low-cost, non-archival paper consisting mainly of wood pulp and most commonly used to print newspapers and other publications and advertising material. Invented in 1844 by Charles Fenerty of Nova Scotia, Canada, it usually has ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. The paper mill closed in 2012. '' Ringerikes Blad'' is a regional newspaper covering Ringerike,

and Jevnaker. Established in 1845, the newspaper is published daily in Hønefoss. As of 2006, the newspaper has a daily circulation of 12,684. the newspaper is an affiliation of the media company, Amedia.

Climate

Hønefoss has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

( Dfb) with relatively warm summers and cold winters with snow on the ground. The all-time high was recorded July 2018. The all-time low was recorded 6 January 2024.

Sport

* Hønefoss BK is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club that as of 2016 plays in

Norwegian Third Division The Norwegian Third Division, also called Norsk Tipping-Ligaen, is the fourth highest division of the men's football league in Norway. Like the rest of the Norwegian football league system, the season runs from spring to autumn, running approxima ...

. * Ringerike Panthers is located in Hønefoss, they play in the first tier of Norwegian hockey.

Cultural attractions

Ringerikes Museum (''Ringerikes Museum'') is located nearby in the former

Rectory. The museum is noted for its icon collection, its

rune stones A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition of erecting runestones as a memorial to dead men began in the 4th century and lasted int ...

and its collection of the private belongings of Jørgen Engebretsen Moe. Jørgen Moe was a Norwegian author, who is best known for the '' Norske Folkeeventyr'', a collection of Norwegian folk tales which he edited in collaboration with Peter Christen Asbjørnsen. It is affiliated with the Buskerud Museum (''Buskerudmuseet''). Buskerud Photography Archive (''Buskerud fylkesfotoarkiv'') is a central archive for photography and photo-historical material from Buskerud. The archives accommodates approx. 200,000 photographs dating from the 1850s. Buskerud fylkesfotoarkiv has shared office space with the Ringerikes Museum in Norderhov and is affiliated with the Buskerud Museum (''Buskerudmuseet''). Veien Cultural Heritage Park (''Veien Kulturminnepark'') is in located in Hønefoss. The park contains over 100 grave mounds from the

Early Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progr ...

, as well as a reconstructed longhouse and a museum. It is affiliated with the Buskerud Museum (''Buskerudmuseet''). Ridder Farm (''Riddergården'') is located on the north side of Hønefoss. This had been a family farm dating to 1730. The farm was largely developed by Fredrik Ridder (1756–1798), who had inherited it from his father. This was also the home of the manager of the local sawmill for generations. Ringerike Municipality has managed the property since 1964 in associated with Ringerike Museum.

Notable residents

* Anders Andersen (1846 in Hønefoss – 1931) a saw mill worker and politician * Erika Stang (1861-1898), composer * Leif Dietrichson (1890 in Hønefoss – 1928) a Norwegian military officer and aviation pioneer *

Karsten Alnæs Karsten Alnæs (born 29 May 1938) is a Norwegian author, historian, and journalist, who has dual degrees in history and literature from the University of Oslo. He worked as a journalist and taught at the Norwegian School of Journalism. His bibli ...

(born 1938 in Hønefoss) an author, historian and journalist * Per Inge Bjørlo (born 1952) a sculptor, painter and graphic designer, lives in Hønefoss * Svein Olav Blindheim (born 1954) a jazz double bassist, composer and writer, lives in Hønefoss * Geir Lippestad (born 1964 in Hønefoss) a controversial lawyer, politician and social activist * Michele Waagaard (born 1980 in Hønefoss) a Thai model, pop star, actress and radio host * Lars Fredrik Frøislie (born 1981 in Hønefoss) a musician, plays keyboards and drums * Nils Bech (born 1981 in Hønefoss) a Norwegian singer * Amal Aden (born 1983) Somali–Norwegian writer, lived in Hønefoss since 2002 * Emilie Marie Nereng (born 1995 in Hønefoss) blogger, musician and model

Sport

* Trygve Brodahl (1905 in Hønefoss – 1996) cross country skier * Sverre Brodahl (1909–1998 in Hønefoss) a Nordic skier, team bronze and silver medallist at the

1936 Winter Olympics The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936, were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 February 1936 in the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Nazi Ger ...

* Frode Andresen (born 1973) Norwegian biathlete and cross-country skier, lives in Hønefoss * Frode Lafton (born 1976) a former footballer, 523 caps with Hønefoss BK which he now manages * twins Anne Line Gjersem & Camilla Gjersem (born 1994) figure skaters * Anders Jacobsen (born 1985 in Hønefoss)

ski jumper Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fin ...

, team bronze medallist at the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

, won the Four Hills Tournament * Andrea Schjelderup Dalen (born 1992), professional ice hockey player for Djurgårdens IF and holder of the single season SDHL goal record

Gallery

File:Hotell Ringerike 00.jpg, Scandic Hotell Hønefoss File:Høgskolen i Buskerud og Vestfold - Hønefoss.jpg, University College in Buskerud and Vestfold File:Hønefoss Bryggeri 01.jpg, Hønefoss Brewery File:Hønefoss Kraftstasjon I00.jpg, Hønefoss Power Station File:Ringerike tingrett.jpg, Ringerike District Court File:HønefossSkole01.jpg, Hønefoss School File:Honefoss-stasjon-1tb.jpg, Hønefoss Train Station File:Kartverket hovedinngang.JPG, Kartverket File:Kooperativen Hønefoss.JPG, Hønefoss Cooperative File:Samfunnshuset i Hønefoss (fasade mot Hønefoss Bru).jpg, Samfunnshuset File:SpareBank 1 Ringerike 00.jpg, SpareBank 1 File:Skøiengården 00.jpg, Skøiengården File:Storgaten 2 Honefoss 00.jpg, Storgaten 2 File:Thistedgaarden 00.jpg, Thistedgaarden

References

External links

Ringerikes Museum

Chamber of Commerce, Trade and Industry in Ringerike, Hole and Jevnaker Community
{{DEFAULTSORT:Honefoss Cities and towns in Norway Former municipalities of Norway Populated places in Buskerud Populated places established in 1852 1852 establishments in Norway

Etymology

Location

Transportation

Economy

Climate

Sport

Cultural attractions

Notable residents

Sport

See also

Gallery

References

External links