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).

Modum Municipality
Modum kommune
Buskerud within Norway
Buskerud within Norway
Modum within Buskerud
Modum within Buskerud
Coordinates: 59°57′27″N 9°58′58″E / 59.95750°N 9.98278°E / 59.95750; 9.98278
CountryNorway
CountyBuskerud
DistrictRingerike
Administrative centreVikersund
Government
 • Mayor (2019)Sunni Grøndahl Aamodt (Sp)
Area
 • Total515 km2 (199 sq mi)
 • Land463 km2 (179 sq mi)
 • Rank#204 in Norway
Population
 (2004)
 • Total12,594
 • Rank#87 in Norway
 • Density27/km2 (70/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
Increase +3.2%
DemonymMoing/Moding[1]
Official language
 • Norwegian formBokmål
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-3316[3]
WebsiteOfficial website
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 Heggen, outside Geithus. The hill record, established in 2017 is a jump of 253.5 metres (832 ft).

General information

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Name

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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

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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.[4]

Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Modum by country of origin in 2017[5]
Ancestry Number
  Poland 316
  Kosovo 98
  Lithuania 87
  Iraq 78
  Somalia 76
  Eritrea 71
  Germany 71
  Denmark 70
  Syria 52
  Sweden 48

Geography

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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

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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.[6]

Geithus is the location of two hydroelectric powerplants; Geithusfoss kraftverk and Gravfoss kraftverk.[7]

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

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Public service & business

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Christopher Hornsrud, ca.1930
 
Maurits Hansen

The Arts

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1934 baseball card of Arndt "Art" Jorgens

Sport

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Sister cities

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The following cities are twinned with Modum:[8]

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References

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  1. ^ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
  2. ^ "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  3. ^ Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (2023-01-26). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
  4. ^ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". Retrieved 2009-01-10.
  5. ^ "Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents". ssb.no. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  6. ^ "Kunstnerdalen". gonorway.com. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  7. ^ Geir Thorsnæs. "Geithus". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  8. ^ "Nordiske vennskapskommuner" (in Norwegian). Modum kommune. Archived from the original on 2012-02-20. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
  9. ^ "Om Gulsrud Kirke". Modum Fellesraad. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  10. ^ "Om Heggen kirke". Modum Fellesraad. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  11. ^ "Om Nykirke kirke". Modum Fellesraad. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  12. ^ "Om Rud Kirke". Modum Fellesraad. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  13. ^ "Om Snarum kirke". Modum Fellesraad. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  14. ^ "Om Vestre Spone kirke". Modum Fellesraad. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
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