Krødsherad (''Krødsherad kommune'') is a

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 Viken

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 ...

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 t ...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Noresund. The municipality of Krødsherad was established when it was separated from the municipality of

Sigdal Sigdal is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Prestfoss. The municipality of Sigdal was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The area of Krødsherad was s ...

on 1 January 1901.

General information

Name

The

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is 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 of Scandinavia and t ...

form of the name was ''Krœðisherað''. The first element is the

genitive case In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can ...

of the name of the lake Krøderen, the last element is ''herað'' meaning "district". Prior to 1918, the name was spelled ''Krødsherred''.

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 latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in i ...

is from modern times. They were granted on 11 September 1981. The arms are supposedly

canting arms Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name (or, less often, some attribute or function) in a visual pun or rebus. French heralds used the term (), as they would sound out the name of the armiger. Many armorial al ...

. In older times, the name, ''Krødsherad'', was commonly misunderstood as the word ''kross'' meaning "cross" or the area where two

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

s crossed. Thus the

saltire A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross, like the shape of the letter X in Roman type. The word comes from the Middle French ''sautoir'', Medieval Latin ''saltato ...

cross was taken as a symbol in the arms. New insights, however, derive the name from Krøderen, or a lake with a sharp curve (hooked-lake).

Geography

The district lies on the Krøderfjord in

Hallingdal Hallingdal ( en, Halling Valley) is a valley as well as a traditional district located in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud in Viken county in Norway. It consists of six municipalities: Flå, Nes, Gol, Hemsedal, Ål and Hol. ...

, and borders on the municipalities of Ringerike,

Flå Flå is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Flå. The municipality of Flå was established when it was separated from the municipality of Nes on 1 January 1905. The municipa ...

and

Modum Modum is a municipality in Buskerud in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Vikersund. The municipality of Modum was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The area has a long tr ...

. The municipality lies only 10 old Norwegian miles from

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 of ...

. Settlement is scattered, with some concentration around the municipality's two principal centers, Noresund situated on the east side of Lake Krøderen and Krøderen at the southern end of Lake Krøderen.

Economy

Agriculture is the primary industry with most agricultural land arable and mostly used for grain cultivation. The forestry industry also has historically been important. With the shoreline at Krøderen and the high mountains at Norefjell, the municipality enjoys a spectrum of natural environments from lake to mountain. As a result, there are many vacation homes in the municipality and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...

, especially winter sports in the Norefjell area, is an important contribution element in the economy.

Attractions

Villa Fridheim

Villa Fridheim, a manor house which houses a folk museum, is one of Norway's largest timber buildings. The style is representative of romantic nationalism. The building was erected in 1890-92 as the country house of

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such as Konner ...

based timber merchant Svend Haug(1832-1891) and his wife Anne Marthea (Thea) Sveaas (1839-1924). The architect was Herman Major Backer (1856–1932), whose other commissions included

Skaugum Skaugum is an estate, manor house and the official residence of Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and his wife Crown Princess Mette-Marit. The estate is located in Asker municipality, southwest of Oslo, by the foot of the mountain Skaugumsåsen. T ...

in Asker, Klemetsrud Church in Oslo, Sollihøgda Chapel in

Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid 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 many fields of en ...

and St John's Church in Bergen. The building functioned as a hotel and boarding house between 1914-60. The building was restored and opened as a folktale museum in the summer of 1986. In 1996 the museum opened a section dedicated to the great collectors of Norwegian fairy tales,

Peter Christen Asbjørnsen Peter Christen Asbjørnsen (15 January 18125 January 1885) was a Norwegian writer and scholar. He and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe were collectors of Norwegian folklore. They were so closely united in their lives' work that their folk tale collection ...

and

Jørgen Moe Jørgen Engebretsen Moe (22 April 1813–27 March 1882) was a Norwegian folklorist, bishop, poet, and author. He is best known for the '' Norske Folkeeventyr'', a collection of Norwegian folk tales which he edited in collaboration with Pete ...

and to noted illustrators Theodor Kittelsen and

Christian Skredsvig Christian Skredsvig (12 March 1854 – 19 January 1924) was a Norwegian painter and writer. He employed an artistic style reflecting naturalism. He is especially well known for his picturesque and lyrical depictions of the landscape. Biogr ...

Krøderbanen

Krøderbanen Museum (''Museet Krøderbanen'') is a railroad museum headquartered in the former Krøderen Railroad Station at Krøderen. Krøderbanen was opened in 1872 as a narrow gauge line. It was converted to standard gauge in connection with the Bergen Railway opening in 1909 and remained in operation until 1985. Both rolling stock and fixed installations along the line is kept in running condition. Krøderbanen is also a center for the restoration and maintenance of railway equipment.

Norefjell Ski Resort

Norefjell Ski Resort was host to the downhill and

giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant slalom and slalom make up t ...

competitions of the

1952 Winter Olympics The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 6. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 6. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Oslo 1952, was a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 195 ...

. Norefjell is only a 90-minute drive away from

, making the ski resort the closest high mountain area to the Norwegian capital.

Olberg Church

Olberg Church (''Olberg kirke'') dates from 1859.

, who was the chaplain from 1853 to 1863, committed himself to having a new church built at Krødsherad. It was constructed based upon designs by architect Gustav Adolph Lammers. The building was built of wood and has 600 seats. The new church was dedicated on October 19, 1859. It is part of the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. ...

and belongs to Eiker Prosti in the

Diocese of Tunsberg Tunsberg is a diocese of the Church of Norway. It includes parishes located within the counties of Vestfold and Buskerud, with the cathedral located in Tønsberg. The Diocese of Tunsberg consists of the cathedral deanery and 9 rural deaneries. Hi ...

Notable people

* Niels Schultz (1780 in Krødsherad – 1832) a Norwegian cleric, author and politician * Amund Ringnes (1840 in Krødsherad – 1907) brewery owner, founded Ringnes AS in 1876 * Moltke Moe (1859 in Krødsherad - 1913) a Norwegian

folklorist Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...

* Sigurd Moen (1897 in Krødsherad – 1967) speed skater, bronze medallist at the

1924 Winter Olympics The 1924 Winter Olympics, officially known as the I Olympic Winter Games (french: Iers Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Chamonix 1924 ( frp, Chamôni 1924), were a winter multi-sport event which was held in 1924 in Chamonix, France ...

* Tormod Skagestad (1920 in Krødsherad – 1997) poet, novelist, playwright, actor and theatre director * Otto Tschudi (born 1949 near Krødsherad) alpine skier, participated at the

1968 The year was highlighted by Protests of 1968, protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechos ...

and

1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 ( ja, 札幌1972), was a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Europe ...

External links

Krødsherad kommune websiteVilla Fridheim websiteMuseet Krøderbanen websiteNorefjell website
*
Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, 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 ye ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krodsherad Municipalities of Buskerud Municipalities of Viken (county) Ringerike (traditional district)