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).

Not to be confused with MODAM or Modem.
Modum kommune
Municipality
Coat of arms
Viken within
Norway
Modum within Viken
Coordinates: 59°57′27″N 9°58′58″E
CountryNorway
CountyViken
DistrictRingerike
Administrative centreVikersund
Government
 • Mayor (2013)Terje Bråthen (Ap)
Area
 • Total515 km2 (199 sq mi)
 • Land463 km2 (179 sq mi)
Area rank204 in Norway
Population
 (2004)
 • Total12,594
 • Rank87 in Norway
 • Density27/km2 (70/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
3.2%
Demonym(s)Moding[1]
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-3047
Official language formBokmål[2]
Websitewww.modum.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway
Modum City Hall at Vikersund

The area has a long tradition of skiing with several famous skiers. Modum is home to one of the largest ski jumping hills in the world, Vikersundbakken which is situated in Vikersund. The hill record, established in 2011 is a jump of 246.5 metres (809 ft).

General information

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Modum farm (Old Norse: Móðheimr), since the first church was built here. The first element is móða which means "river" (here the Drammenselva river) and the last element is heimr which means "home", "homestead", or "farm". The name of the farm was later changed to Buskerud.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 15 March 1985. The arms show three wavy silver lines “party per bend sinister” on a blue background. They represent the three main rivers in the municipality: Drammenselva, Snarumselva, and Simoa and the colour blue represents Blaafarveværket.[3]

Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Modum by country of origin in 2017[4]
Ancestry Number
 Poland316
 Kosovo98
 Lithuania87
 Iraq78
 Somalia76
 Eritrea71
 Germany71
 Denmark70
 Syria52
 Sweden48

Geography

The municipality is bordered in the north by Krødsherad and Ringerike, in the east by Hole and Lier, in the south by Øvre Eiker, and in the west by Sigdal.

Communities

The municipality has three main villages: Åmot, Geithus, and Vikersund.

Åmot is the starting point of Kunstnerdalen, which was frequently visited by of several Norwegian 19th and 19th century painters: Christian Krohg, Adolph Tidemand and Hans Gude. It also was home to Theodor Kittelsen and Christian Skredsvig. Edvard Munch also painted in Modum. This is also the site of Blaafarveværket whichnow includes a museum and art gallery.[5]

Geithus is the location of two hydroelectric powerplants; Geithusfoss kraftverk and Gravfoss kraftverk.[6]

Vikersund is the municipality administrative center of Modum and the site of the Modum City Hall. It is also the site of Vikersundbakken.

Notable residents

Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Modum:[7]

  • Gulsrud Church[8]
  • Heggen Church[9]
  • Nykirke Church [10]
  • Rud Church[11]
  • Snarum Church[12]
  • Vestre Spone Chapel[13]

References
  1. "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
  2. "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  3. Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". Retrieved 2009-01-10.
  4. "Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents". ssb.no. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  5. "Kunstnerdalen". gonorway.com. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  6. Geir Thorsnæs. "Geithus". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  7. "Nordiske vennskapskommuner" (in Norwegian). Modum kommune. Archived from the original on 2012-02-20. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
  8. "Om Gulsrud Kirke". Modum Fellesraad. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  9. "Om Heggen kirke". Modum Fellesraad. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  10. "Om Nykirke kirke". Modum Fellesraad. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  11. "Om Rud Kirke". Modum Fellesraad. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  12. "Om Snarum kirke". Modum Fellesraad. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  13. "Om Vestre Spone kirke". Modum Fellesraad. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
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