Ringerike 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' ...

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 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 ...

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 ...

. It is part of the

traditional region A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

of Ringerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the

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 ...

Hønefoss __NOTOC__ Hønefoss is a town and the administrative center of the municipality of Ringerike in Buskerud county, Norway. Hønefoss is an industrial center of inner Østlandet, containing several factories and other industry. As of 1 January 2022 ...

. The municipality of Ringerike was created on 1 January 1964 after the merger of the town of

and the rural municipalities of

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 ...

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 ...

Tyristrand Tyristrand is a village in Ringerike municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. Background Tyristrand parish was designated a municipality following a split from Hole on 1 July 1916. The municipality of Hole made been established on 1 January ...

, and

Ådal Ådal is a valley in the municipality of Ringerike (municipality), Ringerike and was a former municipality in Buskerud County, Norway. The municipality was created in 1857 by a split from Norderhov. At that time Ådal had a population of 2,382. ...

. However, the area of Hole was removed from the municipality of Ringerike on 1 January 1977 to become a separate municipality once again. The historic area of Ringerike included not just the modern municipality of Ringerike but also Hole and

Krødsherad Krødsherad (''Krødsherad kommune'') is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Buskerud Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Noresund. The municipality of Krødsherad was establ ...

Modum Modum is a municipality in Buskerud 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 tradition of ...

, and

Sigdal Sigdal is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Buskerud Counties of Norway, County, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Prestfoss. The municipality of Sigdal was established on 1 January 1838 (see forman ...

General information

Etymology

The Old Norse form of this name was ''Hringaríki''. The first element is (probably) the

genitive 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 ...

plural In many languages, a plural (sometimes list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated as pl., pl, , or ), is one of the values of the grammatical number, grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than ...

of ''hringir'', the name of an old Germanic tribe. The last element is ''ríki'' n 'kingdom,

reich ( ; ) is a German word whose meaning is analogous to the English word " realm". The terms and are respectively used in German in reference to empires and kingdoms. In English usage, the term " Reich" often refers to Nazi Germany, also ca ...

'. (See also

Romerike Romerike is a Districts of Norway, traditional district located north-east of Oslo, in what is today south-eastern Norway. It consists of the Akershus municipalities Lillestrøm, Lørenskog, Nittedal, Rælingen and Aurskog-Høland in the southern ...

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

were granted on 16 June 1967. The arms show a gold

ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...

on a red background. The colours

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

and

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

represent royalty and are the royal colors of Norway. The ring is a

canting ' (International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: , Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, VOS Spelling: , ) is a pen-like tool used to apply liquid hot wax () in the batik-making process in Indonesia, more precisely (). Traditional consists of copper wax-con ...

symbol and at the same time symbolises the unity of the area, which has been a separate entity (even considered a

petty kingdom A petty kingdom is a kingdom described as minor or "petty" (from the French 'petit' meaning small) by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it (e.g. the numerous kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England unified into t ...

) since medieval times. Honefoss flyfoto3

Geography

The municipality of Ringerike is bordered on the north by the municipalities of

Sør-Aurdal Sør-Aurdal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Valdres. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ba ...

and

Søndre Land Søndre Land is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Land, Norway, Land. The administrative centre of the municipality is the v ...

; on the east by Gran,

Jevnaker Jevnaker is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Jevnaker with a population of 4,302. The parish of ''Jævnaker'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see form ...

Lunner Lunner is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hadeland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Roa, Norway, ...

, and

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 ...

; in the south by

Bærum Bærum () is a list of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Akershus County, Norway. It forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a populatio ...

, and

; and in the west by

and

Flå Flå is a municipality in Buskerud 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 munici ...

. Lakes in the region include: * Samsjøen * Øyangen *

Sperillen Sperillen is a lake in the valley of Ådal in Ringerike municipality, Buskerud county, Norway.Sperillen
Store Norske Leksikon, retriev ...

* Ullerentjernet * Vestre Bjonevatnet It is also home to mountain ranges, including Ådalsfjella. Ringerikspoteter

Climate

Ringerike 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, often with snow on the ground lasting for weeks. The all-time high was recorded July 2018. The all-time low was recorded January 2010.

Economy

Billions of

Norwegian kroner The krone (, currency sign, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); ISO 4217, code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is the currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including List of possessions of Norway, overseas territories and dependencies). It was t ...

has been invested (as of 2022) in infrastructure, as a result of a government order (''oppdragsbrev'') in 2015; the municipality had to do their part in regard to the project " Ringerike Line"; the national budget is not final yet (as of October 2022) and government money for the project has not yet been allocated. Ringerike is famous for two

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

products; Ringerike

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

(''Ringerikspotet'') and Ringerike

pea Pea (''pisum'' in Latin) is a pulse or fodder crop, but the word often refers to the seed or sometimes the pod of this flowering plant species. Peas are eaten as a vegetable. Carl Linnaeus gave the species the scientific name ''Pisum sativum' ...

(''Ringeriksert''). Jens Aabel first started production of Ringerike potato around 1867. The Ringerike pea has obtained PDO (

protected designation of origin The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main purpose is to designat ...

). In June 2007, the Ringerike potato got "protected geographical indication" (PGI) under the name ''Ringerikspotet fra Ringerike.'' Six farmers are now producing and packing this special potato at Ask in Ringerike. Most of the potatoes are sold in the Oslo area. The town was also home to the commercial operations of the

Norwegian Mapping Authority The Norwegian Mapping Authority (NMA) () is Norway's national mapping agency, dealing with land surveying, geodesy Geodesy or geodetics is the science of measuring and representing the Figure of the Earth, geometry, Gravity of Earth, gravity ...

which in 2004 divested these to the then Ugland IT Group, later renamed Nordeca. The offices were closed in 2010 with all operations moving to

Lysaker Lysaker is an area in Bærum Municipality, Akershus County, Norway. Lysaker is the easternmost part of Bærum and borders Oslo proper. Lysaker was initially a farming community, later becoming a residential area. Today it is primarily known as ...

due to increasing computerization of map-making.

Notable residents

Covers people in the wider Municipality, * Helge Ellingsen Waagaard (1781 in Norderhov – 1817) a farmer and non-commissioned military officer, a rep. at the

Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly ( or ) is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised the dissolution of the union with Denmark. The meetings took place at the Eidsvoll Manor in th ...

* Michael Færden (1836 in Norderhov – 1912), a Norwegian priest and author * Andrea Gram (1853 in Ask – 1927), a Norwegian painter of landscapes and portraits * Rolf Bull-Hansen (1888 in Norderhov – 1970), a Norwegian educator and author * Elling M. Solheim (1905 in Norderhov – 1971), a poet, playwright and short story writer * Olav Brænden (1919 in Norderhov – 1989), a Norwegian pharmacist, drug expert and inventor * Olav Aspheim (1921 in Ringerike – 1948), a member of the WWII fascist party

Nasjonal Samling The Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norway, Norwegian far-right politics, far-right political party active from 1933 to 1945. It was the only legal party of Norway from 1942 to 1945. It was founded by former minister of defence Vidkun Quisling a ...

* Eyvind Fjeld Halvorsen (1922 in Ringerike – 2013), a Norwegian

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

* Arild Hiim (born 1945 in Ringerike – 2024), politician and member of parliament * Bjørn Kjos (born 1946 in Sokna), founder and CEO of

Norwegian Air Shuttle Norwegian Air Shuttle Aksjeselskap, ASA, trading as Norwegian, is a Norway, Norwegian Low-cost carrier, low-cost airline and Scandinavia's second-largest airline, behind Scandinavian Airlines. It is the fourth largest low-cost carrier in Europe ...

. * Bjørn Skogmo, (Norwegian Wiki) (1948 in Jevnaker - 2020), writer * Kjell B. Hansen (1957–2020), a politician, Mayor of Ringerike 2007-2019 * Bård frydenlund (born 1972 in Ringerike), an author and historian, CEO at Eidsvoll 1814

Sport

Randi Thorvaldsen Randi Thorvaldsen (4 March 1925, in Øvre Eiker – 10 February 2011) was a Norwegian speedskater, silver medalist from the allround World Championship, and a previous World Record holder in 1,500 metres. She was the dominating female speedskate ...

(1925 in Øvre Eiker – 2011), speedskater * Erik Hagen (born 1975 in Veme), footballer with 360 club caps and 28 for

* Rune Hagen (born 1975 in Veme), a Norwegian former footballer with 280 club caps * Tor Øyvind Hovda (born 1989 in Ringerike), a Norwegian footballer with 250 club caps

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Ringerike: *

Aabenraa Aabenraa (; , ; South Jutlandic: ''Affenråe'', also known as Åbenrå) is a town in Southern Denmark, at the head of the Aabenraa Fjord, an arm of the Little Belt, north of the Denmark–Germany border and north of German town of Flensburg. It ...

Region of Southern Denmark The Region of Southern Denmark (, ; , ; ) is an administrative region of Denmark established on Monday 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which abolished the traditional counties ("amter") and set up five larger regions ...

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 ...

Lohja Lohja (; ) is a town in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Lohja is situated in the western part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Lohja is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, munici ...

Southern Finland Southern Finland (, ) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Western Finland and Eastern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Finland and Russia. History On September 1, 1997 the Uusimaa Province, the Ky ...

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, ...

Emmeloord Emmeloord is the administrative centre of the municipality of Noordoostpolder, Flevoland, Netherlands. In 2019, it had a population of 26,055. Overview At the heart of the Noordoostpolder, where the three main drainage canals Lemstervaart, Urk ...

Flevoland Flevoland () is the twelfth and newest province of the Netherlands, established in 1986, when the southern and eastern Flevopolders, together with the Noordoostpolder, were merged into one provincial entity. It is in the centre of the countr ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Skagaströnd Skagaströnd (), previously Höfðakaupstaður (), is a Municipalities of Iceland, municipality and village in the Northwestern Region (Iceland), Northwestern Region of Iceland. It is situated on the western side of the Skagi peninsula, along ...

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 ...

Växjö Växjö () is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 71,282 inhabitants (2020) out of a Municipalities of Sweden, municipal population of 97,349 (2024). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial ce ...

Kronoberg County Kronoberg County (; ) is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. Kronoberg is one of three counties in the province of Småland. It borders the counties of Skåne, Halland, Jönköping, Kalmar, and Blekinge. Its capital is the city of V ...

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 ...

Vera Vera may refer to: Names *Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarr ...

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Almería, province of the same name. It lies in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia on the Mediterranean S ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in 1989

Gallery

File:Ringerike rådhus 01.jpg, Ringerike Town Hall File:Ringerikes museum på Ringerike.JPG, Ringerikes Museum File:EiendomsMegler1 00.jpg, Tandberggården in Hønefoss File:Ringerike tingrett.jpg, Ringerike District Court File:Skøiengården 00.jpg, Skøiengården at Søndre Torv in Hønefoss File:Honefoss-stasjon-1tb.jpg, Hønefoss Railway Station

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 ...

Ringerike Kommune

Ringerike HospitalRingerikes Blad
*

The Norwegian Church in Ringerike

Ringerikes Tourist Information

Ringerikes Museum

Buskerud and Ringerikes millennium

Ringerike Historical Society
{{Authority control Municipalities of Buskerud Ringerike (traditional district)